Perdition U.S.A.

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