Tough Luck L.A.

Edgar Award Finalist: Ben Crandel came to Hollywood to strike it big as a writer—not become the prime suspect in a prostitute's murder. L.A. seemed like a good idea at the time. Having published two novels, Ben Crandel left a sweet teaching job back east and moved to Hollywood to write a screenplay. Now languishing in development limbo, he pays the rent on his seedy bungalow by cranking out porn novels. And his girlfriend, Ellen, has decided she needs some time apart. The only bright spots in his life are being a Big Brother to an eleven-year-old orphan named Petey and walking his drooling but lovable basset hound, Stanley. But Ben's crappy California life is about to get a whole lot worse. Ben's friend Vicky, a former prostitute, is beaten and murdered in her apartment—shot execution-style in the back of the head. The Beverly Hills police grab Ben at the crime scene and charge him with first-degree murder. Freed on bail,...