L.A. Outlaws (Charlie Hood Series #1) by T. Jefferson Parker

From the Publisher

Los Angeles is gripped by the exploding celebrity of Allison Murrieta, her real identity unknown, a modern-day Jesse James with the compulsion to steal beautiful things, the vanity to invite the media along, and the conscience to donate much of her bounty to charity. Nobody ever gets hurt—until a job ends with ten gangsters lying dead and a half- million dollars worth of glittering diamonds missing.

Rookie Deputy Charlie Hood discovers the bodies, and he prevents an eyewitness—a schoolteacher named Suzanne Jones—from leaving the scene in her Corvette. Drawn to a mysterious charisma that has him off-balance from the beginning, Hood begins an intense affair with Suzanne. As the media frenzy surrounding Allison's exploits swells to a fever pitch and the Southland's most notorious killer sets out after her, a glimmer of recognition blooms in Hood, forcing him to choose between a deeply held sense of honor and a passion that threatens to consume him completely. With a stone-cold killer locked in relentless pursuit, Suzanne and Hood continue their desperate dance around the secrets that brought them together, unsure whether each new dawn may signal the day their lies catch up with them.

The Washington Post - Patrick Anderson

T.Jefferson Parker's terrific L. A. Outlaws introduces one of the most enticing heroines in recent American crime fiction…Parker is hardly unknown. This is his 15th novel, and he's one of three writers—Dick Francis and James Lee Burke are the others—to have twice won the Edgar Award for best crime novel of the year. Still, he's never achieved quite the recognition he deserves and this could be his breakthrough. All his skills are on display here: vivid writing, strong characters, clockwork plotting, agonizing suspense and, finally, an ending that manages to be just right. L. A. Outlaws is popular entertainment at its most delicious.

Publishers Weekly

Parker is one of the best crime writer working in Southern California and this audio-his first mystery to be set outside his native Orange County-should win him many new enthusiasts. David Colacci's and Susan Ericksen's strong vocal talents bring his main characters to life with energy and wit. As Suzanne Jones, the sedate history teacher who by night becomes Allison Murietta, a direct descendant of the legendary bandit Joaquin Murietta, Ericksen makes listeners understand what drives this intriguing woman to dangerous acts of thievery and self-promotion. As rookie deputy Charlie Hood, Colacci catches all the edges of his not-so-simple character as he tries to solve a multiple murder and finds himself falling in love with Suzanne. Colacci also does a scary job creating the menacing drug lord who wants back the diamonds Suzanne has stolen. The two narrators and Parker's bristling tale makes a fast-paced and winning combination. Simultaneous release with the Dutton hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 19, 2007). (Feb.)

Entertainment Weekly

Out of Sight meets Gone in 60 Seconds.

Washington Post

From the two-time Edgar® Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author ... popular entertainment at its most delicious.

Los Angeles Times

At once a noir thriller and a western ballad of desperadoes... Hard-boiled and heartbreaking.

Chicago Sun-Times

Suspenseful and original.

Providence Journal

Parker has penned the mystery of the year.

Teresa L. Jacobsen - Library Journal

Who doesn't love an outlaw, especially one who donates to charity and never injures a soul? Believing herself a direct descendant of the legendary Mexican bandit Joaquin Murrieta, Allison Murrieta teaches history in public schools by day and steals cars and robs fast-food restaurants in her free time. Her outlaw life is going well until she witnesses the gory aftermath of a diamond heist gone awry-then runs off with the diamonds. Let the chase begin. Certain characters, both criminals and law officers, will do most anything to get their hands on these diamonds. Allison's biggest problem-aside from staying alive-is how to handle smitten LA sheriff's deputy Charlie Hood, who until now has channeled all his youthful energy into doing the honorable thing. Edgar Award winner Parker (Storm Runners) packs in so many characters and subplots that his speed-driven crime novel sometimes bogs down like a freeway at rush hour. But his ability to evoke the cultural landscape of Southern California, with all its audacity and media obsession, is spot-on. Expect high demand and buy for all popular fiction collections.

Kirkus Reviews

A legendary outlaw's DNA plays an unlikely role in Parker's latest winner (Storm Runners, 2007, etc.). "Here's the deal," proclaims our heroine at the opening of the novel. "I am the direct descendent of the outlaw Joaquin Murrieta," whose questionable virtues she goes on to extol. Apparently, he could charm, chill and kill with equal facility. But in 1853, Joaquin's larcenous career was ended the hard way by a contingent of Texas Rangers: They shot him dead, then cut his head off. Some say the year was 1878. Some say he didn't die or live at all, that he was a romantic myth, an amalgam of at least three Joaquin-like desperadoes. Numbered among the skeptical you would never find Suzanne Elizabeth Jones. She's the beautiful mother of three and currently employed by the Los Angeles Unified School District as a history teacher. She is also self-employed, involved in work that has been giving Southern California law enforcement fits for some little time. Masked, bewigged and packing her palm-sized Ca-onita (.40 caliber, ivory-handled derringer), she steals from the rich and, on occasion, shares a portion of the plunder with the poor and/or deserving. As a memento after each victimization, she leaves behind her card: "You have been robbed by Allison Murrieta. Have a nice day." Life changes abruptly for Suzanne (aka Allison) when she stumbles upon the aftermath of a fire fight that has left ten gangsters dead, and she discovers diamonds worth some $400,000. She takes the gems, setting off a chain of events that leads to violence and death, passion and love. In this latter regard, enter Charlie Hood, a good cop and good man who understands the ferocity inherent in Suzanne/Allison's nature-a sideof her as wild as it is deterministic. All the requisite action-suspense: No one does thriller-with-heart better than Parker.

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