The Biggest Liar in Los Angeles: A California Century Mystery
The Biggest Liar in Los Angeles: A California Century Mystery (Google eBook)
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Availability: Immediate DownloadDescription
In 1926, when musician Tom Hickey reads a broadside about a lynching the Los Angeles newspapers failed to report and discovers the Negro victim was an old friend, he goes to his neighbor, LAPD detective Leo Weiss. Leo confirms that, officially, the lynching didn't occur. Tom has a dance orchestra to lead and a wild younger sister to raise. Yet he decides to investigate the murder. Since the lynching occurred in Echo Park, across the street from evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson's Angelus Temple, he goes there looking for clues. There he is greeted and watched by an usher who follows him after the service and continues to shadow him daily. The investigation earns Tom beatings and gunfire meant to dissuade him. Leo, a speakeasy owner, and a Klansman all warn him that he's made formidable enemies. Among them may be infamous Police Chief Two Gun Davis, Examiner publisher and political heavyweight William Randolph Hearst, and Times owner Harry Chandler. When Tom discovers the key to the murder, it lies-as is too often the case-close to home.
About the Author
Ken Kuhlken’s novels have been honored as finalist for the Ernest Hemingway Award for best first novel, won the Private Eye Writers of America/St. Martin’s Press Best First Novel competition, and been chosen as a finalist for the Shamus Best Novel Award. His California Century novels, featuring detective Tom Hickey and sons, are: The Loud Adios (1943), The Venus Deal (1942),The Angel Gang (1949), The Do-Re-Mi (1971), The Vagabond Virgins (1979), and coming in May 2010, The Biggest Liar in Los Angeles (1926).
Praise for The Biggest Liar in Los Angeles: A California Century Mystery…
“A nicely orchestrated rescue set in simpler times, with sturdy prose, nonstop action, and steady suspense.” –Library Journal of The Angel Gang “Kuhlken brings the social and cultural scene of the period vividly to life.” – Publisher’s Weekly of The Do-Re-Mi
"Kuhlken mixes historical and fictional characters with an ease that will remind many of Max Allan Collins's Nate Heller series (True Crime , etc.). He's equally adept at melding the murder inquiry with Hickey's struggles with his dysfunctional family." --Publisher's Weekly
"Kuhlken demonstrates his command of keeping a story moving with a meticulously thought-out plot while populating it with believable characters. Fans of Les Roberts's Saxon novels will enjoy this title for its similar L.A. ambience. It will also appeal to readers interested in early 20th-century California history." --Library Journal
"...readers will enjoy this fast-paced historical amateur sleuth mystery." --Midwest Book Review
