Perdition, U.S.A.

By Gary Phillips

Book Overview

Black private eye Ivan Monk's search for a connection between three Black men murdered in Los Angeles leads to the unraveling of a white supremacist conspiracy that spans the West Coast.

The mystery series that launched Gary Phillips's career.

Robert "Scatterboy" Williams is a small-time hustler selling bogus Cartier watches in Pacific Shores, a port city south of Los Angeles. One day, he's gunned down in the street, seemingly at random. Then drug dealer Ronny Aaron is shot and killed leaving a liquor store. Shortly thereafter, college student Jimmy Henderson is rendered comatose after two bullets to his body. The three victims have nothing in common save the neighborhood where they were shot--and the color of their skin.

The police categorize Scatterboy's murder as business as usual. But his girlfriend convinces private eye Ivan Monk to find the killer. What looks like three unrelated shootings of Black men in Southern California will put Monk on a tortuous trail unraveling a larger nefarious plan: the rise of an extremist demagogue.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1641294418
• ISBN13: 9781641294416
• Release Date: June 2024
• Publisher: Soho Crime
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Hard boiled mystery of the finest caliber

Three black youths are killed on the mean streets of Los Angeles. There is not one thread except for the city and their race to link the three victims. Yet they all seem to have been murdered by the same killer. Still, murders of black males in LA is like apple pie to most of America, so no one in authority or the media pay any attention to the killings. In fact the only person besides family members to show any interest in the three deaths is African American private investigator Ivan Monk, who believes the triple killings are linked, possibly the victims of a serial killer who is targeting young black males. ..... Ivan tracks the killings back to a small Oregon town called PERDITION. He arrives at the town and quickly wishes the trail had led elsewhere as Ivan is caught up with a white supremacist group and some vicious skinheads. Before long, Ivan realizes that it is him against the mob on their turf. If he is not extremely careful, Ivan might find himself the next victim. ..... With his second novel starring Ivan Monk, Gary Phillips shows that the talent he demonstrated with VIOLENT SPRING was not a flash. PERDITION, USA is a wild ride that takes readers back and forth as it journeys through the different scenes. This strange trip is not for everyone, but to, at least this reviewer, fits the lead protagonist's persona as a hard boiled detective and makes this mystery worth reading. .....Harriet Klausner