Sunrise City

I went into *Sunrise City* expecting a solid Florida-noir mystery with a washed-up detective, but Riesel and Robertson delivered something sharper—a story that lingers like the scent of spilled beer and saltwater. From the first gunshot echoing across the marina at 5:47 AM, the tension is dialed to 11. Cole Ballinger isn’t your typical hardboiled hero; he’s a man who’s given up on redemption, and that makes his sudden plunge back into chaos all the more compelling. The mystery itself is tight, with just enough red herrings to keep you guessing, but the real win is Riesel’s ability to make Fort Pierce feel like a character—gritty, alive, and full of secrets. The ending, while satisfying, left me wanting just a touch more closure on Cole’s personal demons, but the ride there is so damn good that I’m willing to overlook it. Robertson’s narration is the secret sauce here. His voice for Cole is a perfect blend of weariness and dry humor, and he handles the Southern inflections with such ease that I forgot I was listening to an audiobook. The production quality is top-notch—no muffled dialogue, no distracting background noise—just a clean, immersive soundscape that puts you right in the bar’s sticky floorboards. My only real critique? A few supporting characters blend together, especially during the middle act, which made it harder to keep track of who was who. But that’s a small price to pay for a performance that otherwise feels tailor-made for the material. If you’re a fan of *True Detective*’s moody atmosphere or *Only in Miami*’s sleazy charm, this is your next obsession. Five stars, no question.