About this item
The past never rests easy in Arizona.Forty years ago, a Phoenix reporter was killed by a car bomb in one of America's most notorious crimes. Three men went to prison - but was there more to the story of Charles Page's assassination? More than three low-level players? Did a kingpin order the hit and get away with it? And what was the real motive? Despite the work of teams of journalists and law and legal professionals, no one yet knows why.It's a case custom-made for David Mapstone, the historian-turned-sheriff's deputy. And suddenly Mapstone's boss, newly re-elected Sheriff Mike Peralta, promises to reopen the investigation into the only murder of an American journalist, in the US, in modern times. Why?The promise triggers new murders. The crimes are reenactments of Phoenix's mob-riddled past, where gangsters rubbed elbows with the city's elite amid crosscurrents of corrupt cops, political payoffs, gambling, prostitution, and murder, all shielded by the sunshine image of a resort city. But who is committing them? A former soldier who is an explosives expert and deadly with a knife? A woman with screen-siren looks and extraordinary computer skills? Or someone out of Phoenix's seamy, swinging Seventies with secrets to keep, even though the major power brokers are dead?Mapstone will need all the help he can get. He enlists a PhD candidate and Black Lives Matter activist to help him comb through sealed archives of the original bombing. Mapstone's wife, Lindsey, a top hacker, rejoins the Sheriff's Office and plays a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with the perp or perps - one that goes from the digital to the real and risky world. Somewhere in the house of mirrors surrounding the Page case they must find the key that connects the past to the present.In this swiftly paced, compelling new novel by journalist Jon Talton, the ninth in the David Mapstone series, a big city is trying to keep its darkest history off-limits.
About the Author
Jon Talton is the author of 12 novels, including the David Mapstone Mysteries and the Cincinnati Casebooks, and one non-fiction book. His latest novel is the mystery, The Bomb Shelter. Jon's award-winning work has been widely praised by the critics. The Washington Post BookWorld called Concrete Desert "More intelligent and rewarding than most contemporary mysteries." In a starred review, Booklist called it "a stunning debut." The Chicago Tribune lauded Camelback Falls for its "twisty and crafty" plot. For Dry Heat, Publishers Weekly wrote, "Taut prose helps tighten the screws, and the winning, sensitive portrayal of the Mapstones -- both of them a relief after too many hard-nosed PIs who are all gristle and no brain -- lends credibility to the noirish narrative." Jon is also a veteran journalist and blogger. He is the economics columnist of the Seattle Times and is editor and publisher of the blog Rogue Columnist. Prior to that, he was a business and op-ed columnist for the Arizona Republic. He also worked for newspapers in San Diego, Denver, Dayton, Cincinnati and Charlotte. Before journalism, he worked for four years as an ambulance medic in the inner city of Phoenix. He also was an instructor in theater at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Jon is a fourth-generation Arizonan who splits his time between Seattle and Phoenix.
