Description

For Fans of Hollywood Noir and novels by Elmore Leonard and Michael Connolly comes a new crime novel from a Hollywood insider and true crime writer.

Former Detroit homicide detective Edwin Blake broke into show business as a script consultant on cop movies. Now living in Los Angeles five years later, Blake is suffering from clinical depression, is no longer in demand in film and TV – and money is short. But things look up when Blake gets a call from wealthy, oddball producer, Jason “JP” Perry, telling him he wants to hire him for a future cable TV series. But there’s a catch.  First he wants Blake to locate the missing ex-wife of a “friend of a friend” from Chicago. Blake will be working for free on a promise – a typical Hollywood hustle. But Blake’s not the only one on the case. Hired gun Warren Poole has also been contracted to find the woman.

When a corrupt Hollywood producer, an ex-cop with a conscience, and a career criminal without one all have the same quarry, trouble is bound to ensue. And it does, with remarkably satisfying results, thanks to Blake's girlfriend, Carla, a former roller derby queen who has turned more than her own life around. Filled with rich characters both easy to love and hate, BELOW THE LINE skewers Hollywood in a deliciously fresh way.

With his expert eye for true crime detail and his prowess at executing elaborate plot, Cauffiel gives us a thrilling ride on the dark side of Hollywood that lingers long after the credits roll.
 

Reviews

In Praise of Cauffiel's previous books:
“An excellent account of one man’s flirtation with a twilight zone of his own making. Cauffiel conveys a sense of a man’s loss of control and helpless spiraling into disaster through his highly readable narrative.” — The New York Times Book Review on Masquerade.

“Cauffiel has done a masterful job of reporting. A powerful piece of nonfiction.” — The Detroit News on Masquerade.

“Cauffiel keeps a state of heightened suspense. The mystery forces the reader onward. We’re enthralled. In the end, we, too, become obsessed.” — The Denver Post on Masquerade.

“A remarkably well-written book that reads like a gripping thriller.” The Toronto Sun on Masquerade.

“Fascinating...well-written…straightforward...meticulous...The result is a book that not even the most hardened crime reporter or mystery reviewer will ever forget.” — The Cleveland Plain Dealer on Masquerade

“One of the best true crime tomes of the past decade, right up there with Helter Skelter” — The Los Angeles Daily News

“A glowing gem of a novel.” — USA Today on Marker

“Cauffiel knows how to make it sound real.” — Elmore Leonard on Marker.

"You can’t make up characters more fascinating or a plot that keeps you turning pages faster. Cauffiel knows how to dramatize true crime." — Elmore Leonard on Forever and Five Days

"Cauffiel is one of the top true crime writers in America." — Ann Rule on House of Secrets

"A true crime thriller of uncommon psychological complexity." — Jonathan Kellerman on Eye of the Beholder

"A probing, impressive book about crime and punishment within a complex modern marriage." — Gay Talese on Eye of the Beholder

"Lowell Cauffiel is one of a small number of responsible journalists who understand that the why of a crime is as interesting and as important as the who. " — Jack Olsen on Forever and Five
Days