Always Running Luis J. Rodriguez This book is L.A. canon as far as I’m concerned. A thrilling, moving, poetic, and ultimately human memoir of redemption from a young gang member growing up in East L.A. In fact, this was actually one of the books recommended to me by a former gang member I met in…
Southland Nina Revoyr I’m a big fan of stories driven by unexpected detectives: characters drafted in from other walks of life who happen to have a particular emotional or familial stake in figuring out who is to blame for a crime. Jackie Ishida, law student, is one such character. Very few writers explore the varied…
Kung Fu High School by Ryan Gattis is an ultraviolent dystopian satire―a darkly comic, gleefully graphic, barbaric opera about loyalty, survival, and the horrors of high school (available September 19, 2017). High school is brutal, but Jen B. has learned to pick her battles. Except the first one―that one is mandatory. At the Good Reverend Doctor…
Safe by Ryan Gattis is a gritty, fast-paced thriller that hurtles readers toward a shocking conclusion that asks the toughest question of all: How far would you go to protect the ones you love? (Available August 1, 2017.) Ricky ‘Ghost’ Mendoza, Jr. is trying to be good. In recovery and working as a freelance safecracker for…
