Los Angeles: A Novel [Hardcover]

Peter Moore Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2005

It is a hoarse whisper over a crackling cell phone - "Angel" - and then the connection is lost. Angel is convinced that the voice belongs to his beautiful and enigmatic neighbor, Angela - and that she is terrified for her life. He paces the floor, waiting for the phone to ring again, calls the police, searches her apartment, but there is no trace of her anywhere, not for days. So begins a haunted man's quest to uncover what happened to the woman he has fallen in love with. Only now does he realize that he knows nearly nothing about her. Angel has his secrets, too. He is the son of one of Hollywood's most successful movie producers, but he has turned away from that bright and power-ridden world. Instead, he leads a cloistered existence, nursing an unfinished screenplay as Ridley Scott's Blade Runner loops ceaselessly in his darkened apartment. But now, for the first time in years, because of Angela's sudden disappearance, Angel is propelled into action. Following the few clues he has gathered about her, he trails Angela through the hard glitter of Los Angeles days and nights. With every new piece of knowledge arrives another question and an even more chilling possibility: Did he merely imagine Angela? Is someone deliberately leading him? Is the phantom he is pursuing the very fear he has been running from? In the murky underworld beneath the bright surface of Los Angeles, everything he knew about her - and himself - begins to unravel. In this city of secrets that aren't meant to be told and people who aren't meant to be found, Angel may soon discover that the most dangerous lies of all are the ones you tell yourself.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

You’ve got to feel at least a bit sorry for Angel Veronchek, the 34-year-old leading man in Los Angeles, Peter Moore Smith's second novel of psychological suspense (after the Edgar-nominated Raveling). Sure, Angel's lucky enough to be the son of a renowned action-movie producer and a French model who's way too invested in cosmetic surgery; sure, he needn't work for a living, but can spend his time writing "the ultimate screenplay" about LA's "glitter-town disillusionment"; and sure, he's just commenced a passionate affair with his West Hollywood neighbor, a young, free-spirited black stripper named--coincidentally--Angela. The downside, though, is that Angel's a reclusive, light-sensitive albino obsessed with the movie Blade Runner, and boasting an in-home pharmacy of striking breadth ("all the drugs I had been prescribed for anxiety, depression, and social phobia, as well as the other meds designed to counteract the side effects of the first set"). It takes every ounce of willpower for him simply to exist in a city as belligerently bright and boisterous as LA. So, when Angela suddenly disappears, following a phone call that suggests she's in danger, Angel must stretch well beyond his cramped comfort zone to get her back--or even learn who she really is. His pathetic investigation leads him to a rock concert in Rio; into conflict with his father's unctuous attorney; and to the conclusion that everyone knows more about what’s going on here than he does. "This was a movie, and I was just a character," Angel remarks at one point. "I could even feel the pages of the script unfolding."

Smith's prose is supple and seductive, and he's at his best when chewing over the porous demarcation between reality and fantasy, or recounting the fractured fairy tale of his protagonist's upbringing (Angel's repeated efforts to impart some color to his skin are particularly poignant). Less firm is the mystery that forms Los Angeles's spine. Though the plot cleverly manipulates the reader, as much as it does Angel, it's unduly complicated and requires considerable suspension of belief. Still, the author deserves applause for subverting the supposedly familiar patterns of noir storytelling. His City of Angel is devilishly deceptive. --J. Kingston Pierce

From Publishers Weekly

As an albino in sunny Los Angeles, Angel Veronchek is a stranger in a strange land, and Smith's moody and atmospheric psychological thriller embraces the noir aesthetic that's so much a part of the city's history. Veronchek is rich—his father is a successful movie producer—and richly dysfunctional, ingesting a cornucopia of pharmaceuticals while working, obsessively, on a screenplay about his hometown while a DVD of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner plays continuously in his dark apartment. The hermit-like Angel begins to connect with the world when Angela, a mysterious beauty, moves in next door, but a few weeks later she disappears. Angel's quest to find Angela takes him out of his apartment and into the city, but the more important journey is the one he takes into his bizarre psychology and family history. Smith's prose can be strong, particularly in his rendering of the hellish dystopia of the City of Angels: "the smog is absolute... the exhaust fumes of a million engines rising... through an atmosphere that almost never breathes." But his plot is only mildly compelling; it can't support the weight of the narrator's musings on the nature of reality—nor is any character, including the pathetic Angel, attractive enough to command our attention. FYI: Smith's first novel, Raveling (2000), was nominated for an Edgar Award.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (January 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316803928
• ISBN-13: 978-0316803922
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.2 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,849,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing core, but far too much filler, June 23, 2005

By 

J. N. Mohlman (Barrington, RI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Los Angeles: A Novel (Hardcover)

"Los Angeles", Peter Moore Smith's follow-up to the superb "Raveling", starts interestingly enough with a romance between Angel Veronchek, son of a billionaire producer and mentally unstable albino, and his next door neighbor and part time stripper, Angela. Moreover, as Smith toys with the chronology and draws into question Angel's reliability as a narrator, "Los Angeles" sets up to be a subtle meditation on reality, and the reliability of our own memory.

And ultimately it does, unfortunately in between there is far too much rambling discourse and irrelevant information. At 338 pages, "Los Angeles" would have been far more successful at around 225, because when Smith finally hits his stride half way into the text, there are some genuinely fascinating twists and turns, but by then the reader is jaundiced by the slog that lead up to that point. Moreover, Smith never seems quite sure what he wants this book to be. With "Raveling", the reader knew from the start that something horrible had definitely happened, and it was left to the novel to reveal how and why. With "Los Angeles" it's not at all clear what, if anything has happened, and Smith even seems comfortable with not much of anything happening at all.

This wouldn't be a problem if Angel's personal growth represented the focal point of the story. However, Angel is a deeply disturbed individual and whatever progress he makes is as much the result of the pharmaceutical industry as his development as an adult, and as such is somewhat difficult to get excited about.

To be fair, when Smith finally gets to the heart of the issue, he deftly weaves together a reality that is utterly at odds with the reader's perception (as presented by Angel) and yet in no way contradictory to it. Even then though, Smith's seeming uncertainty about his message rears it's head as an entirely unnecessary layer of cause and effect is tacked on over the final chapters.

Smith is clearly a talented writer, and I'll read any future books based upon the strength of "Raveling" alone. Moreover, "Los Angeles" contains some genuinely original and interesting writing. The problem is, there's too much miscellany getting in the way, and the result is what should have been a brisk short novel or even novella is stretched out into what feels like a bloated three hundred plus pages. Not bad per se, but something of a disappointment, "Los Angeles" may be worth a read in paperback, but doesn't warrant a hardcover purchase. As an alternative, if you are looking for something that deals with fractured realities, try Steve Erickson's tremendous "Our Ecstatic Days".

Jake Mohlman

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Breathtaking Mystery That Will Leave You Speechless, February 23, 2005

By 

Tyrone V. Banks (Newington, CT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Los Angeles: A Novel (Hardcover)

Reviewed by Tyrone Vincent Banks of Betsie's Literary Page

Angel Veronchek lives a rather sheltered life. He is an albino with sensitivity to light and therefore he spends most of his time holed up in his dark apartment watching a Blade Runner DVD. He spends his days working on a screenplay titled Los Angeles while taking medication washed down by cups of bourbon. He's a self proclaimed loser by most accounts and he lives a rather uneventful life - or does he?

Angela comes into his life and she becomes the light that he has avoided for many years. They spend time together engaged in conversation and he opens up his lonely existence and makes space for Angela. He receives a call from her one day; she simply says his name and hangs up the phone. From that moment forward he dedicates his life to rescuing Angela from and unknown foe that may have kidnapped or killed her.

Angel ventures out into the sunlight and starts his noble quest. He can feel that Angela is in a dark place and waiting to be rescued. As moments go by he is desperate and he fears that time is running out. Through Angel's eyes and actions you can feel the loss of control and the uncertainty that he lives with. He can be labeled as a schizophrenic, depressed alcoholic existing in a made up world. Or, he can be labeled a heroic savior who overcomes his fears and anxieties to save the woman that he loves. At times, while reading this book, both labels may apply. But, even when the truth is revealed, you are still uncertain.

Peter Moore Smith has reincarnated Don Quixote as a delusional Angel Veronchek in search of his damsel in distress. We must think that once the windmill is defeated it is still honorable that this Knight in Pale Skin challenged the Dragon just as Smith has challenged our imagination with a surreal tale about the line between sanity and insanity as it is breached.

LOS ANGELES: A NOVEL is enjoyable and well-written. I guarantee that you will form a conclusion about the mystery that Angel is trying to solve only to find that all that may appear to be living and breathing - may not be.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great thriller with a twist!, May 9, 2005

By 

Sebastien Pharand (Orléans, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Los Angeles: A Novel (Hardcover)

Peter Moore Smith left his mark on suspense fiction when he published the intricate and amazing Raveling which is, to this day, one of my favorite mystery novel. Smith is finally back with Los Angeles, another suspense novel about the workings of the human mind and of the human condition. Smith isn't a writer who can be solely satisfied with great plots; he needs great, complicated characters to boot. And that's why the author is quickly becoming one of the freshest new voices in mystery fiction.

Angel's life isn't what you could call ordinary. His father is a big Hollywood producer, his mother is a strange, transparent woman and Angel himself... well, there's nothing normal about Angel. First off, Angel's an albino with a social disorder. Oh, and he's addicted to the film Blade Runner. He lives his life in solitude with his nose burried in books, going out only at night and only when completely necessary.

But Angel is still human, and when he meets his new neighbour Angela, a stripper with striking eyes that change color, he's immediately attracted to her. Unfortunately, their romance isn't given much time to grow because one night, Angel receives a phone call where Angela whispers his name. The connection is cut, and Angel knows that something has happened to her.

Forgetting all about his medication, Angel goes on a hunt to find the love of his life. But what he uncovers will forever shatter his existence. Life, as he knows it, is nothing but a mere illusion that will soon shatter in a million little pieces.

Los Angeles is full of twists and turns, many of them completely unpredictable. Written in the first person, the author finds a brilliant voice to tell his story in. Not only is Angel a flawed and vivid character, he's also full of mysteries that are being kept from the readers.

Once you start this one, you will not want to put it down. Los Angeles is a great mystery thriller that succeeds at being different from the lot of generic mysteries out there. The author's purpose never falters. The many twists are not simple ploys to shock the reader; they help sustain that sense of paranoia that courses through the narrative. Los Angeles is a great thriller that deserves all the recognition it will receive.