Violent Spring

(Paperback)

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Description

In 1992, Los Angeles burned. In the aftermath of the Rodney King beating and subsequent riots, a ground-breaking ceremony at the infamous intersection of Florence and Normandie unearths the body of a Korean shop owner. Black private eye Ivan Monk searches for the killer-many suspect the motives for the murder were racial. But then another body turns up, and while the FBI and the Rolling Daltons-the largest gang in the city-dog Monk's trail, Monk begins to question just how many people will be involved, and how many will die before he can find the truth. The mystery that launched Gary Phillips's career- Black private eye Ivan Monk investigates the murder of a Korean shop owner in the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. This reissued edition features an introduction by Walter Mosley. In 1992, Los Angeles burned. In the aftermath of the Rodney King beating and subsequent riots, a ground-breaking ceremony at the infamous intersection of Florence and Normandie unearths the body of a Korean shop owner. Black private eye Ivan Monk searches for the killer-many suspect the motives for the murder were racial. But then another body turns up, and while the FBI and the Rolling Daltons-the largest gang in the city-dog Monk's trail, Monk begins to question just how many people will be involved, and how many will die before he can find the truth.

Reviews

Praise for Violent Spring

In the tradition of Dashiell Hammetts Continental Op, Ivan Monk takes on a corrupt world . . . He makes us feel that the war hes wagering is for our own salvation.
Walter Mosley, creator of the Easy Rawlins series

A landmark novel set during and after the 1992 L.A. riots.
The New York Times Book Review

A crime classic.
The Washington Post

"Violent Spring peels away the studded rind of the golden orange, exposing its bte noir core.
Mike Davis, author of City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles

Tough, smart, and unabashedly political. Monk is (to paraphrase basketball star Charles Barkley) a P.I. for the 90s, and Violent Spring is Philippss perfect intro to him.
Gar Anthony Haywood, author of the Aaron Gunner mysteries

Author Bio

Gary Phillips has published novels, comics, novellas, short stories and edited or co-edited several anthologies, including the Anthony-winning The Obama Inheritance- Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir. Almost 30 years after its publication, his debut, Violent Spring, was named one of the essential crime novels of Los Angeles. He also was a story editor on Snowfall, an FX show about crack and the CIA in 1980s South Central, where he grew up.