  | Book Details Title: Lost Hills (Eve Ronin) |
Book DescriptionReview An Amazon Best Book of the Month: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense“An energetic, resourceful procedural starring a heroine who deserves a series of her own.” —Kirkus Reviews“This nimble, sure-footed series launch from bestseller Goldberg…builds to a thrilling, visually striking climax. Readers will cheer Ronin every step of the way.” —Publishers Weekly“A cop novel so good it makes much of the old guard read like they’re going through the motions until they can retire…the real appeal here is Goldberg’s lean prose, which imbues just-the-facts procedure with remarkable tension and cranks up to a stunning description of a fire that was like ‘Christmas in hell.’” —Booklist“A veteran writer of countless mystery series…Lee Goldberg’s taut Lost Hills…shines a light on the lesser-known SoCal crime-fighting agency. He excels at employing realistic forensics, ratcheting up the department’s political tensions and using the region’s real-life wildfires in climatic scenes while leavening the proceedings with just the right amount of cop humor…” —Los Angeles Times“Goldberg brings out the best of the growing genre of crime in the Los Angeles arena. The landscape and the atmosphere of the region play a key role in making this novel a success. Eve Ronin makes a stellar lead character for what appears to be the beginning of a crime series. The payoff provides some surprises as well as a satisfying resolution.” —Associated Press“Lost Hills is an enjoyable read that shows Goldberg, a two-time Edgar Award winner, at the top of his game. The prose is lean and the pacing is superb. There is no filler here; every sentence earns the space it occupies on the page…There are a lot of series out there, but Eve Ronin and Goldberg’s fast-paced prose should put this one on the radar of every crime fiction fan.” —National Public Radio“[Eve Ronin is] a great character and her debut story does not disappoint. The police procedure appears to be as authentic as Goldberg can make it without being in law enforcement himself.” —The Oklahoman“[The] suspense and drama are guaranteed to keep a reader spellbound…” —Authorlink“This sterling thriller is carved straight out of the world of Harlan Coben and Lisa Gardner…Lost Hills is a book to be found and savored.” —BookTrib“What a police procedural should be: a clever and likable lead detective, a supporting cast of both hardworking and lazy cops, wisecracking (and occasionally ribald) station house banter, a smattering of quirky characters, a fast pace, a faithful depiction of investigative techniques, and a writing style as precise as a sniper’s rifle.” —New York Journal of Books“Lost Hills is phenomenal.” —The Real Book Spy“[A] police procedural that shrugs off the norm in favor of rocking its own path. More notable is a genuinely original female protagonist, Eve Ronin. An intriguing story, snappy dialogue, and clever use of language give the narrative a fizz. Add to that a dark tense atmosphere that builds to a nervy denouement and you have a winner.” —NB Magazine“Lost Hills is Lee Goldberg at his best. Inspired by the real-world grit and glitz of LA County crime, this book takes no prisoners. And neither does Eve Ronin. Take a ride with her and you’ll find yourself with a heroine for the ages. And you’ll be left hoping for more.” —Michael Connelly, #1 New York Times bestselling author“Lost Hills is what you get when you polish the police procedural to a shine: a gripping premise, a great twist, fresh spins and knowing winks to the genre conventions, and all the smart, snappy ease of an expert at work.” —Tana French, New York Times bestselling author“Thrills and chills! Lost Hills is the perfect combination of action and suspense, not to mention Eve Ronin is one of the best new female characters in ages. You will race through the pages!” —Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author“Twenty-four-karat Goldberg—a top-notch procedural that shines like a true gem.” —Craig Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire series“A winner. Packed with procedure, forensics, vivid descriptions, and the right amount of humor. Fervent fans of Connelly and Crais, this is your next read.” —Kendra Elliot, Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author“Brilliant! Eve Ronin rocks! With a baffling and brutal case, tight plotting, and a fascinating look at police procedure, Lost Hills is a stunning start to a new detective series. A must-read for crime fiction fans.” —Melinda Leigh, Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author“A tense, pacy read from one of America’s greatest crime and thriller writers.” —Garry Disher, international bestselling author and Ned Kelly Award winner Read more About the Author Lee Goldberg is a two-time Edgar Award and two-time Shamus Award nominee and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including the Ian Ludlow thrillers Killer Thriller and True Fiction, King City, The Walk, fifteen Monk mysteries, and the internationally bestselling Fox & O’Hare books (The Heist, The Chase, The Job, The Scam, and The Pursuit) cowritten with Janet Evanovich. He has also written and/or produced many TV shows, including Diagnosis Murder, SeaQuest, and Monk, and is the co-creator of the Hallmark movie series Mystery 101. As an international television consultant, he has advised networks and studios in Canada, France, Germany, Spain, China, Sweden, and the Netherlands on the creation, writing, and production of episodic television series. You can find more information about Lee and his work at www.leegoldberg.com. Read more Customers Review: When we hear the letters “L.A.” we think of movie stars living in Beverly Hills. But for every person who lives in a Beverly Hills mansion, there are thousands who live in trailer parks, apartment buildings, condos, and subdivisions – up-scale, down-scale, and everything in between.The City of the Angels started out as a Spanish mission to convert Native Americans. Since then there have been waves of immigration. Silent movie producers looking for sunshine. Farmers looking for a long growing season. Mexicans looking for jobs. Southern Blacks looking for an even break. Hippies, yuppies, wanna-be’s, loners, weirdos, and dot.com millionaires. They’ve all dropped into the melting pot that is L.A.Similarly, for every movie or television star, there are thousands of technicians and unknowns. Extras, grips, set dressers, cue-card holders, you-name-it. And there are teachers and cops and nurses and plumbers and all the other professions that spring up in any human settlement anywhere. The entertainment industry isn’t the only game in town anymore, but it’s the one almost everyone wants to break into.Detective Eve Ronin of the LASD is one of the exceptions. Born to a narcissistic bit-part actress who had no time for her children, Eve raised herself and her siblings. She’s grateful for the media windfall that got her a promotion onto the homicide squad, but being interviewed by a TV reporter simply means more resentment from her male colleagues and there’s already plenty of that to deal with.Now Eve is the lead detective on a baffling case that has plenty of blood, but no bodies. Discontented housewife Tanya Kenworth has left her husband behind in a small northern town and brought her two children to L.A. Like Eve’s mother, her urge to be an actress trumps her children’s well-being.But where are Tanya and Caitlin and Troy? Are they alive or dead? And who was responsible? The children’s father seems distraught, but an ex-husband is always a suspect. Tanya’s swaggering abusive live-in boyfriend has a good alibi, but Eve’s partner is suspicious of it. And Eve’s putting her money (and her professional reputation) on a strange plumber who’s obsessed with “The Planet of the Apes”, right down to owning his own costume. Is he using his ready access to houses to steal, rape, or murder?This book isn’t great literature, but it’s fun and Eve is a likable character most of us can relate to. A young woman in a male-dominated field, she battles her colleagues’ perception that she’s too inexperienced to be good at her job and that a woman can NEVER be a good cop, regardless of experience. She knows that attitude is a given, but she’s young enough to let it get to her anyway. She second-guesses herself and tries to be Super Woman, while the other cops look on and snicker.I think this author does a fine job of setting his scene and developing his characters. I felt like I was riding those streets with Eve and her partner. The characters – admirable or not – are all recognizable people. The cops’ dark humor is both entertaining and realistic. I like that Eve’s personal problems don’t dominate the book, as happens in so many modern detective stories. She’s just a young woman whose nutty mother and absent father left her with a certain lack of confidence and ability to trust. But SHE does have friends and she works well with her colleagues when they let her.I’m impressed by the nuances this author works into his story. Eve isn’t the lone, put-upon female hero, struggling against sexism and ageism. All her colleagues are ready to stick a knife in each other if the occasion merits it. Cops are ambitious and there isn’t enough glory to go around. Yes, they present a fiercely united front to “civilians”, but they also fight like starving wolves for promotions, recognition, or just bragging rights. And the scariest person in the department (as Eve quickly finds out) is the African-American woman in charge of the forensics team. Don’t mess with Nan!This could be called a “police procedural” without getting any argument from me. As a reader of older mysteries, I’m still amazed at the role of technology in police work today. In some ways, detectives today appear to have it easy. On the flip side, every “perp” has binged-watched the CSI series and knows all the tricks. Police have to constantly race to stay ahead of the game.The ending is over-the-top dramatic, but stops short of being farcical. We know from headlines that a deranged man will do incredible things to gain possession of anything or anyone that meets his sick needs. And California wildfires are a constant danger. Maybe Paradise was never meant to be lived in.A few times the author insulted my intelligence by pointing out things I could figure out on my own. But on the whole I’m glad I picked this book as my Kindle First selection. It’s just a damned good read. Isn’t that what we’re all looking for? | |
1981 reviews