The Truth Won't Help Them Now

About the Book

It is 1939 when the bullet-riddled body of an accounting clerk from a gambling ship washes up under the Santa Monica pier. As city homicide detectives tenaciously chase down their only clue—a fast, expensive, and very exclusive Bugatti—their investigation leads them into a tangle of competing gangsters all looking to muscle their way to a bigger share of illegal gambling.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles County deputy district attorney Cliff Thoms is leading a special squad searching for a pair of serial killers who have already killed four young women and are on the hunt for more. Thoms, with the help of a self-proclaimed psychic he doesn’t quite trust, risks lives and careers in a desperate gamble to catch his elusive quarry. As the two investigations collide and rush to a deadly conclusion, dirty cops, DAs on the take, mobsters, grieving families, and reformer politicians must attempt to distinguish lies from the truth. Unfortunately, they are all about to discover that even the truth won’t help them now.

In this fast-paced tale of murder and gangland intrigue, a gritty district attorney and a band of detectives set out on a quest to solve two separate crimes amid a corrupted 1939 Los Angeles.

About the Author

Joan Hunter holds a master of arts and a PhD from Claremont and worked in public education for more than forty years. Now retired, she continues her work translating for international doctors, sings in a bluegrass band, and writes evaluations for accrediting high schools. Joan lives with her husband in the Sierras.

Steven Cobos earned a bachelor of arts in social sciences and religious studies from UC Santa Barbara, and a Juris Doctor from the University of La Verne. He practiced law for twelve years and has taught classes for adults since 1998. Steven and his wife have two sons and live in Southern California.