SHAMUS AWARD WINNER

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He had to make things right… He had to find the killer.

P.I. Duke Rogers finds himself in a racially charged situation. The case might have to wait… The immediate problem: getting out of South Central Los Angeles in one piece during the 1992 Rodney King riots and that’s just the beginning of his problems.

Private investigator Duke Rogers finds an old “friend” for a client. The client’s “friend,” an up and coming black actress, ends up dead. Duke knows his client did it. Now, feeling guilty, he wants to find the client/killer. He starts his mission by going to the dead actress’ family in South Central L.A. – and while there the Rodney King riots ignite.

And while he tries to track down the killer he must also deal with the racism of his partner, Jack, and from the dead woman’s brother, Warren. He must also confront his own possible latent racism – even as he’s in an interracial relationship with the murder victim’s dead woman’s sister.

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Praise for White Heat:

“A stalker slaying modeled on the 1989 murder of television actress Rebecca Schaeffer forms the basis of this taut crime yarn set in 1992 against the turmoil of the Los Angeles riots that followed the acquittal of the police officers charged with assaulting motorist Rodney King… Rogers’s powerful guilt over Matson’s death successfully drives the plot, and the author ably evokes the chaos that erupted after the Rodney King verdict.”

— Publishers Weekly

“‘White Heat’ is a riveting read of mystery, much recommended.”

— Midwest Book Review

“[White Heat] really caught early 90s LA, in all its sordid glory. And had me turning me pages late into the night. I think WH is up there with the best of the LA novels, but has an air authenticity that many lack. Look forward to reading Broken Windows.”

— Woody Haut, journalist, author of Neon Noir (Contemporary American Crime Fiction), Pulp Culture (Hardboiled Fiction & the Cold War), Heartbreak and Vine (The Fate of Hardboiled Writers in Hollywood)

“Expect the unexpected…in an action-walloping award-winner of harrowing twists and turns…”

— Gordon Hauptfleisch – Seattle Post Intelligencer and BlogCritics.org

“A gripping tale of prejudice and deceit, set against the tumultuous backdrop of the 1992 L.A. riots. White Heat is all the title promises it to be.”

— Darrell James, award-winning author of Nazareth Child

“Written in a staccato, noir style as intense as the 1992 L.A. riots, White Heat is a stunning debut novel by L.A. native Paul Marks. It grabs you with the intensity of the riots and keeps the anxiety and tension pushing full-throttle right up to the bittersweet ending. Heat is a hard-hitting, noir detective thriller, that also deals with tough issues like racism, the diversity of racism, and the human condition.”

— Andrew McAleer, best-selling author of The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists and Fatal Deeds

“The plot was interesting, and full of twists and turns… The characters’ interactions, mannerisms, and dialogue also felt realistic. I fell in love with Duke, Jack, and Rita. I also loved Teddie, even though we never met her alive.”

— Elizabeth Barone –See the full review at ElizabethBarone.net