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 Review of L. A. Heat by P. A. Brown
Our story opens at a crime scene in Los Angeles. Homicide detective David Eric Laine tries not to breathe. The summer heat has already worked on the body at his feet. His forensics colleagues scurry about, collecting evidence. It's the latest murder by the Carpet Killer who slaughters gay men and transports their corpses, rolled up in rugs, to select locations. David, a 14-year veteran of LAPD, cannot shrug off the horror of a crime like this.
David himself is secretly gay. He only allows himself the occasional sexual encounter when he's out of town, attending classic cars shows. Now he tries not to stare at a handsome cop. Soon his volatile partner Martinez arrives. Martinez, a squat little man who loves garish outfits, peppers his conversation with homophobic remarks. David shrugs it off with weary patience. Through some fascinating details involving rigor mortis, fly larvae, and blood pooling, the forensics specialist reconstructs the victim's gruesome demise: raped, tortured, and murdered.
Chapter 2 introduces the young and beautiful Christopher Bellamere. Chris gets paid the big bucks, but his job entails meeting around the clock with demanding clients experiencing software emergencies. He dislikes his homophobic coworker Tom Clarke whose many mistakes he must correct. He spends his paltry moments of free time at the Nosh Pit, a popular gay bar. His friend Des tries to fix him up with nice men. However, Des's petulant boyfriend Kyle puts a strain on their friendship.
We meet three men soon to influence Chris's life in surprising ways. First, Chris has a fling with Bobby, a porn actor he meets at the Nosh Pit. Then Chris must rebuild a client's server with the hostile Tom Clarke. Then Chris has lunch with Trevor Watson, a self-centered acquaintance of Des. Chris heads off for another client meeting, followed by some decompression back at the Nosh Pit. When he emerges, he finds that someone spray-painted graffiti all over his metallic-gold SUV.
Meanwhile, Detective David Laine relaxes with his Siamese cat Sweeney in his cozy bungalow. He sits surrounded by his classic jazz and oldies rock records, but has no time to listen because Martinez calls with breaking news. He needs to get down to the police station.
We switch to Chris's viewpoint. The cops escort him to the police station – a reaction he finds extreme given that he is a victim of vandalism. Among the homophobic slurs spray-painted on his SUV were the words "Carpet Killer" which means nothing to him. However, this connects him with a homicide investigation and he must meet the two detectives on the case. He walks through a gauntlet of cops who exude contempt because he's gay. Then he meets Detective David Laine, a bearish man at six-foot-four with the rugged looks of actor Tommy Lee Jones.
Back to David's viewpoint: he and Martinez interview Chris who thinks he recognizes some of the murder victims from their photos. Poor David finds himself overwhelmingly attracted to Chris. He also feels like flinching every time Chris mentions being gay and Martinez responds with open hostility. David tries to ease the tension with courtesy. But Martinez warns Chris that they will be watching him.
That night Chris wakes from a nightmare in which only Detective David Laine can save him. He gets sinister phone calls in which the caller waits in silence and then hangs up. Meanwhile another gay man gets murdered and a witness provides details that seem to describe Chris: a blond man in a gold vehicle.
As the murders continue to grow more frenetic, two things become clear to David: the murderer is unraveling psychologically, and Chris is intrinsically involved. If Chris is not the killer himself, then someone close to him means to frame him. And if someone hates Chris that much, he could end up the final victim. As David and Chris get thrown together by the case, they can't deny their increasing mutual attraction. For David especially it's a chance for happiness and a lot to lose: his career, his partner Martinez, and perhaps Chris himself.
L.A. Heat is a fast-paced, gripping thriller built upon unusually solid research. Police procedurals are the most ambitious mystery subgenre to attempt because they are centered on specialized knowledge from cop slang to forensic technology that must seem authentic and understandable to the layman. Here the author does an outstanding job! She even goes a step further and gives Chris thoroughly convincing software details for his legal, and illegal, ventures into cyberspace.
David is an appealing character of great patience and inner strength. It's amusing to watch him interview the colorful and exasperating characters he encounters in his investigation: his respectful demeanor reflects deep curiosity and compassion for his fellow humans. Chris seems shallow at first. What kind of guy spends $800 on a pair of jeans? But his personality matures under stress. By the time he takes the initiative and starts hacking into secure networks to do some sleuthing of his own, I here at Obsidianbookshelf.com had grown to like him. David and Chris are an intriguingly farfetched couple: they have real chemistry together but their sex scenes downplay the explicit details to focus more on the romance. L.A. Heat is a striking debut to what is sure to be a best-selling mystery series.
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