Who Killed One the Gun?
Private eye One the Gun and his right-hand dame Two the True Blue are on the trail of the killer of Five the No Longer Alive. But as the numbers and the clues stack up, One the Gun realizes that today is exactly like yesterday—in fact maybe actually is yesterday—and he’s pretty sure that at the end of yesterday he was shot to death. It’s a dilly of a pickle as time continues to loop back on itself, one murder case becomes two, and the gumshoe races against the clock to smoke out his own killer—before that killer can stop his clock for keeps. Gigi Little’s noir-soaked and delightfully surreal debut pays homage to the radio classics of the forties and fifties while investigating themes of greed, sexism, and the consequences of unchecked power.
Forthcoming from Forest Avenue Press
October, 2025
“Gigi Little just gave noir mouth-to-mouth. Who Killed One the Gun? resuscitates what was last best about old school radio noir with a spectacular post-genre kick. Characters are numbers, numbers lose their linearity, and time itself is laid bare as an echo chamber. What is staged on the page is a storytelling field that reminds us that we are all always already out of time, and that recreating stories is what saves us. As intellectually stunning as it is creatively playful. A genre and gender-bending brilliant beat of a book.”
—Lidia Yuknavitch, author of Reading the Waves
“A witty, whimsical, time-bending adventure that hums with hilarity and heart.”
—Mo Daviau, author of Epic and Lovely and Every Anxious Wave
“You turn the page like opening the door in a fun house. You never know what’s on the other side, but you know it was not what you expected. Who Killed One the Gun? manages to be fun yet mysterious. Gritty and yet, somehow, spiritual.”
—Mark Russell, award-winning comic book writer and author of Grimm and Grimmer
“Someone died at The Dive and a private dick has to deal with deja vu while looking for the one who did it in Gigi Little’s daring and delightful debut. A super fun noir to lose yourself in, with a cast of characters that form an off-kilter mosaic of suspense.”
—Kevin Sampsell, author of This is Between Us
“Who Killed One the Gun? is all at once a daring piece of speculative fiction, a hard-boiled noir, and a linguistic marvel. It effortlessly combines these genres while never detracting or ebbing from the suspense as our title character attempts to solve his own murder. While One the Gun is a man out of time, the novel has a lot to say about both our contemporary world and the nature of guilt.”
—Brian S. Ellis, author of Against Common Sense and Pretty Much the Last Hardcore Kid in This Town
“If you love noir and parody and magical realism but can’t imagine how you might find them all in one place, your search is over. In Who Killed One the Gun?, Gigi Little has created a whip-smart pastiche perfect for fans of Raymond Chandler, Franz Kafka, and Monty Python. I can’t think of a time when I read anything quite as original. How did she do it? Strap yourselves in, guys and dolls. What a ride!”
—Liz Scott, author of This Never Happened
“Gigi Little’s prose ‘melts like honey on a hot biscuit.’ One the Gun, with all his quirky wit, makes you turn the page as you attempt to solve his unique quandary. Told in a charming style all its own, this debut novel was an absolute joy to read.”
—Bradley K. Rosen, author of Bunkie Spills
“Gigi Little has written a boozy love letter to a bygone era of noir detective radio plays. It’s Perry Mason meets Groundhog Day. A slick ticking time machine of a whodunit. You can’t help but root for the brooding antihero, a tragically flawed gumshoe chasing a cold killer and an ocean-eyed dame. Who Killed One the Gun? pops off its pages like a sizzling band of hard-boiled bullets chasing a runaway jazz train.”
—David Ciminello, author of The Queen of Steeplechase Park
“Gigi Little’s Who Killed One the Gun? puts the conventions of detective noir to far more playful and adventurous uses than we normally see. Combining a conceit that fuses the best aspects of Groundhog Day and Casablanca with spry, vivid prose, Little creates nothing short of a literary centaur, an experimental novel that will leave you guessing at the fates of One, Two, and the rest of her shadowy, endearingly numerical crew until you turn that final page.”
—Kurt Baumeister, author of Twilight of the Gods
“Who Killed One the Gun? has all my favorite things: crackling prose, mysteries upon mysteries within timeloops, a cast of shady characters who are more than the archetypes they appear to be, and a thrilling adventure with a genuinely satisfying and surprising ending. Like all the best mysteries, the pieces that fall into place reveal different facets to the story so far, while stretching the confines of what a detective story can be. The story is so sharp and the writing so masterful, Gigi Little’s debut novel will leave you clamoring for more.”
—Michelle Carroll, bookseller, Powell’s Books Inc.
“A snappy noir with a Groundhog Day twist. Good fun—and a very intriguing book club choice!”
—Tegan Tigani bookseller, Queen Anne Book Company LLC