"A gritty compelling read," praised Entertainment Weekly of last year's It's Not a Pretty Sight. And the Chicago Tribune called it, along with other Aaron Gunner novels, "terrifically entertaining." With When Last Seen Alive, Gar Anthony Haywood plumbs the shocking all-too-real world of South-Central Los Angeles. Having more clients than he can use isn't generally Aaron Gunner's problem, but it happens that the PI is already on a case when beautiful Yolanda McCreary appears on his doorstep to offer him a second one. Her brother, Elroy Covington, apparently rubbed elbows with Gunner at the Million Man March in Washington DC, several months earlier, then neglected to do something almost every other attendee did afterward: come home. Gunner can't remember Covington, but takes on the case - unprepared for the cold trail the man left behind. At last, Gunner begins to suspect that a black extremist group calling itself The Defenders of the Bloodline is behind Covington's disappearance. The Defenders want Gunner to join them. The FBI wants Gunner's help in bringing them down. And neither party has any intention of taking no for an answer. With When Last Seen Alive, Gar Anthony Haywood explores the harsh realities of contemporary Los Angeles with grim accuracy and deep emotional insight, providing once again "a first-rate story, melding sharp social commentary with lively plotting and somersaulting dialogue" (The Washington Post Book World)
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
A young Los Angeles woman wants series star Aaron Gunner to locate her brother, who never returned from the Million Man March in Washington, D.C. Gunner soon finds himself tangling with black extremists and the FBI. Realistic and compelling.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Elroy Covington came a long way to disappear--all the way from the Million Man March in Washington to a run-down motel in Hollywood--but his sister, Yolanda McCreary, is convinced that even though LAPD Missing Persons has given up the search, Aaron Gunner can find Covington. Aaron, already busy trying to photograph L.A. city councilman Gil Everson with one of the limping prostitutes his wife Connie is convinced he favors, is none too eager to take on the case. Even so, he hands the snoop job off to aspiring teenaged photographer Sly Cribbs in order to look for Covington himself--and before you know it, somebody's tried to kill both Sly and Aaron and (talk about coincidence) steal crucial photos from both of them. Aaron's sure the councilman's beefy bodyguard could tell him all about the attack on the kid, but he thinks something still doesn't jibe, and he's right: The tug-of-war between the Eversons is more complicated than he can see. And the search for Covington leads Aaron (It's Not a Pretty Sight, 1996, etc.) into even deeper trouble with the Defenders of the Bloodline, a black-supremacist answer to the Ku Klux Klan bent on executing all the Uncle Toms the KKK might have missed on their last trip through town, and with a five-year-old newspaper scandal that won't stay dead. Ingenious but slapdash in the details, with Aaron continuing as one of the most maddeningly intuitive detectives since Nancy Drew. Start reading for the plot, and you'll stay, as usual, for the flavorsome African-American backgrounds. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply superb-genius at work,
By A Customer
This review is from: When Last Seen Alive (Aaron Gunner Mysteries) (Hardcover)
South Central Los Angeles private investigator Aaron Gunner is working on two cases that seemed simple when he first accepted both of them. However, as Aaron should know by now, one never should judge a case by its inital appearance, especially when women are the clients. City Council man Gil Everson's spouse Connie hires Aaron to catch, in living color, her husband committing adultery. Yolanda McCreary wants Aaron to locate her missing sibling, Elroy Covington. Elroy has been missing since the Million Man March, a historical event attended by Aaron also. The Everson case is a snap until Aaron learns that a weird prenuptial agreement muddies what should have been lucid waters. The Covington case should also be relatively easy, but instead the trail is pure frozen tundra. Aaron begins to wonder if Covington has been offed by a black separatist group, "The Defenders of the Bloodline". The group expects Aaron to join them as part of the solution or die as part of the problem. If that is not enough pressure on the private investigator, his inquiries has brought Aaron to the attention of the FBI, who want to use him to bring about the end of the group. Trapped between a hard place (the Defenders) and a rock (the FBI), Aaron continues his tour into hell (also called LA) in trying to learn what happened to Covington. WHEN LAST SEEN ALIVE is a great private detective story, starring the wonderful Aaron Gunner in his fifth mystery. The bomb story line is fast and hip and loaded with social insight without turning the star into a preacher (Garth Ennis does that well enough). Aaron is a top gun who is one of the leading sleuths on the market today. This reviewer strongly recommends all five of Gar Anthony Haywood's Gunner mysteries if readers want enjoyable detective stories that provide insight into living in South Central. California. Harriet Klausner
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
All The Lucky Ones Are Dead,
By A Customer
This review is from: When Last Seen Alive (An Aaron Gunner Mystery) (Paperback)
Gar Anthony Haywood has done it again. As usual, he has two plots going at once and the reader has to figure out "who done it" for both of them. He doesn't have predictable endings.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jumping on the bandwagon!,
This review is from: When Last Seen Alive (An Aaron Gunner Mystery) (Paperback)
This was my first Aaron Gunner story, and it won't be my last. This book had the the P.I. tackling two mysteries at the same time. Looking for a disreputable writer missing for over 9 months and tailing a congressman in search of his indiscretions had Gunner at his wit's end, but each plot had it's own twists and turns, and there was no way to guess each ending. Believe me, I tried! It is so hard sometimes to settle down with a good mystery, because in order for the story to work, the detective must be familiar and accessable to the reader. With this P.I., it was no problem. If you are a fan of Walter Mosley's Easy Rollins or Valerie Wilson Wesley's Tamara Hayle, then this guy is for you. Good Work, Mr. Haywood!
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