Streets on Fire - (Jack Liffey Mysteries) by John Shannon (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Shannon's latest is still full of memorable, fully rounded characters and richly detailed scenes of L.A. life at its most strange and bizarre. Strongly recommended." --Library Journal

It's 2002 and Jack Liffey's just doing a favor for a friend--he thinks. A fellow detective has asked Jack for help with finding Amilcar Davis and his girlfriend Sherry, both college kids. Amilcar is the son of a prominent black civil rights leader with deep roots in the African American community of South LA. The case has gone cold, but the situation is heating up as the community reckons with the choke-hold death of Abdullah-Ibrahim--a black Muslim man who also happens to be the Dodgers' new ace pitcher--at the hands of LAPD.

Meanwhile, Jack delves into the Davis case, starting with a run-in the missing young couple had with a racist motorcycle gang a few weeks before their disappearance. Running headlong into an urban battlefield of white supremacists and black separatists, Jack must negotiate lines drawn with blood and hate. While LA teeters on the brink of another riot, Jack loses Maeve, his beloved daughter, and (as Kirkus Reviews puts it), "finds her, loses his lover, perhaps permanently, and gets beaten up, chewed on by dogs, and shot, almost fatally." All in a day's work for Jack Liffey.

John Shannon's Liffey series takes readers deep into the many ethnic communities, tribal enclaves, and religious cultures of Southern California, which sometimes co-exist, sometimes clash, but always surprise. Fans of John Lescoart will fall deep into the fast-paced, unpredictable, and dangerous world John Shannon creates.

Review Quotes

"Liffey doesn't have much left except his marrow-deep decency, doggedness, compassion, and courage. But that will be plenty for Liffey's current fans and the new ones Streets on Fire will surely attract. Here's hoping the trajectory of this series continues upward for years to come." --Thomas Gaughan, Booklist [Starred]

"Shannon's latest is still full of memorable, fully rounded characters and richly detailed scenes of L.A. life at its most strange and bizarre. Strongly recommended." --Wilda Williams, Library Journal

"One of the things you've got to admire about Californian John Shannon is his commitment to principles . . . he's a good writer getting better with each book." --January Magazine's Crime Fiction Report

"Shannon's lean prose makes good use of local history without letting it slow down his hero's progress . . . this should be enough to satisfy anyone seeking a strong sense of place in a novel." --Dick Lochte, Los Angeles Times

"Los Angeles [is] shown in the blunt and brilliant crime novels of John Shannon . . ." --Dick Adler, Chicago Tribune

"Streets on Fire . . . brings the problems of racism alive. Jack's toughness and compassion, along with his literate style, make this a strong entry in the private eye genre." --Milwaukee Journal

"Shannon writes muscular, evocative novels that also have something important to say. I can't recommend this series highly enough." --Poisoned Pen