Book Review: Big Island L.A. by Boston Teran

For his fifteenth novel, Boston Teran brings back William “Landshark” Worth, the protagonist of his earlier cult classic tale, Never Count Out The Dead. Landshark is an agoraphobic recluse who writes the influential crime column and podcast about Los Angeles that gives this book its title. His latest investigation is into the robbery of the Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club gun shop. No money was taken, only duffel bags filled with weapons and ammunition, an arguably worse haul in terms of what it means for public safety.

Landshark suspects that this seemingly opportunistic crime was meant to do more than just embarrass the LAPD. His reporter’s instincts lead him to believe that the robbery has political ties to the controversy over the 710 Corridor development. Housing developers want to buy the properties seized decades ago under eminent domain by the California Department of Transportation, but the mostly low-income Hispanic residents living there now are understandably putting up a legal and political battle for their homes.

Into this mess comes Ana Ride, a former Marine who lost a foot in combat and earned a Silver Star in lieu. Fiercely independent and more than a wee bit reckless, she agrees to do a favor for her former policeman father Elias by checking up on an old friend of his. When this pulls her into the ongoing robbery investigation, she and Landshark must join forces to get to the bottom of exactly what’s going on.

In this, they’re both thwarted and abetted by the stylish, troubled police detective Jayden Miller. As he and Ana get closer to one another and to the truth, they veer ever closer to the wrong side of the law:

Miller grained his voice, like the connection was shoddy. “Yeah…”

 

A clipped silence. Then Miller again, “Last night…bad.” He waited.

 

A long silence followed. It felt to Miller like a thinking silence. A cautious, weighing silence.

 

“I can’t hear ya too good,” said the voice.

 

“How ‘bout this?” said Miller. “We have the weapons.”

 

The line shut off.

 

Miller sat back. Took a long breath.

 

“You don’t need a college degree to have that conversation explained to you,” said Ana. “Miller…I think I just heard the door to your career slam shut.”

 

“Ma’am, it’s all in the perception. It could be a jail cell door.”

More than just a story of corruption and murder, this is also a novel about people whose emotional damage colors pretty much everything they do. Landshark’s childhood made him perpetually afraid of leaving the house, and though he’s forgiven one of the worst transgressors against him, his scars still remain. In this, he and Ana are more alike than different, as she too struggles with her relationship with her father. Ana and Elias live next door to each other in the same trailer park, and while it’s clear that they care for one another, it’s also clear that their relationship has always struggled to find a healthy footing.

When Elias sees on the news that Ana’s investigative work might have put her in the crosshairs of a drive-by shooting, his innate concern attempts to override the distance between them. Alas that is not enough:

Elias called Ana every five minutes, only to end up in voicemail, until she finally called him back.

 

“I’m looking at the news,” he said. “Was that the–”

 

“Yeah. We’ll talk when I get home.”

 

“Where are you?”

 

“Liquor store.”

 

She’d hung up before he’d had a chance to ask if she was alright and he was furious with himself because it should have been the first thing out of his mouth as it was the first thing in his heart, but his heart did not have much of a vote in how he acted because his expertise was in being heartless.

There are a lot of heartless characters in this novel – more than I’d expected from having read and enjoyed Teran’s last two thoughtful novels – and the experience of trying to empathize with people railing against “wokeness” can be exhausting. But fans of Never Count Out The Dead will likely find plenty to enjoy here, even as I look forward to seeing where this author goes next with his wide-ranging themes and settings in the future.