St. Martin's, Dec 2004, 23.95, 304 pp.
ISBN: 0312309848
By the time he was thirty-two, Benjamin Justice won the Pulitzer, but soon saw his stature crumble to the ground when his sources proved fake. He lost his job, credibility and with few exceptions, no one in the newspaper world will have anything to do with him.
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Now a decade has passed since his fall from grace; Benjamin is HIV positive, has lost an eye, his lover died, and he remains a journalistic pariah. Needing work, Benjamin agrees to complete a booklet that West Hollywood contracted with freelancer Bruce Bibby who was murdered in a burglary that turned tragic. Benjamin concentrates on the WeHo booklet that cites historical buildings, but stays out of the police investigation. However, he soon is the center of a dispute over dilapidated cottages that preservationists claim are historically valuable while developers want to build condos on the site. Both sides tug at Benjamin because his project includes significant historical locations that might influence the final decision. Benjamin ties the booklet back to the murder of his predecessor and begins his own inquiries.
Harriet Klausner
The review of this Book prepared by Harriet Klausner
