Editorial Content for A Violent Masterpiece
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
A word to the wise: Before picking up Jordan Harper's latest thriller, you're going to want to clear some room on your calendar. It's a propulsive, driving read, despite the recurring theme of getting caught in traffic at the worst possible moments.
This is Los Angeles, after all, and A VIOLENT MASTERPIECE is very much an LA novel. Each of its chapters --- written from the point of view of one of three characters --- is subtitled with the name of the LA neighborhood or neighborhoods where the action takes place. And despite the traffic, these people get around, traversing the city's various socioeconomic strata --- from those who are easily displaced to those who have enough power and wealth that they can't possibly be budged from the pinnacle of society, no matter how shockingly bad their behavior.
"A VIOLENT MASTERPIECE is, as the title suggests, not for the faint of heart.... Fans of intricately plotted crime noir are not going to want to miss this one. In his fourth novel, Harper just keeps getting better."
One of those people is Eric Algar, a TV producer whose penchant for pedophilia has been an open secret for years. He finally (and somewhat shockingly) has landed in jail and has requested to be represented by Doug Gibson, a defense lawyer who advertises his services on billboards and bus stops and whose clients tend to be those on the fringes of society --- from undocumented immigrants to small-time criminals busted for drug crimes. During his initial meeting with his new client, Algar hints that he has been collecting damning information on the sick crimes secretly committed by a vast network of Hollywood's elite, and he's ready to spill the beans. But then he turns up dead in his jail cell.
Jake Deal used to work for a Hollywood gossip site and is now a professional live streamer who feeds the followers of “The Creepy Crawl” with graphic crime-scene footage and tours of murder sites. Lately, he and his followers have become increasingly interested in a potential serial killer popularly known as the LA Ripper. A number of young women who share certain physical characteristics have been murdered in their homes. Even if the LAPD isn't officially calling their deaths the work of a serial killer, the Creepy Crawlers are convinced otherwise.
Kara Delgado is also interested in the LA Ripper, but the quest is personal for her. A few months ago, Kara’s best friend, Phoebe, vanished, and she has evidence that her disappearance came as the result of a shady security company's "deep clean" after a violent crime. Phoebe, who worked with Kara at an elite concierge service tasked with getting the uber wealthy everything from illicit drugs to sex workers, looked much like the Ripper's other victims. But as far as the LAPD is concerned, she might as well never have existed. Kara is determined not to let her be forgotten.
The three narratives gradually converge and then collide, as each person utilizes his or her own connections and perspectives to get to the bottom of the rot at the core of LA's Hollywood elite. And that bottom is deep and dark indeed. As one character says, “The weapon is the true American art form. The revolver, the machine gun, the nuclear bomb --- all of them invented by American men. We are descended from geniuses of death. This country is a violent masterpiece. It can never be anything else."
As these characters come closer to understanding the extent of the depravity at the heart of the novel, the question arises: Is it possible, when it comes to men like this, to mete out justice without resorting to violence? The answer, in Harper's dark vision, is a firm no.
A VIOLENT MASTERPIECE is, as the title suggests, not for the faint of heart. Its final section is entitled “Brutal Graphic Tragic,” and that about sums it up. But the book is also punctuated by moments of connection and compassion, and it's consistently infused with a love and admiration for Los Angeles, despite its profound problems and contradictions. Fans of intricately plotted crime noir are not going to want to miss this one. In his fourth novel, Harper just keeps getting better.
Teaser
Los Angeles, right now. America with its back up against the wall. This Frankenstein's monster of crimes and lurid dreams sewn together into something like a city. A city ready to explode: A Hollywood pedophile is arrested, and he is ready to tear down the city to get his freedom. A young woman goes missing --- and men in black rubber gloves who look like cops clean out her apartment in the middle of the night. And the serial killer known as the LA Ripper is on the loose, leaving tragic/graphic/brutal crime scenes in his wake. Three people trying to keep their heads above the dirty water will find themselves coming together to unite these strands into one enormous, unspeakable crime.
Promo
Los Angeles, right now. America with its back up against the wall. This Frankenstein's monster of crimes and lurid dreams sewn together into something like a city. A city ready to explode: A Hollywood pedophile is arrested, and he is ready to tear down the city to get his freedom. A young woman goes missing --- and men in black rubber gloves who look like cops clean out her apartment in the middle of the night. And the serial killer known as the LA Ripper is on the loose, leaving tragic/graphic/brutal crime scenes in his wake. Three people trying to keep their heads above the dirty water will find themselves coming together to unite these strands into one enormous, unspeakable crime.
About the Book
The next epic crime novel from Jordan Harper, a story of Los Angeles power brokers and those at the edge, and a single shattering incident that threatens to bring it all crashing down.
Los Angeles, right now. America with its back up against the wall. This Frankenstein's monster of crimes and lurid dreams sewn together into something like a city.
A city ready to explode: A Hollywood pedophile is arrested, and he is ready to tear down the city to get his freedom. A young woman goes missing --- and men in black rubber gloves who look like cops clean out her apartment in the middle of the night. And the serial killer known as the LA Ripper is on the loose, leaving tragic/graphic/brutal crime scenes in his wake. Three people trying to keep their heads above the dirty water will find themselves coming together to unite these strands into one enormous, unspeakable crime.
Jake Deal is a gonzo live-streaming nightcrawler, beaming the city's chaos straight to his audience of blood-hungry subscribers, giving them the view from the top of the mushroom cloud --- until a job he can't refuse drags him back into his old life of Hollywood glamour, drugs, sex and sleaze. Armed with cameras and hidden mics, he'll infiltrate private clubs, gather high-class dirt --- and stumble onto a conspiracy woven into the center of LA's most powerful men, who call themselves "The Kids in the Candy Store."
Doug Gibson is a street lawyer, who fights for his clients against the army of cops, prosecutors and judges --- he is the knife they bring to the gunfight. But when he's hired by a Hollywood pedophile ready to sell out his friends for a chance for freedom, he'll take on a fight bigger than he could have imagined. And when his client "commits suicide" in prison, Gibson will have to stop being a weapon --- and become a warrior.
Kara Delgado works for an underground private concierge company --- a make-a-wish foundation for the terminally rich. She scores drugs, makes connections, and plans multi-million dollar sex parties. She has learned the secret truth of this world: there are no rules, only prices. Her best friend, Phoebe, has gone missing, and Kara is the only person who knows that Phoebe's place was wiped clean of evidence by men in black rubber gloves. But when she begins to unravel the mystery of what happened to Phoebe, and its connection to the killer known as the LA Ripper, it will drag her into the dark heart of the city.
As Jake, Doug and Kara all investigate these crimes, they'll encounter ketamine-addled sitcom stars, bloody riots, homeless gangsters, a killer cop on death row, secret vaults in Beverly Hills, tech-bro orgies, medical cannibals, true crime junkies, private security wet-work teams, reality shows, street takeovers, car chases, coyotes, a sadistic Tarzan, and a three-day, 50 million dollar wedding, before everything is revealed and they must each make their choice about how to fight back in this violent world before the bloody, blazing conclusion.
Audiobook available; read by Peter Giles, Christine Lakin and Rama Vallury
