- Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
- Available in: Kindle, Paperback, Audible
- ISBN: 978-1482344387
- Published: July 16, 2013
Sexy, platinum blonde movie siren, Gertrude Hurd had it all-fame, men, and riches. But now she was dead. A fallen angel, whose broken body and tarnished halo was lying on a hillside behind her beach front cafe. It’s 1931, and private detective Tom Logan is back, once again immersed in a perplexing mystery, that has him racing against time to track down a merciless killer. As the body count grows, so do the suspects, as his investigation soon has him bucking against corrupt city officials, the mob, and the Hollywood studio system. Packed with mystery, action, romance, humor, and characters you won’t easily forget, this fantastic sequel delivers everything promised from the first novel and more. A Murder Amongst Angels is an nostalgic, hard-boiled detective mystery that takes readers back to the era of Chandler and Hammett, while creating a niche all its own.
From Kirkus Reviews
Los Angeles detective Tom Logan investigates the death of a troubled movie starlet in this sequel, his second noir set during Hollywood’s golden age.
It’s 1931, and the City of Angels is in the midst of its most celebrated period: the studio era, which isn’t always kind to young actresses or honest cops. After ruffling too many feathers during a high-profile case, Logan, a no-nonsense gumshoe full of snark, was forced to resign from the LAPD. With Logan now a private eye, one of his newest clients turns into a beautiful corpse overnight—as pretty girls are wont to do in hard-boiled murder mysteries. A security guard discovers the body of Gertrude Hurd, a platinum blonde in the mold of Marilyn Monroe, on the steps outside her Malibu apartment. Logan initially fingers local mob boss Armando Scaparetti, one of Gertie’s many ex-boyfriends; after all, just a few days before her death, she came to Logan looking for protection from the infamous gangster with ties to the movie studios. But in author Piazza’s (The Curse of the Crimson Dragon, 2012, etc.) fresh spin, prime suspect Scaparetti then hires the detective himself to solve the mystery. Aided by his plucky secretary-turned-girlfriend, Rita, and the nearly unintelligible Irish police officer Red Clancy, Logan uncovers Gertie’s secret life behind the camera, including drugs, seedy male acquaintances and romantic rivals. As the web of suspects widens and the evidence of corruption rises all the way up to City Hall, another dead body appears. Earnest and dutiful, the narrative aims for the minimalist prose of Raymond Chandler but often channels the overly procedural narrator of noir B-movies. And though more concerned with nostalgia than invention, the plot hits the right notes as it crescendos toward a well-orchestrated coda.
A sentimental caper that mostly follows the genre formula, with a few refreshingly original flourishes.