Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Haul: A Heist Novel by Gary Phillips

 

Los Angeles native Gary Phillips has been called the hardest-working man in crime fiction. He has written novels, comics, novellas, and short stories. He’s been a contributing columnist to the Los Angeles Times, LA Watts Times, Rap Pages, the San Francisco Examiner, CrimeReads, and Black Scholar. He edited the Anthony-winning anthology The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir. Almost thirty years after its publication, his debut, Violent Spring (West Coast Crime, 1994), his first book about PI Ivan Monk set in the aftermath of the 1992 riots, was named one of the essential crime novels of Los Angeles. He was also a writer and co-producer on Snowfall, a show that streamed on Hulu for 60 episodes. Taking place mostly in the 1980s, it describes the first crack epidemic in Los Angeles and its impact, particularly in South Central where Phillips grew up.

Phillips generally takes his readers to Los Angeles in mid to late 20^th century with its uncontrolled growth and social upheaval. I can always count on seeing references to the LA music scene, some of the performers who made the national stage I recognize but others are unknown to me because they remained local gems. Some of the same places and events emerge often in his work, which reminds me of the fiction of Rabbi Chaim Potok whose Depression-era childhood consistently appears in his early novels.

In The Haul (Soho, July 2026), the newest book from Phillips, O’Conner, the professional thief who first appeared in The Warlord of Willow Ridge (Dafina Books, 2012) is back, settled into a quiet middle-class life with Gwen who knows his criminal past and doesn’t particularly object. He thinks he’s retired and then someone asks him to plan the theft of several million dollars from an unscrupulous tech bro who can spare it. In his methodical planning and scheduling O’Conner reminded me of mercenary Cat Shannon as he prepared to take over a third-world country in The Dogs of War (Hutchinson & Co., 1974) by Frederick Forsyth.

With flashbacks to O’Conner’s childhood on the streets of LA, it’s easy to see how the adult O’Conner took shape. Of course plenty of mentions of LA night clubs and jazz performers sprinkled throughout the pages. There’s even a quick, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference to Harry Ingram from One-Shot Harry, Phillips’ historical crime story published in 2022 and its sequel Ash Dark as Night, (Soho, 2024).

In the afterword Phillips gives credit to Donald Westlake and Westlake’s professional thief Parker for the inspiration for this suspense-filled takedown of an apparently impenetrable facility with a sizable payday at the end. I always loved the Parker books so of course I enjoyed this one.

A Los Angeles Times Best Summer Read and a starred review from Publishers Weekly.

·         Publisher: ‎Soho Crime

·         Publication date: ‎July 14, 2026

·         Language: ‎English

·         Print length: ‎304 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎164129664X

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1641296649

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4eIKzZJ

 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Publication Day Review: Murder by Design: A Thriller by Lee Goldberg

  

Lee Goldberg’s Murder by Design: A Thriller is the first read in the new Edison Bixby series. It is also a bit weird and takes some time getting used to as the story unfolds. This is not your regular book from the author. Those who choose to stay with it will find a lot to like about the read.

 

Start with the basic idea of Sherlock Holmes and Watson. Now, make it contemporary. Now, replace Sherlock with the brilliant and often very rude, Edison Bixby. Bixby was a living legend in the LAPD. He solved murders and did it while being wealthy, eccentric, and a ton of style. He saw the world very differently. He saw a world where every crime, every human interaction, every behavior, could be traced back to the design around the person. That design of the building or whatever played a key role in whatever happened.

 

Then he took a bullet to the head. He survived the traumatic brain injury mostly intact. He still sees everything and everyone being influenced by the design of everything around them. That bullet did not take that from him. It did take his job with the LAPD and any mental filters he had. It also left him with a need for a driver and somebody to try and smooth over the ruffled feathers of others that Bixby encounters. Watson, if you will.

 

These days he solves crimes for Triax Global Insurance. He needs a driver, gopher, communicator, and everything else. He needs all that and more bundled up in his Watson.

 

Triax may have found his Watson in an actor that looking for his break in Hollywood. The guy gets auditions, even gets cast in commercials for various drugs, and then brings in his idea of the character he is playing in his role. He creates elaborate backstories and storylines for the minute or so he is on screen in a commercial. He overthinks each one to an incredible degree as he sees the world around him full of characters playing their respective roles. His elaborations tend to annoy directors and others and that results in being fired a lot. He refuses to change his behavior as he believes he is building hos craft.

 

Bixby sees the world as driven by design in very way possible. Some designs make crime easier and, in a way, encourage it. Our narrator, the actor, sees the world as a stage, literally, where everyone is at all times a player in a role. They make quite the duo and before long are working increasingly complex cases.

 

Such as the main case of the book where a person died at the mall. In theory, it is a simple slip and fall where a woman died because she became impaled on exposed rebar. Bixby is sure that it is far more than a slip and fall. He sees it as an ingenious murder and intends to solve the case.

 

Murder by Design: A Thriller is a complicated tale and far different in style, tone, and in any other way than the normal mystery read. Humor is frequently present as are descriptive explanations of how our everyday world is designed to influence our behavior in various ways. Several cases are worked in the read and there are numerous complications. It is also a read that will get you looking at your everyday world far differently. Especially if you drive by a mall.

 

Recommended.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4boFMLC

 

 

My digital ARC came from Thomas & Mercer, by way of NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: A Violent Masterpiece: A Novel by Jordan Harper

 

Jordan Harper’s newest piece of crime fiction is, like his last book, about the dark side of the entertainment industry and Los Angeles. In A Violent Masterpiece (Mulholland, 2026) three distinct voices narrate a graphic tale of grimy mayhem and amorality. Jake Deal comes alive when he livestreams the nightlife of Los Angeles to his sensation-seeking audience. Bloody crime scenes, devastating car crashes, nightclub brawls, all are grist to his mill. Of particular interest just now is a serial killer known as the LA Ripper. Kara Delgado works for a secret concierge organization that arranges for entertainment the upper crust of LA can’t buy on the open market such as, but not limited to, drugs and sex parties. She’s been quietly searching for her friend Phoebe who disappeared months earlier and has begun to fear Phoebe was a victim of the LA Ripper. Doug Gibson is a defense attorney who represents the underdog against a criminal justice system that overwhelmingly bulldozes over anyone without status or money.

One of the Hollywood elite normally supported by that system is arrested for pedophilia. The complaints have been piling up and the proof is undeniable. He hires Gibson to defend him, telling him he’s prepared to turn state’s evidence against the crowd he’s been supplying with underage girls to get a better deal for himself. Despite being on suicide watch, Gibson’s client is dead within hours of offering to rat out his friends to the authorities.

The paths of Jake, Kara, and Doug cross eventually and they realize they have common goals. They begin working together to expose the most privileged icons of Hollywood in a hair-raising and explosive resolution.

An explicit story of the worst of LA excesses, strikingly narrated in terse, mesmerizing prose. Expect to see this book on the 2026 best crime fiction lists and on multiple award nomination surveys. Starred reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.

 

·         Publisher: ‎Mulholland Books

·         Publication date: ‎April 28, 2026

·         Language: ‎English

·         Print length: ‎384 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎0316458406

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-0316458405

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/41HqcVv

 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Review: Fallen Star by Lee Goldberg

  
This comes out Tuesday...

Fallen Star by Lee Goldberg is the sixth novel in the Eve Ronin series that began in January 2020 with Lost Hills. As the author points out in his note at the beginning of the book, there are major spoilers in the read for two of his books. He does not mention the fact that there are also other spoilers for previous books, though they are not as significant as the ones he cites.

 

He also mentions in his note that reading about Duncan eating all the time in this series makes some folks hungry. He suggests that one should have some carrots or celery on hand for those moments. How eating rabbit food is going to work when Duncan is eating a breakfast sandwich and hashbrowns, a burger and fries, and other great meals is never explained. Maybe that is being saved for the next book. It could also be an unsolvable case.

 

It also comes to mind that a book that featured crime locations mentioned in the series as well as food locations that Duncan has eaten at and thereby endorsed, would also make a great book for those in the Los Angeles area. Maybe something the author and publisher should consider. Just a thought.

 

Homicide Detective Eve Ronin of the Los Angeles County Sherrif’s Department is looking forward to a quiet evening at home with her boyfriend, Daniel Brooks. That is once they get through the grocery shopping. A chore he seems to enjoy and one that she ready to have finished on this drizzly Sunday evening in early November. Pay for the stuff, get out, and get the heck home. At least that was the plan until, as they were working their way through checkout, she noticed a numerous cars swarming the parking lot.

 

There has been a string of flash-mob smash-and-grabs across the area and the beauty store next to the grocery store where they are has been hit before. Homicide Detective Ronin thinks it is about to happen again. As the hooded and masked occupants step out of the many cars and start heading for the store carrying trash bags for their planned loot, she knows she can’t stop them easily as she is far outnumbered. After getting backup started her way, she does the next best thing.

 

She proceeds to move from car to car, shooting tires along the way, making the numerous vehicles undriveable for the moment. With no way of leaving as they exited the store, short of their own two feet, a number of the thieves surrender immediately, while others attempt to flee and are soon caught.

 

Of course, in the aftermath, Eve Ronin is in trouble yet again as her actions violated numerous policies. It is not the first time her actions have violated policies. She also didn’t see any other way to stop the thefts from happening and it got the job done.

 

(It also caused this reader to laugh out loud like crazy.)

 

Suspended, and probably facing a quick termination and the end of her career, she is quickly returned to duty by Sheriff Richard Lansing. A political animal and a mayoral candidate, the optics of what she did can’t be ignored. Videos of her actions went viral and the people of Los Angeles are expressing how thrilled they are with what she did. For a department that has been through some things, Eve Ronin is again generating good publicity, and they need it.

 

That means she is back at work that Monday morning when a fifty-five-gallon plastic drum was pulled onshore at the Malibu Lagoon. Once he got it on shore and out of the way, the lifeguard went and opened the drum. What he found means that Homicide Detective Eve Ronin and her partner, Duncan “Donuts” Pavone have a murder case. This is the first of several deaths and other cases they will handle in Fallen Star by Lee Goldberg.

 

The latest installment in this series is another very good read. It contains numerous references to previous books in this series as well as events in the Sharpe and Walker series and both the arson investigators are well involved here. As a result, if you are like me and have read all the material, you are ready for this one. If you have not, make sure you read this series, at the very least, before embarking here.

 

A great book in a great series, Fallen Star by Lee Goldberg, is definitely worth your time.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4ltUWlm

 

 

 

My digital ARC reading copy came from the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

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Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Fields Where They Lay by Timothy Hallinan

Timothy Hallinan has given the mystery reading world three distinctly different and very good series. The first is about Simeon Grist, a private investigator in Los Angeles, the second is set in Bangkok where Hallinan lives part time, and the third returns to Los Angeles, home of Junior Bender, a professional thief and occasional private investigator.

Fields Where They Lay (Soho, 2016), Junior’s sixth adventure, finds him in thrall to a member of the Los Angeles underworld, as he is so often. A Russian mobster with the unlikely name of Tip Poindexter is the sole owner of a rundown shopping mall in suburban Los Angeles. He decides it takes a thief to catch a thief so he strongarms Junior into determining who is responsible for the rampant shoplifting in his mall. The monthly loss reports are staggering but the store owners have not identified a single bandit or a group of thieves.

When Junior discusses security measures with each shop owner, he learns that most of them do not expect to stay open after the holiday rush. Several storefronts are already vacant and Junior is struck by how worn the facility appears, despite the throng of shoppers intent on spending their money. Among the vacancies is the only major department store that closed at the end of the previous holiday season. The loss of the anchor tenant pushed the mall even closer to the brink of failure.

While Junior is looking for mall exits that are not under surveillance of the security cameras, which is how he assumes the loot is leaving, he examines the dark upper floors of the shuttered department store and stumbles on the body of one of the shop owners. He has no alternative but to call the police, the last thing Poindexter or Junior wants. In no time Junior’s assignment expands to finding the killer.

The fading of the shopping mall phenomenon is captured perfectly here, as is the hollow desperation of the holiday commercial frenzy. The operational side of a mall is explored, similar to Silvermeadow by Barry Maitland (Orion Publishing, 2000), the reader is taken behind the scenes to regions not usually thought of by bargain hunters. Junior’s cynicism is always front and center but never quite overwhelms his essential humanity, which is the nicest thing about him. Junior’s ex-wife and only child occupy a lot of his focus in every book; this time Junior has also acquired a girlfriend. It’s easy to forget about the mystery while Junior’s personal life and his trenchant observations about the season’s consumerism are so entertaining but Junior gets to the bottom of both the murder and the shoplifting in a thoroughly unexpected manner.

Starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, and Library Journal. A Kirkus Best Book of 2016 and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2016.

 

 

·         Publisher: ‎Soho Crime; First Edition (October 25, 2016)

·         Language: ‎English

·         Hardcover: ‎384 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎1616957468

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1616957469

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4gnc09X

  

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2024 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

SleuthSayers: Los Angeles - The Novels by Michael Mallory

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Lesa's Book Critiques: DREAM TOWN BY LEE GOLDBERG

 Lesa's Book Critiques: DREAM TOWN BY LEE GOLDBERG

Review: Dream Town (Eve Ronin Book Five) by Lee Goldberg

 

As Dream Town by Lee Goldberg begins, Eve Ronin is living a nightmare. She made a bargain with the devil and now the reality has hit as she is being forced to watch how a film crew is handling her real life recent past. She is the youngest homicide detective in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and is on scene where an incident involving her took place.

 

If that is not bad enough, her estranged father, Vince Nyby, is the director. He wants back in her life and one way is by manipulating their every encounter. Of course, her mom is also good at that and has a minor role in the first episode. Eve Ronin wanted nothing to do with any of this, but at least this way, she has some say as to how this fictionalized life of her is portrayed.

 

Her partner, Duncan “Donuts” Pavone is on set with her as he decided not to retire just yet. He also is his own one-man crime wave on the catering provided on set. He is enjoying the food as well as Ronin’s disgust with the trappings of Hollywood.

 

Soon they leave and are headed back to their station, Lost Hills, when Pavone takes a phone call from Captain Mel Dubois. He recently took over and the fact he is calling Pavone directly means something is up. Pavone soon explains that Dubois called because somebody was out hiking with his dogs in the nearby upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve and the dogs found what appear to be human bones. The land was a ranch at one time and now is a state park. The open space is also a vital wildlife corridor that links the Santa Monica Mountains to other mountain ranges to the north.

 

Somebody from their forensics department, Nas Baker, is already on scene as she was summoned from a nearby subdivision where she was working another unrelated case. She believes the bones are human, but they are going to need anthropologist. Good thing Dr. Daniel Brooks is also around and can take a look.

 

If the bones are human, it could be related to gang activity. Such gang activity is a known problem and one that leads to body dumps in relatively isolated places. That could be what happened here as Dr. Brooks has quickly determined that the dogs found two leg bones and that death was about two years ago. He also has determined that both leg bones are left ones. That means they have at least two victims. He also believes that both were probably male. Since the dogs were running free of their leashes while the owner stood some distance away where he could not see them, the bones could have come from anywhere nearby making the area to be searched massive. Finding the rest is going to take some time.

 

Between that crime scene and being assigned to the filming locations for the first episode of the new series on her life, as well as the aftereffects of events in Movieland and moving into her new house, Ronin has a lot going on. But, this is Los Angeles and that means when a celeb is killed, she as the celebrity homicide detective, is going to handle the case.

 

She gets the early morning before dawn phone call, Kitty Winslow was murdered at her home in the compound in Hidden Hills. Fortunately, Ronin’s new house is just minutes away and she quickly arrives on scene. One of the stars of the reality television show, Life with the Winslows, the group is rich thanks to dad, Caleb Winslow, being a star of various westerns. Like other such “reality” shows, nearly all of what is portrayed is fake and heavily orchestrated thanks to script writers and others. Now the major star of the show is dead and Ronin and Pavone have yet another case to deal with.

 

This latest in the Eve Ronin series is another good one. Many moving parts are in play here in this complex police procedural that pulls the reader along at a rapid pace. So too is the occasional flash of humor or sardonic whit as a character comments on the players and the myths that Hollywood spins for our viewing pleasure.

 

As always, one could start here, but like any good series that builds on itself, it is best to start from the beginning. In this case, begin with Lost Hills and work your way forward. You will be glad you did. Doing so will also make Dream Town an even more lively and entertaining read than it already is. 

Make sure you read Lesa Holstine's review today as well.

For some reason, the Amazon Associate image box no longer works, even on posts like this one, that were set up weeks ago. So, please go here to pick it up.

 

My reading copy was an ARC from the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, via NetGalley.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023

Review: Everybody Knows: A Novel by Jordan Harper

 

Mae Pruett lives in Los Angeles and does “black-bag” publicity jobs for a crisis management firm in Everybody Knows: A Novel by Jordan Harper. Her job is to keep bad news out of the press at all costs or, at the very least, spin the event or incident into more positive news coverage. Her firm shapes the news we see for celebrities. The real facts of the situations, the dirt and what Hollywood does to all involved, especially the kid stars, stays hidden from view.

That is until her boss at Mitnick & Associates is killed in the street in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Mae Pruett was supposed to be meeting him for a drink and to talk. Lucky for her, she was running a few minutes late. So, she missed the shooting in what is now being billed as an attempted carjacking gone wrong. Mae can read between the lines and knows the media story being pushed hard is utter nonsense. She knows because what to look for and who is reporting the stuff. She also knows because Dan was being weird just before he was killed and had some sort of plan to make him and her rich.

She owed Dan for bringing her into the biggest PR firm in the city. She wonders why the machine is working so hard to spin the story. She wonders what he was planning that got him killed. What was he planning? What did he know? She has a couple of ideas and begins to dig. What she finds is the kind of stuff that gives one a waking nightmare if they are not murdered first.

A lot of people will be as Mae uncovers secrets and desperately tries to stay alive.

Everybody Knows is a darkly cynical read and a commentary on pop culture and the entertainment industry. It is a complex and noir style mystery tale where evil almost always wins out in the end simply because so many are employed to make sure that happens. It is also one of those books that one wonders how many names have been changed to protect the scumbags among us?

It is also one heck of a complicated read that is well worth your time. Everybody Knows: A Novel easily makes my top five book list of reads so far this year. It packs quite a punch from from beginning to end. It might also make you think twice the next time you see a story on a celebrity.

 

My reading copy came from the Central or Downtown Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023

The Hard Word: CITY OF FEW ANGELS: A REVIEW OF JORDAN HARPER'S EVERYBODY KNOWS

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Review: Movieland (Eve Ronin Book Four) by Lee Goldberg

While my review previously appeared here in late April thanks to an ARC via NetGalley, today is publication day for this fourth book in a great series, so I am reminding you of it. Make sure you check out Lesa Holstine's review. 

 

It is April as Movieland begins and Sheriff’s Department Detectives Eve Ronin and Duncan “Donuts” Pavone are dispatched to Malibu Creek State Park on a homicide call. A scenic location used by both movies and television programs over the decades, it is now the scene of at least one murder with a second victim in critical condition.

 

The survivor is Zena Faust, a well-known local writer and activist blogger who is a harsh critic of the Sheriff’s Department, developers, and politicians of all types, as well as others who deserve her attention. She has been hit by a shotgun blast and very seriously wounded. Somehow, she managed to crawl out of the nearby pond and get herself to where a couple found her and called for help. Zena’s girlfriend, Kim, took the brunt of a shotgun blast and is very much dead. Zena’s anguish over the death will turn to rage when she realizes that they were not the first targets of a maniac.

 

Somebody has been shooting at things as well as people. This is the sixth shooting that Duncan knows about as he was working the case months ago before Eve Ronin moved to the Lost Hills Station. Political issues with those running the Park as well as elected officials have kept most of the cases quiet because of fears of scaring away tourists. Duncan tried to pursue things internally, but got stonewalled by the upper brass.

 

Now what Duncan suspected and long feared has happened. They have a dead woman and one gravely injured thanks to the shotgun sniper back at work after a long hiatus. Unfortunately, those running the park and those at the top levels of the Sheriff’s Department are far more concerned with politics and keeping things quiet, than actually solving the case.

 

They forgot to factor in a blogger who is not going to let the death of her friend go off the front pages and vanish from the media cycle. They also never considered what Detective Eve Ronin will do, with and without the steadying guidance of her partner who has decades on the job.  

 

Movieland is the fourth book in this very good series that began with Lost Hills and is another fine installment. Politics, inside and outside the department, continues to play a significant role as does the ongoing hatred of Eve by some in her own department. Those two issues, which are almost main characters in their own right, is part of an intense mix that features a complicated murder case that has links to many other cases and situations. A complex and engrossing read, Movieland, is highly recommended as are the previous books in the series. Best to read in order. 

 

The books in the series and my reviews are:

Lost Hills (February 2020)

Bone Canyon (March 2021)

Gated Prey (December 2021)

  

My reading copy was an ARC via NetGalley. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2022

Review: Movieland (Eve Ronin in Book Four) by Lee Goldberg

It is April as Movieland begins and Sheriff’s Department Detectives Eve Ronin and Duncan “Donuts” Pavone are dispatched to Malibu Creek State Park on a homicide call. A scenic location used by both movies and television programs over the decades, it is now the scene of at least one murder with a second victim in critical condition.

 

The survivor is Zena Faust, a well-known local writer and activist blogger who is a harsh critic of the Sheriff’s Department, developers, and politicians of all types, as well as others who deserve her attention. She has been hit by a shotgun blast and very seriously wounded. Somehow, she managed to crawl out of the nearby pond and get herself to where a couple found her and called for help. Zena’s girlfriend, Kim, took the brunt of a shotgun blast and is very much dead. Zena’s anguish over the death will turn to rage when she realizes that they were not the first targets of a maniac.

 

Somebody has been shooting at things as well as people. This is the sixth shooting that Duncan knows about as he was working the case months ago before Eve Ronin moved to the Lost Hills Station. Political issues with those running the Park as well as elected officials have kept most of the cases quiet because of fears of scaring away tourists. Duncan tried to pursue things internally, but got stonewalled by the upper brass.

 

Now what Duncan suspected and long feared has happened. They have a dead woman and one gravely injured thanks to the shotgun sniper back at work after a long hiatus. Unfortunately, those running the park and those at the top levels of the Sheriff’s Department are far more concerned with politics and keeping things quiet, than actually solving the case.

 

They forgot to factor in a blogger who is not going to let the death of her friend go off the front pages and vanish from the media cycle. They also never considered what Detective Eve Ronin will do, with and without the steadying guidance of her partner who has decades on the job.  

 

Movieland is the fourth book in this very good series and is another fine installment. Politics, inside and outside the department, continues to play a significant role as does the ongoing hatred of Eve by some in her own department. Those two issues, which are almost main characters in their own right, is part of an intense mix that features a complicated murder case that has links to many other cases and situations. A complex and engrossing read, Movieland, is highly recommended as are the previous books in the series. Best to read in order.

 

Movieland is currently scheduled to be released on June 21, 2022. My reading copy was an ARC via NetGalley. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2022

Review: Gated Prey by Lee Goldberg

As the third book in the series, Gated Prey, begins, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Eve Ronin and her partner, Duncan Pavone, are working undercover out of a house in Calabasas. The house is a McMansion type of deal to fit their roles of beautiful trophy wife/girlfriend and rich old man. There have been numerous attacks on homeowners behind the gates of their exclusive communities so the undercover operation is important. Duncan, who is weeks away from retiring, plays his part to the hilt thanks to his do clothing and the walker he uses to shuffle around in public as he flashes cash. The plan is to get the take down the three-armed home invasion robbers who have been conducting their own increasingly violent redistribution of wealth campaign.

 

The plan works…and almost gets Eve and Duncan killed in the line of duty.

 

When the carnage stops and the smoke clears, Eve and Duncan soon realize that the failure of backup officers to arrive on time could have been far more than accidental. Being the youngest detective as well as how Eve goes about things could have had deadly consequences. That ongoing resentment and internal threat has not gone away either.

 

Then there is the case itself. Dead suspects tell no tales and Eve and Duncan are left still looking for answers regarding how the armed robbers came and went from gated communities, what they did with stuff they stole, and many other questions.  It also becomes clear that these guys were working at the behest of at least one person who has yet to be identified.

 

Completely ignored on the book jacket copy is the second case which involves a fetal abduction. Called out on what appears to be a still birth due to a late term miscarriage, it soon becomes clear that something far more horrible is going on. Little can be said about this case without creating spoilers, but readers should be are aware of the topic as this will be triggering for some readers. Parts of this case was tough to read.

 

Overall, Gated Prey by Lee Goldberg is an enjoyable police procedural that continues to build on the foundation laid by Lost Hills and Bone Canyon. This remains a series that should be read in order. The complicated backstory to the Eve Ronin character as well as her previous actions in earlier cases are repeatedly referenced as this read moves forward. Not quite at the same level of the previous book as this one reads differently in an unexplainable way, Gated Prey by Lee Goldberg is still very much worth your time as is the series.

 

Make sure you read Lesa Holstine’s more descriptive review.

 

My reading copy in print format came from the Lochwood Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2021

Review: The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly

Detectives Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch return in The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly. It is New Year’s Eve and as 2020 ends LAPD Detective Renée Ballard and Detective Lisa Moore of the Hollywood Division Sexual Assault Unit are unhappily partnered together and parked under the concrete lanes of the Cahuenga overpass. Moore is grumbling, but Ballard has been on tactical alert for NYE before and knows parking under this overpass is one of the safest places to be as celebratory gunfire rains down.

 

After the fireworks and the gunfire finally ends, they get a call to respond to a nearby shooting near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street. Back in the day, it was where day labors were picked up to work as extras in Westerns. These days, a faded shopping plaza sits on the spot with walled off studio lots nearby. Across the street is a string of auto repair shops and aging apartment complexes. It is the gang territory of Las Palmas 13 and they will soon learn that their victim was once in the Las Palmas 13.

 

Many years ago, Javier Raffa, bought his way out of the gang. In the here and now, he was owner of an auto body shop. Each year for NYE, he would throw a neighborhood party and put out a keg for all. The headshot he took this night means he won’t be around to host another. The headshot was also clearly not because of a round coming back to earth.

 

Somebody executed Raffa at close range and did it while everyone else in the crowd was looking skyward. Even more interesting, the bullet involved traces back to a cold case of one Detective Harry Bosch. While he is even more of a hot potato due to his recent actions, there is no option but to reach out to Bosch and discuss the situation. She needs his help and has to get it as quietly as possible in order not to totally destroy her own career.

 

At the same time, it is also clear that Moore is going to be zero help, at best, and a definite hindrance at worst. The two are paired as part of the hunt for a pair of serial rapists known as the “Midnight Men.” The horrible attitude expressed in so many ways by Moore reflects the ongoing malaise affecting many in the LAPD. Moral is in the toilet that to the protests, the pandemic, and various other factors that getting Moore and many other officers to do more than the minimum is problematic. So, basically, Ballard is on her own on the rape case and is pretty much on her own on the murder case because using Bosch comes with limits and severe consequences.

 

But, like Bosch, Ballard only knows one way to do the job. Screw the politics, build cases, and get the bad folks off the street. What follows is an intense police procedural that works by the way of several different storylines. Multiple cases and other matters are slowly brought together in a read with a powerful ending. One would expect nothing else from the author and he more than delivers in The Dark Hours.

  

The Dark Hours

Michael Connelly

https://www.michaelconnelly.com/

Little, Brown and Company

https://www.littlebrown.com/titles/michael-connelly/the-dark-hours/9780316256568/

November 2021

ISBN# 978-0-316-48564-7

Hardback (also currently available in audio and eBook formats)

400 Pages

 

My reading copy came from the Downtown Branch of the Dallas Public Library System. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2021