Staff Picks Category: Los Angeles

Dead West by Matt Goldman [Book]

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Nils Shapiro appears in his fourth mystery, this time taking his private investigation skills to Los Angeles when Ebben Mayer’s grandmother Beverly asks Nils to check up on her grandson and make certain he’s not squandering his fortune. Nils agrees, thinking a short trip to sunny southern California to solve a nonproblem is just what he needs to break up a Minnesota January. He takes his friend Jameson White along as muscle, and to get him out of the dark winter and his own troubles. When they arrive, Nils suspects foul play in the recent death of Ebben’s fiancée and can’t help but follow his instincts into an investigation far more complex than his original assignment. It seems everyone involved–Hollywood industry players on several levels–is potentially in danger, and looking out for their own interests. Meanwhile, Jameson’s attentions are divided between protecting Ebben (and Nils) and dealing with his own issues, and Nils worries he may be losing his edge as a happily affianced new father, avoiding risks he would have otherwise taken in past cases.

Goldman continues to please with interesting twists, great peripheral characters, insights into specific communities, and enough peril to keep readers turning pages past bedtime. Offer this to fans of lone wolves finding their pack, readers who love LA settings, and private investigators both amateur and professional.

The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyerson [Book]

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Miranda Brooks is a middle-school history teacher who’s just moved in with her boyfriend in Philadelphia when she learns her estranged maternal uncle, Billy, has died and left her Prospero Books. She hasn’t visited the bookstore or seen her uncle in 16 years, since he fought with her mother shortly after Miranda’s 12th birthday. Up until that time, Billy had been a fun if intermittent presence in her life, planning outings, adventures, and scavenger hunts. Miranda heads home to Los Angeles to attend Billy’s funeral and deal with her legacy, only to discover Billy left her a last scavenger hunt, one that will change everything she knows about her family. The manager and employees of Prospero Books are reluctant to welcome her into their midst, fearing imminent closure. Miranda’s parents are oddly reticent on the topic of Uncle Billy. Miranda’s boyfriend Jay is impatient for her return to Philadelphia. And Miranda needs more time to find the rest of the clues Billy left behind. Meyerson’s debut is the coming-of-age story of a young woman who thought she knew what she wanted from her life and must reckon with game-changing discoveries about her past and future.

Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block [Book]

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“Lanky lizards!” Block paints a off-beat world of magical realism through her lyrical prose. Weetzie Bat is a glittery, non-conformist teen living in L.A. She meets the coolest guy at school, Dirk, and her quest for “happily ever after” begins. After you fall in love with this fun and quirky book, there are six others in Block’s Dangerous Angel series.