DOS ANGELES
by Michael O'Hara
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE:
Mystery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Dos
Angeles, the first in a franchise of mysteries featuring Paco Moran, puts the
multicultural thirty-something ex-LAPD homicide detective turned reluctant
private eye on the trail of a beautiful young Latina on the run with ten
million dollars in cash. Half Anglo and half Mexican, Moran is a transitional
character equally at home working in Beverly Hills or blue collar Boyle
Heights, the tough East Los Angeles neighborhood where he was raised by a
single mom. In his debut case Paco quickly learns he will be the fall guy if he
doesn't track down the young immigrant who allegedly stole a small fortune from
a sleazy Hollywood producer secretly laundering money for a notorious drug
cartel. Paco's frantic search takes him on a roller-coaster ride through a
shadowy place he calls Dos Angeles a city within the city and a virtual country
unto itself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt:
Then, the day before the Pirellis were due home, something
unexpected came up that needed her immediate attention. On hearing what she
thought was the sound of a toilet running she first checked downstairs before
heading up to the master suite. Inside the gaudy all gold and marble bathroom
she discovered a puddle of water seeping out from inside the extra-long double
vanity. Opening the main cabinet doors she saw one of the stainless steel hoses
was leaking badly. She tried to tighten the connection but it had no effect.
Afraid she might make matters worse, she turned off the valve and hurried
downstairs to call a plumber on the approved contact list.
A half hour later Sid Kantor showed up and Maria was
immediately intimidated by his off-putting physical presence. Short and obesely
overweight with a large shaved head, a Quaker-like beard, and dull, hooded
eyes, Kantor reminded her of El Malvado, a cartoon villain that used to terrify
her as a little girl in Oaxaca. Because of that and his gruff, unfriendly manner,
she quickly sensed he was one of those aggressive white foreigners who only saw
Mexicans as workers, never as equals.
Not about to give him the satisfaction of staring at her
shapely bottom on the way up the steep winding staircase, she politely stepped
aside and gestured for him to lead the way. By the time they reached the second
floor landing he was grunting and panting so much she feared he might have a
heart attack.
“Are you okay, sir?” she asked with genuine concern.
“Ya, ya,” he muttered, wiping his brow with his shirt
sleeve. “It’s dis damn heat.”
Minutes later Maria stood by patiently as Kantor awkwardly
maneuvered his way under the sink to remove and replace the faulty hose. When
he finally finished he turned the water back on to test it.
“Dat should do it,” he said in a heavily accented,
non-American voice. “Let run five minutes to make sure.”
After struggling to get back up on his feet Kantor gestured
with the flashlight he’d been using, illuminating the inside of the cabinet.
“You know what behind dere?” he asked, focusing the light on
a small pocket door under the sink.
“Behind where?” Maria was confused.
“Dere, dere!” he growled, swirling the light around to
emphasize what he was talking about
“I don’t know,” she shrugged.
“Strange. Hah?” He pointed the flashlight at the door again.
“Must be something back dere.”
Since Kantor was obviously way too big to crawl through
himself, Maria volunteered to take a look while he was still there.
“No time,” he said, tapping on his watch. “Late for next
appointment.”
He handed her a business card. “You call if any more
problems.”
She promised she would and saw him out.
After he left, she decided to return upstairs to check
behind the cabinet to make sure there were no hidden pipes that could be
leaking. When she slid open the mystery door, she was startled to discover a
secret room. “Dios mío!” she whispered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Emmy nominee
Michael O’Hara-- who has written and produced some of the highest-rated
television movies and miniseries in recent memory – is adding author to his
resume with the August, 2015 the publication of his first novel, Dos Angeles.
The book,
featuring a bilingual and bicultural private eye named Paco Moran, centers
around Moran’s desperate search for a beautiful young Latina immigrant who
stole ten million dollars from the mob. In a pre-publication review American
Book Award winner Peter Quinn said: Paco Moran’s debut in Michael O'Hara's Dos
Angeles is fast-paced, finely crafted, and full of surprises. It's noir fiction
for the 21st century, a helluva ride from the first page to last. Here's hoping
O'Hara brings Paco back very soon. I can't wait!
A former
award-winning journalist and NBC Vice President of Media Relations, O’Hara made
an auspicious debut as a writer/producer with “Those She Left Behind,” a
critically acclaimed family drama that continues to be the highest-rated TV
movie (25.1/38 share) on any network in over twenty years. It starred Gary Cole
and Colleen Dewhurst (who won an Emmy Award for her performance). That success
was followed by the widely praised NBC movie “She Said No” which won an
American Women in Radio & Television Award for Best Television Dramatic
Special.
O’Hara next
wrote and executive produced “Switched at Birth,” the blockbuster NBC miniseries
that earned an Emmy nomination as Best Dramatic Special and remains the highest
rated (22 rating/33 share) miniseries on network television since its initial
telecast over two decades ago. He was also the writer and executive producer of
“Murder in the Heartland,” a celebrated ABC miniseries which garnered a Casting
Society of America Award and two Emmy nominations. Right after that he created
and executive produced the first of 22 “Moment of Truth” movies for NBC,
establishing one of the most successful film franchises in TV history.
O’Hara also
wrote “She Woke Up Pregnant,” the pilot for ABC’s ‘Crimes of Passion’
franchise. It scored an impressive 13.4 rating and 21 share, making it the
highest-rated ABC movie of the year. He went on to write “One Hot Summer
Night,” another ‘Crimes of Passion’ thriller that was ABC’s highest-rated
Thursday night movie of the season. Other producing credits include two CBS
projects: “Twilight Zone – Rod Serling’s Lost Classics” and “A Child’s Wish,”
which was filmed in the Oval Office and featured a cameo appearance by then
President Bill Clinton. In addition he wrote and executive produced NBC’s “In
His Life: The John Lennon Story” and “1st to Die,” a two-part NBC miniseries
based on the best-selling novel by James Patterson.
Overall O’Hara
has produced four miniseries and 33 Movies of the Week. Besides his Emmy
nomination, other honors include: a Christopher Award (“A Child’s Wish”); a
Prism Award (“The Accident”); a Humanitas Award nomination (“Heart of a Child”);
a National Easter Seal Society Award (“To Walk Again”); an International Health
& Medical Film Award (“Heart of a Child”); and the Media Award from The
National Council on Problem Gambling (“Playing to Win.”)
Michael-ohara.com
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14203330.Michael_O_Hara
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dos-Angeles/1143487899001779
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