Publisher's Synopsis
THE ORDER CAME STRAIGHT FROM THE TOP- "FIND HER FAST, MAKE HER TALK AND GET RID OF THE BODY."
Gangsters have seized control of 1947 Los Angeles spreading violence, intimidation and murder; from nightclubs and boxing matches to organizing unions in the movies. Police and politicians are on their payroll; prostitution, illegal drugs and gambling rampant.
Matt Thornton P.I. forms an unofficial gangster squad to prevent the takeover of a girlfriend's strip club in San Pedro, another friend's saloon in the heart of L.A. and a western movie studio in Simi Valley. He's also hired to investigate a suspicious jewelry theft from a wealthy oil executive in Palos Verdes. All leads point to a body in the Arizona desert, a connection to Hollywood celebrities and Margo Powers, "The Blonde with Ice-Blue Eyes"
"The Blonde with the Ice-Blue Eyes is an engaging, tightly written mystery that could've come off the typewriter of Raymond Chandler... a welcomed return to those wonderful hard-boiled detective novels published during crime fiction's golden age..."--Tony Piazza: Hollywood actor and author of Tom Logan mysteries- inc., Murder Will out, Anything Short of Murder & Bullitt Points-Steve McQueen
"Post-war L.A. shows some leg in this tough-guy tale... More grit and lust than the seedy side of Venice Beach."--Ben East: thriller author of Patchwork, Two Pumps for the Body Man
"A rip-roaring gangster vs. good, tough guy novel set in the late 1940s. A detective with all the right connections and a damsel (or six) in distress... This one's a keeper!"--Donald Whitman: Author of Fatal Healing, Dig Deeper, Dig Wider and Isle of Deceit
Matthew Thornton... handles the trouble thrust before him--thugs, mob takeovers, blackmail schemes, and kidnappings--with a dexterity and fearlessness that is marvelous.--Vicki Salloum: Author of Candyland
"Channeling Raymond Chandler, David Thompson gets Los Angeles, its people, and the tough-guy lingo of the 1940s pitch perfect..."--Caroline Taylor: author of Loose Ends, The Typist, and Death in Delmarva
"... a talent for good story-telling, which means the ability to formulate characters who grab the imagination. This traditional private eye novel is a truly classic gem..."--John F. Dobbyn, author of Deadly Diamonds
"The Blonde with the Ice-Blue Eyes is a hard-boiled walk back in time to vintage Hollywood"--Matt Coyle: author: Wrong Light, Blood Truth, Night Tremors, Yesterday's Echo
"... good old-fashioned fun. You can almost smell the action and taste the whiskey wafting off the pages."--David Corbett: award-winning author of The Long-Lost Love Letters Of Doc Holliday, Blood of Paradise, Done for a Dime, The Devil's Redhead, Do They know I'm Running, The Mercy of the Night, The Devil Prayed & Darkness Fell
