From the lost generation of Andy Warhol’s New York to the cocaine-fuelled runways of the top fashion houses of Paris and Milan, Scary Kisses captures the tenderness and cruelty of the beautiful people circa 1980. As a menage a trois drifts listlessly into a spiral of cynicism and nihilistic gratification, Gooch’s raw, voyeuristic eye for detail and precise, snapshot prose recreates a time unlike any other, and characters that flash with stark, bright realism. On a par with The Bonfire of the Vanities, this is a classic portrait of Manhattan nightlife and decadence.