âLove, lust, murder, betrayal, suffering, and redemption all parade by as a brilliant tale-spinner once again has his way with us.â âKirkus Reviews (starred review)
Edgar AwardâWinner, Best Novel of the Year
The Orange County, California, that the Becker brothers knew as boys is no moreâunrecognizably altered since the afternoon in 1954 when Nick, Clay, David, and Andy rumbled with the lowlife Vonns, while five-year-old Janelle Vonn watched from the sidelines. The new decade has ushered in the era of Johnson, hippies, John Birchers, and LSD. Clay becomes a casualty of a far-off jungle war. Nick becomes a cop, Andy a reporter, David a minister. And a terrible crime touches them all in ways they could never have anticipated when the mutilated corpse of teenage beauty queen Janelle Vonn is discovered in an abandoned warehouse.
âParkerâs drum-tight prose and richly layered characters borrow a bit from Raymond Chandlerâs hard-boiled L.A. noirs as well as the more psychologically lurid novels of Dennis Lehane, but California Girl easily earns Parker his own spot on the shelf between these two masters.â âEntertainment Weekly, Editorâs Choice
âA masterpiece filled with intriguing, multidimensional characters, an enthralling, sweeping plot, and some of the finest writing youâll ever read.â âChicago Sun-Times
âSubtleâand effective . . . as much a family saga as it is a crime novel . . . an abundance of richly drawn characters.â âSan Francisco Chronicle
âAn evocative trip back to the days of sex, drugs, and rock ânâ roll, hippies, LSD, Charles Manson, peace protests, and the rising anger against the war in Vietnam. Parker perfectly captures the turbulence of the times.â âOrlando Sentinel