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L.A. '56
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L.A. '56 Hardcover - 2012

by Joel Engel

Los Angeles, 1956. Glamorous. Prosperous. The place to see and be seen. But beneath the shiny exterior beats a dark heart. Engel paints a tense, moody portrait of the city as a devil disguised as a cop weaves his way through the shadows.


From the publisher

Los Angeles, 1956. Glamorous. Prosperous. The place to see and be seen. But beneath the shiny exterior beats a dark heart. For when the sun goes down, L.A. becomes the noir city of James Ellroy's L.A. Confidential or Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins novels. Segregation is the unwritten law of the land. The growing black population is expected to keep to South Central. The white cops are encouraged to deal out harsh street justice. In L.A. '56, Joel Engel paints a tense, moody portrait of the city as a devil weaves his way through the shadows. While R&B and hot jazz spill out of record shops and clubs and all-night burger stands, Willie Fields cruises past in his dark green DeSoto, looking for a woman on whom he can bestow the gift of his company. His brilliant idea: Buy a tin badge in the five-and-ten to go along with his big flashlight and Luger and pretend to be an undercover vice cop. The young white girls doing it with their boyfriends in the lovers' lanes dotting the L.A. hills would never say no to a cop. Into the car they go for a ride downtown on a morals charge, before he kicks out the young man in the middle of nowhere and takes the girl for a ride she'll spend a lifetime trying to forget. There's a bad guy on the loose in the City of Angels. Enter Detective Danny Galindo-he'd worked the Black Dahlia case back in '47 as a rookie. The suave Latino-one of the few in the department-is able to move easily among the white detectives. Maybe it's all those stories he's sold to Jack Webb for Dragnet. When Todd Roark, a black ex-cop, is arrested, Galindo knows he's innocent. But there's no sympathy for Roark among the white cops on the LAPD; Galindo will have to go it alone. There's only one problem: The victims aren't coming forward. The white press ignores the story, too, making Galindo's job that much more difficult. And now he's fallen in love with one of the rapist's first victims. If he's ever found out, he can kiss his badge good-bye. With his back up against a wall, Galindo realizes that it will take some good old-fashioned Hollywood magic to take down a devil in the City of Angels.

Details

  • Title L.A. '56
  • Author Joel Engel
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition First Edition
  • Pages 306
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher St. Martins Press-3PL, New York
  • Date 2012-04-10
  • Features Dust Cover, Index, Price on Product - Canadian
  • ISBN 9780312591946 / 0312591942
  • Weight 1.04 lbs (0.47 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.49 x 6.44 x 1.08 in (24.10 x 16.36 x 2.74 cm)
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 1950-1999
    • Cultural Region: Southern California
    • Cultural Region: Western U.S.
    • Cultural Region: West Coast
    • Ethnic Orientation: African American
    • Geographic Orientation: California
    • Locality: Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2012007488
  • Dewey Decimal Code 364.153

Media reviews

Citations

  • Booklist, 04/01/2012, Page 6
  • Kirkus Reviews, 04/01/2012, Page 0
  • Publishers Weekly, 02/13/2012, Page 0

About the author

JOEL ENGEL is the author or co-author of more than fifteen books, including By George (the autobiography of George Foreman), The Oldest Rookie with Jim Morris (made into a movie starring Dennis Quaid), and most recently, What Would Martin Say? with Clarence B. Jones (Martin Luther King Jr.'s attorney). He is a former journalist for The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, among others.

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L. A. '56 : A Devil in the City of Angels
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L. A. '56 : A Devil in the City of Angels

by Engel, Joel

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L. A. '56 : A Devil in the City of Angels
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L. A. '56 : A Devil in the City of Angels

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9780312591946
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L. A. '56 : A Devil in the City of Angels
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L. A. '56 : A Devil in the City of Angels

by Engel, Joel

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L.A. '56

L.A. '56

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L.A. '56

L.A. '56

by Engel, Joel

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9780312591946
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L.A. '56: A Devil in the City of Angels
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L.A. '56: A Devil in the City of Angels

by Engel, Joel; Ratzenberger, John

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L.A. '56: A Devil in the City of Angels
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L.A. '56: A Devil in the City of Angels

by Joel Engel

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L. A. '56 : A Devil In The City Of Angels: Signed

L. A. '56 : A Devil In The City Of Angels: Signed

by Engel, Joel

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9780312591946
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0312591942
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Gordonville, VA, U.S.A.: St. Martin's Press, 2012. Book. New. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). 2nd Edition. An Outstanding Copy - Signed By The Author On The Title Page. Signature Only. A 2Nd Printing. Book Is In Fine Condition. Boards Are Clean, Not Bumped. Fore Edges Are Clean. Interior Is Clean And Legible. Not Remaindered. Dust Jacket Is In Fine Condition. Not Chipped Or Crinkled. Not Price Clipped. Dust Jacket Is Covered By Mylar Brodart. Thanks And Enjoy..
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L.A. '56: A Devil in the City of Angels
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L.A. '56: A Devil in the City of Angels

by Engel, Joel

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L.A. '56: A Devil in the City of Angels
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L.A. '56: A Devil in the City of Angels

by Engel, Joel

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ISBN 10
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