Palos Verdes Blue: A Jack Liffey Mystery (Jack Liffey Mysteries) [Hardcover]

John Shannon (Author)

Book Description

Series: Jack Liffey Mysteries | Publication Date: April 7, 2009

In the latest Jack Liffey novel, L.A.'s most famous child-finder finds himself enmeshed in a race-fueled turf war on the Palos Verdes peninsula.

Barely recovered after nearly loosing his daughter to religious fanatics in what could only be termed a "witch-hunt" in Bakersfield (The Devils of Bakesfield, 2008), Jack is hired to find another girl, Blue, the missing teenage daughter of his ex-wife's best friend.  The investigation leads him to discover an intense turf war on L.A.'s posh Palos Verdes peninsula. The Bayboys, rich teenage surfers, routinely vandalize cars and terrorize outsiders to enforce a strict locals-only policy for their own Lunada Bay. They have also started terrorizing the Mexican day laborers who camp in the ravines between the mansions where they work as gardeners and houseboys.

When one stubborn Mexican boy decides that he wants to learn to surf the waves of Lunada Bay, the feud turns violent, drawing in arsonists, angry bikers, racist border vigilantes, and Jack's daughter Maeve, who once again puts herself at risk to help her father.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Shannon explores the deep, sometimes deadly divide that separates haves and have-nots in his rewarding 11th mystery to feature 60-year-old Jack Liffey, who specializes in locating missing children (after 2008's The Devils of Bakersfield). Jack's ex-wife, Kathy, asks him to find Blaine Blue Hostetler, her best friend's missing teenage daughter. Smart and attractive, Blue was involved in such causes as preserving the habitat of the endangered butterfly, the Palos Verdes Blue, and aiding illegal immigrants. Jack's investigation takes him from L.A.'s ultra-rich enclaves and the surfers' paradise of Lunada Bay to muddy migrant camps and Tijuana. Once again, Jack's daughter, Maeve, puts herself in danger to help her dad, with mixed results. Effectively told in part through letters written by a young Mexican immigrant and others written by a scared teenage surfer to his dad, this installment highlights Shannon's ability to sharply render subtle shades of right and wrong. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The mysteries at the heart of the Jack Liffey novels are ultimately less interesting than Liffey himself and the landscape he navigates—and that’s fine. A gentle soul with an angry spirit, Liffey, the finder of lost children, finds himself exploring the physical and psychic terrain of Southern California, crossing the “weird frontiers” between rich and poor, between native born and recently immigrated. Back from a sojourn in Bakersfield, Liffey is asked by his ex-wife to look for Blaine, the daughter of a friend. Blaine is an idealistic high-schooler whose passion for saving the habitat of an endangered butterfly, the Palos Verde Blue, may have brought her into contact with Mexican laborers who are sleeping rough amid the multimillion-dollar mansions where they work—and with the rich surfer kids who harass the Mexicans. Overhearing the details, Liffey’s own teenage daughter, Maeve, decides once again to help him, even if he doesn’t know she is on the case (recalling City of Strangers, 2003). Readers may puzzle over Liffey’s lasting relationship with angry cop Gloria Ramirez, but he is loyal to lost causes, even his own. With a hero as brainy, compassionate, and conflicted as this, the only real mystery is why these books aren’t best-sellers. --Keir Graff

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Pegasus (April 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605980374
• ISBN-13: 978-1605980379
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,221,094 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Liffey Yet, June 5, 2009

By 

Richard Cohen "Richard Cohen" (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Palos Verdes Blue: A Jack Liffey Mystery (Jack Liffey Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This is definitely the best Jack Liffey yet.

Shannon displays his unique ability to capture in words how it looks and feels to be in Los Angeles, this time particularly in a rain storm.

And, as always, Shannon uses Liffey and the other characters to shed light on the chasms between classes, ethnicities and communities.

But this is neither a meteorological nor a sociological tome. It's a page-turning detective story well told and filled with humor, snappy repartee and musings, and spinning together all the narrative threads into a cinematic finish.

As much as I wanted to speed up and see how the book came out, I forced myself to slow down to make it last.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out of the blue..., June 15, 2009

By 

Marcus A. Lewis (South El Monte, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Palos Verdes Blue: A Jack Liffey Mystery (Jack Liffey Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I woke up early this morning to finish reading this book. I had about twenty pages left that just wouldn't wait. So I want to write this review while my comments are fresh on my mind...

John Shannon is one of Southern California's local writers. Although our paths have crossed a number of times in the past at places like The Festival of Books and BOOK'em Mysteries, this is the first time I've read one of his novels. I really enjoyed it! He manages to capture the feel of what it's like to live in the southland. You can tell that he really knows the Palos Verdes and San Pedro areas especially well.

The title is a bit misleading, but you'll have to discover that for yourself. There are a number of seemingly minor characters that are major players as the plot unfolds. And several side stories that deal with contemporary issues: emerging sexuality and illegal immigration to name a few. There are some editing errors that created momentary speed bumps while I was reading, but they in no way diminish the author's work.

There are ten previous Jack Liffey novels that I hope to get to. If you like the regional mystery genre, you will really enjoy "Palos Verdes Blue." And Mr. Shannon, the next time I see you I will stop and be friendly.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crime Fiction with a Heart, June 2, 2009

By 

Rosemary Boyd (Laguna Beach, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Palos Verdes Blue: A Jack Liffey Mystery (Jack Liffey Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Palos Verdes Blue is an LA crime novel written in clean, crisp prose by the underappreciated John Shannon. If you're new to this writer, think Raymond Chandler meets TC Boyle: noir crime fiction with a heart and meaningful content -- and touches of LA whimsy for leavening. Shannon cares about his characters and you do too. In this novel, a young girl called "Blue" because of her efforts to save the Palos Verdes Blue butterfly has disappeared and her mother hires detective Jack Liffey to find her.

In all Shannon's crime fiction, his detective, Jack Liffey, specializes in finding lost youngsters. Along the way, he interacts with other troubled souls that populate the LA/Southern California landscape --including his own well-meaning daughter Maeve. When you have that feeling of loss in the pit of your stomach after finishing this book as I did, you can go back and read Shannon's previous novels featuring Jack Liffey!