The Killing of Chuy Muro

By MR Lance Mason and Mr. Lance Mason

"Monterey? Steinbeck. Sacramento? Didion. L.A.? Chandler. Now in steps Oxnard's native son Lance Mason, using short jabs and looping uppercuts to portray early '60s rural California, with its paddies and pachucos, gas stations and packing-houses, smelling of Vitalis and Chesterfields, with a hungry D.A. wearing a greedy mouth and a old smile. Indeed, Mason's got it covered." - Nick Welsh, Executive Editor, The Independent

"A 1960s California noir with the weight of a confession, conveying the violence of silence long after the last page. A searing portrait of torn loyalty, ethnic vengeance, and small-town secrets that rings with truth and earns its ending. Mason's novel crackles with the moral electricity of a country on the edge." - George Cawood, Framework Studio, Los Angeles

"As I dipped my head, looking through the passenger window, Chuy Muro pulled a sawed-off 12-gauge from a clip beneath the dash, his voice grating like a rusty machine.
' Qu pasa, chico? You seen the Zunigas?'"

So begins a tale of pride, loyalty and buried secrets that lays bare the lives of two teenage boys in 1960s California, where racial tensions and civil unrest threaten to tear apart the fragile bonds of friendship and community.

Forty years after the events that changed his life, Eddie Henley is released from prison and takes us back to those troubled months, to the secrets he shared with Gene, his only true friend, and to the crime that brought it all to an end.

"Lance Mason has the rare ability to weave history and imagination into intriguing original stories for his readers, creating the best of both worlds for a contemporary audience that loves fact mixed with fiction." - Katy Munger, Founding Editor, Thalia Press, USA

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0H9DC5GK8
• ISBN13: 9798904176341
• Release Date: July 2026
• Publisher: Staten House
• Length: 270 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 8.0"