Good Man Gone Bad: An Aaron Gunner Mystery

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Description

Hard times are nothing new for private investigator Aaron Gunner in the seventh of the acclaimed Aaron Gunner mysteries

Working on the mean streets of South Central Los Angeles, he's seen more than his fair share of trouble. But when his cousin and confidante Del Curry commits suicide after allegedly killing his wife and critically injuring their daughter Zina, Gunner knows he's about to face the hardest times of all. He doesn't buy the LAPD's version of the shooting and isn't going to wait for Zina to regain consciousness to disprove it. Whatever drove Del to take his own life---and possibly assault his wife and daughter---Gunner's going to find it, even if it means learning things about his late cousin he'll wish he never knew. But first, he has a paying case to work, proving the innocence of an Afghan War veteran accused of murder. Plagued by seering migraines and occasional fits of rage, Harper Stowe III is counting on Gunner to fill the holes in his ruined memory that make him the perfect suspect in the killing of his former employer.

With a new era of American racism and divided politics on the rise all around him, Gunner must seek the truth behind two fatal shootings now, and grieve for his beloved cousin later.

Reviews

"Good Man Gone Bad is Gar Anthony Haywoods best work yet, keeping a tight focus on Aaron Gunner and his exploration of his city and the meaning of justice. More than a mystery, this book is a mirror held up to society and the world."
Michael Connelly, New York Times-bestselling author of the Harry Bosch novels

"Mr. Haywoodthis is his seventh and best novel yet to feature Gunneris a gifted writer with a flair for description.... The two dissimilar cases confronting Gunner test the detective's confidence to the fullest. He sees himself, at his most insecure, as "a black pretend-cop working from the back of the Watts barbershop." But an abundance of tenacity, courage and resourcefulness proves a lot more valuable to Gunner and his fortunate clients than a fancy office.
Tom Nolan for Wall Street Journal "Good Man Gone Bad is Haywood in peak form, a classic hard-boiled mystery full of sly humor and street wisdombut also a surprisingly tender treatise on masculinity and the futility of violence. A page-turner as engaging as it is deep."
Attica Locke, author of Bluebird, Bluebird, Heaven, My Home, and The Cutting Season

Good Man Gone Bad is bracing, heart-wrenching fiction from Haywood, and the best in his Aaron Gunner series to date. Gunner is by now part of LA's contemporary noir canoncynical, compassionate, and tireless in his pursuit of stubborn truths. Hip and raw. Don't miss it.
T. Jefferson Parker, New York Timesbestselling author of The Last Good Guy


Praise for the Aaron Gunner Novels

"The fresh dialogue, raffish atmosphere and boldly drawn characters leave little doubt as to why Haywood's mysteries are fast becoming hard-boiled classics."
Entertainment Weekly (Page-Turner of the Week)

"Gunner yanks the sheet off the American nightmare of race, politics, and murder, L.A. style."
Acclaimed film director Spike Lee

Like the first six books in the Aaron Gunner series, this dark, brooding tale will remind readers of classic Southern California crime novelists Philip Marlowe and Ross Macdonald. Haywoods tight, no-frills prose is outstanding, and he does a fine job of developing the characters who inhabit Gunners poor side of town.
Associated Press

"solidly plotted seventh outing for the African-American L.A. PI a pleasure to read Hopefully, Gunner will be back soon.
Publishers Weekly

"A masterful mystery writer."
Chicago Tribune

"Aaron Gunner is back! And Los Angeles needs him now, more than ever. Good Man Gone Bad peels away the lies we tell each other to avoid our painful inner truthsthe most powerful kind of detective story."
Naomi Hirahara, Edgar Awardwinning author of the Mas Arai mysteries

Author Bio

Gar Anthony Haywood is the Shamus and Anthony award-winning author of twelve crime novels, including the Aaron Gunner private eye series and Joe and Dottie Loudermilk mysteries. His short fiction has been included in the Best American Mystery Stories anthologies, and Booklist has called him "a writer who has always belonged in the upper echelon of American crime fiction." Haywood has written for network television and both the New York and Los Angeles Times.