HOT WAX
On sale
9th July 2026
Price: £10.99
‘A propulsive father-daughter story infused with rock and roll ‘ JENNIFER EGAN
‘[A] feverishly-composed rock ‘n’ roll masterpiece’ LAYNE FARGO
‘The sleaze of the Stooges, the energy of the Ramones and the glamour of the Cramps – Hot Wax is a pure foot-on-the-monitors, amps-up-to-ten rock ‘n’ roll classic’ MAT OSMAN
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1989: Suzanne is a wild child, swept up in her father’s world of muscle cars and rock and roll. There’s nowhere she would rather be than out on the road with his band, on the concert tour that might skyrocket them to stardom. After one night of chaos and bloodshed brings their whole world crashing down, young Suzanne will never be the same.
2018: Suzanne trades the guts and glory of her youth for the calm stability of suburbia, but the marriage that was supposed to be her solid ground now feels more like a cage. When her estranged father’s untimely death offers her an escape, Suzanne leaps at the chance – driving back into the past she’s spent decades trying to outrun, even as her present threatens to catch up.
Hot Wax is a raucous, breakneck ride to hell and back – where getting lost might be the only way to find yourself and save your soul.
‘[A] feverishly-composed rock ‘n’ roll masterpiece’ LAYNE FARGO
‘The sleaze of the Stooges, the energy of the Ramones and the glamour of the Cramps – Hot Wax is a pure foot-on-the-monitors, amps-up-to-ten rock ‘n’ roll classic’ MAT OSMAN
_____________________
Even turning up the volume can’t drown out the past
1989: Suzanne is a wild child, swept up in her father’s world of muscle cars and rock and roll. There’s nowhere she would rather be than out on the road with his band, on the concert tour that might skyrocket them to stardom. After one night of chaos and bloodshed brings their whole world crashing down, young Suzanne will never be the same.
2018: Suzanne trades the guts and glory of her youth for the calm stability of suburbia, but the marriage that was supposed to be her solid ground now feels more like a cage. When her estranged father’s untimely death offers her an escape, Suzanne leaps at the chance – driving back into the past she’s spent decades trying to outrun, even as her present threatens to catch up.
Hot Wax is a raucous, breakneck ride to hell and back – where getting lost might be the only way to find yourself and save your soul.
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Reviews
Sensory and visceral from page one, Hot Wax is a propulsive father-daughter story infused with rock and roll down to its very cadences. M. L Rio is a force to be reckoned with.
M.L. Rio's electric, immersive writing makes you feel every beat of the music, every bead of sweat, every broken guitar string and split knuckle and spray of blood. By the end of this feverishly-composed rock 'n' roll masterpiece, you'll be on your feet shouting for an encore.
The sleaze of the Stooges, the energy of the Ramones and the glamour of the Cramps-Hot Wax is a pure foot-on-the-monitors, amps-up-to-ten rock 'n' roll classic.
Rio captures the joy and danger of rock 'n' roll in her raucous latest . . . Rio keeps the reader guessing-and turning the pages-while shining a light on Suzanne's emotional scars. This electrifies.
An incendiary tale . . . The best book around rock'n'roll since High Fidelity.
Hot Wax is an electrifying triumph of a novel with a raw, emotional core, finely crafted by the talented M. L. Rio. The rock and roll lifestyle might not be for everyone, but reading about it absolutely is.