Below the Line: A Hollywood Crime Novel

This transgressive L.A. crime yarn from screenwriter and true crime author Cauffiel (House of Secrets) follows former Detroit homicide detective Edwin Blake as he tries to make ends meet in Tinseltown without getting hustled. Blake’s five-year run as a script consultant for cop shows has taken a recent downturn when he gets a call from hotshot producer JP Perry, who lures the detective to his Malibu estate with the promise of a real “above the line” writing gig—so long as Blake promises to find the missing ex-wife and daughter of a “friend of a friend” from Chicago. Unbeknownst to Blake, he isn’t the only person Perry has sent on the women’s trail, and before long, Blake finds himself competing with a major Vegas criminal. Cauffiel takes clever digs at the false promises of Hollywood and its denizens while evocatively walking readers through the city’s seedier corners. Less successful is his need to fold in every clichéd entertainment industry vice—drugs, strippers, pedophilia—which do little more than add color for color’s sake. This is a fizzy good time, but nothing substantial. Agent: Cherry Weiner, Cherry Weiner Literary. (May)