Goodbye L.A.: (3 The Ben Crandel Mysteries)

A screenwriter stage dives into L.A.'s punk rock scene to find a missing reporter as Sinclair mixes "hard-edged realism . . . [and] humor" in a "fine" novel (Gerald Petievich, author of To Live and Die in L.A.). Four years ago, when Capt. George Steifer charged screenwriter Ben Crandel with murder, it didn't look like the beginning of a beautiful friendship. But Hollywood makes strange bedfellows, and now the cop has come to his writer pal for help. A Los Angeles Times reporter named Elise Reilly disappeared two weeks ago while investigating a story on the punk rock scene. Steifer has been trying to find her with the help of a spiky-haired informant who just ended up shot point-blank in the bathroom of a punk club--and now the cop is losing it. It turns out he buried the lead: He's in love with Elise. Ben has lost his own loved one to the punk scene, in a way. His now fifteen-year-old adopted son, Petey, is the lead singer in a group called Claustrophobic--and apparently that's how he felt about living at home. But at least Petey left a note: He's off to pursue his punk pipe dream and Ben's left with his basset hound, Stanley, for company. In pursuit of Elise, Ben and Steifer rush headlong into a veritable mosh pit of neo-Nazis and religious fanatics, where one wrong move could get them trampled. As they uncover a stockpile of weapons and an assassination plot, they frantically search for a connection to the reporter's whereabouts . . . "Sinclair has the unique ability to dish out hard-edged realism with--believe it or not--a touch of humor. Goodbye L.A. is a fine piece." --Gerald Petievich, author of To Live and Die in L.A.

About the Author :
Murray Sinclair is best known for his Ben Crandel series, a trio of Los Angeles-based mystery novels set in the criminal underworld of late-1980s Hollywood. The first in the series, Tough Luck L.A., was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original; the third, Goodbye L.A., was among the few new publications from Black Lizard Books, the legendary crime fiction reissue press whose selections are widely regarded as hardboiled canon. A California native, Sinclair lives and works in Los Angeles, where he practices law.