A rip-roaring journey through the highs and lows of tour life
Welcome aboard the tour van of Major Threat—Brooklyn’s finest rock band yet to catch a break—as they traverse the US of A on a last-ditch summer festival tour. On drums we’ve got "band dad" Ed, the stoic drummer who keeps bumping into tech bro coworkers that he can't quite relate to. On bass, there’s Paul, a man of mostly mystery, who drinks hard and yet manages to glide through life, intelligible to no one except energy-drink–guzzling Marco, the baby of the band and newest replacement lead singer. And of course there's the gentle and serene Lillith, a weed–lollipop–sucking, stuffed-animal–backpack–wearing guitarist healing from heartbreak.
There’s sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll, sure, but there are also tender moments as the motley crew take turns behind the wheel, compiling lists of the hottest hunks and best guitar riffs to pass the miles. From tour fashion to breakdowns—mechanical and emotional—Leslie Stein holds no bars in this incredibly funny and heartfelt love letter meets parody of life on the road.
Her first full-length fiction, Brooklyn's Last Secret expertly showcases Stein’s trademark cocktail of charm, wit, and whimsey, leaving readers decidedly affected by their time spent in her world.

Leslie Stein's profile page

Leslie Stein is the creator of the books Bright-Eyed at Midnight and Present, as well as the Eye of the Majestic Creature series. Her diary comics have been featured in The New Yorker, Vice, and the Best American Comics anthology. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

An immersive odyssey featuring a cast of truly lovable characters.

Library Journal

Get ready to laugh, smile, and cry with these lovable souls as they venture onto this unforgettable musical journey!

White Wall Review

Brooklyn’s Last Secret is a warm, frequently hilarious tribute to the vagaries of the touring lifestyle, a true thing of joy.

The Tyee

The most realistic and entertaining band-on-tour story that I’ve read...Sign me up for the European tour!

Mark Ibold, Pavement

Brooklyn’s Last Secret is an extremely good time. A beautiful, dreamlike, elliptical story that is also the most accurate description of what it’s like to tour that I’ve ever read. It also made me thank god that my gigging days are over.

John Wray, Godsend and Lowboy

Brooklyn’s Last Secret [has an] undeniable reek of authenticity on every page.

Broken Frontier

Real-life rocker Stein’s insider perspective shines through in scenes of hurried sound checks, Red Bull–fuelled debates, occasional hook-ups, and road trip humor, and in how the narrative lays bare the uncertainties and loneliness of life in a roving makeshift family unit.

Publishers Weekly

Don’t feel you’ve got to be really into your music to check out Brooklyn’s Last Secret. While the props are undoubted, it’s about the people and it’s about the experience, and both resonate all the way to a perfect ending.

Slings & Arrows

If you’re in a band, read this book. If you’re not in a band, read this book. And if, for whatever reason, you’ve decided to start or join a band, I implore you, before you go any further: PLEASE. READ THIS BOOK! It’s so beautifully done, heavy on laughs, thick with heartbreak, and honestly the best depiction of band/tour life I have ever read. I feel so seen, it’s disgusting. I’m disgusted. Because it’s SO GOOD.

Tunde Adebimpe, TV on the Radio

Affectionate and wistful.

High Low

It you want, you can just read this book and skip tour. Because this is what tour is like.

Luke Jenner, The Rapture

This illustrated tale of a less-than-famous rock band on a summer bus tour is full of poignant details and not-so-definitive best-of lists.

The New Yorker

This comic acts as a love letter to pop culture, major U.S. cities, and—of course—band tours as the group experiences highs and lows, performing night after night in venues that start to blend together.

Booklist

[Brooklyn's Last Secret] serves as a guide to life on the road for bands of modest following, an experience that is gruelling, monotonous and short on rewards[...] Most noteworthy is the author's artistic technique[...] which helps to create the unusual impression that the rocking life is as innocent a profession as a musician could hope for.

Strong Words