The Rent Collectors: Exploitation, Murder, and Redemption in Immigrant La

By Jesse Katz

WINNER of the 2024 Los Angeles Times Book Prize

"For a tough-guy book about tough guys, this is a work of almost unerring tenderness. If its subtitle promises "redemption," the book itself delivers something more honest: stories about people broken by powers larger than they are and who nonetheless find the will to fight on." -- Ben Ehrenreich, The New York Times Book Review

"Katz has constructed a riveting and masterful urban narrative."
--Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times

Baby-faced teen Giovanni Macedo is desperate to find belonging in one of LA's most predatory gangs, the Columbia Lil Cycos--so desperate that he agrees to kill an undocumented Mexican street vendor. The vendor, Francisco Clemente, had been refusing to give in to the gang's shakedown demands. But Giovanni botches the hit, accidentally killing a newborn instead. The overlords who rule the Lil Cycos from a Supermax prison 1,000 miles away must be placated and Giovanni is lured across the border where, in turn, the gang botches his killing. And so, incredibly, Giovanni rises from the dead, determined to both seek redemption for his unforgivable crime and take down the gang who drove him to do it.

With The Rent Collectors, Jesse Katz has built a teeth clenching and breathless narrative that explicates the difficult and proud lives of undocumented black market workers who are being extorted by the gangs and fined by the city of LA--in other words, exploited by two sets of rent collectors.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1662601735
• ISBN13: 9781662601736
• Release Date: July 2024
• Publisher: Astra House
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A must read for Los Angeles natives and residents alike

As a California and LA resident this was a very interesting read. Delves into the history and culture of McArthur Park, street vending, immigration, and gang culture in LA. I remember hearing about Luis Angel’s death as a young person back in 2007. It’s interesting reading about Giovanni’s journey and the influences trying to push him toward, and away from gang life.