Angel's Gate

The latest novel in the acclaimed Shortcut Man series is a rousing tale of sex, sleaze, and salvation in the City of Angels thats filled with enough dark humor and shady characters to satisfy the most rabid noir fan (Associated Press). Our hero Dick Henryaka the Shortcut Manbecomes involved in a case featuring an aging but still amorous Los Angeles movie mogul named Howard Hogue who keeps a stable of young starlets available for his highly ritualized attentions. Retained by the sister of a young woman who has gone missing, Henry becomes friendly with Connie Cielo, the housemother to the starlets. Despite Connies morally questionable responsibilities, she is willing to help (and enjoy the company of) the Shortcut Man. After Hogues star director assaults one of these women in a drug-fueled romp, Henry is drawn into a deeper mystery from years past involving a mysterious death on a boat and a missing screenplay written by what appears to be a homeless man. As he peels back layer upon layer of sordid Hollywood history, Dick Henry must contend with crazed drug dealers, Hogues personal doctor, crooked cops, private security henchmen, and Hogue himselfwho is so powerful and bunkered in his movie-biz millions that he is unfazed by the resourceful Henry. A wry and rollicking read, Vexations of the Shortcut Man proves that p.g. sturges is one of the cleverest and funniest new writers to grace the mystery genre in quite some time (BookPage.com).