[I spoil the hell out of this story.]
This story is set in Los Angeles in 1937. The main character is a cop/detective named Eddie. Now, I know what you must be thinking. A cop named Eddie, and it was written by Gary K. Wolf? Is his last name Valiant?! Well... no. In fact, his name isn't given at all. It could possibly be an earlier version of him. "Who Frames Roger Rabbit?" was set in 1947, after all. Either way, this information is not given.
Eddie is heading to the justice of the peace to get married to his girl, but when he confronts her he accuses her of stealing a priceless jewel in a mission they were both involved in. Spoiler: she actually did do this, rendering the whole marriage a non-event. Even more shocking is when she pulls a gun on him, and he is forced to defend himself, killing her on the spot. The scene is sad, dark, and brutal.
Now, what I find very interesting about this story is that it feels like the final chapter of a a lengthy noir book... but this is all there is. You do not get anything but the final play. This means everything that comes before it has to be hastily slipped into the narrative and dialog in this one chapter alone. It also has to be done as eloquently as possible, or else the reader might get a little suspicious!
Gary K. Wolf actually does accomplish this... but it still left me scratching my head. Why only write the final scene of a non-existent book? I don't have the answer to why he did it, but I don't think any harm was done. It was a neat idea, and I like that he bothered to try. Sometimes writing can be an experiment. Hell, I got a friend who is trying to write a musical as a narrative book. He's recording the music to be heard elsewhere. That's good, and this short story is cool in its own way. It proves that it might actually be possible to have an entire story... while only writing the final chapter. That's insane.
I really liked "Kiss Me Goodbye" for the experiment that it was, and I do recommend it. I encourage all writers to try a little experimenting once in a while. You might stumble onto a side of yourself you didn't know existed... and from there you may find your options in storytelling have broadened a bit.
This blog was written on June 15, 2026.
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