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Below the Line: A Hollywood Crime Novel

About the Book

Below the Line: A Hollywood Crime Novel

For fans of Hollywood noir and novels by Elmore Leonard and Michael Connolly comes a new crime novel from a Hollywood insider and true crime writer.

Former Detroit homicide detective Edwin Blake broke into show business as a script consultant on cop movies. Now living in Los Angeles five years later, Blake is suffering from clinical depression, is no longer in demand in film and TV --- and money is short. But things look up when Blake gets a call from wealthy, oddball producer Jason “JP” Perry, telling him he wants to hire him for a future cable TV series. But there’s a catch. First he wants Blake to locate the missing ex-wife of a “friend of a friend” from Chicago. Blake will be working for free on a promise --- a typical Hollywood hustle. But Blake is not the only one on the case. Hired gun Warren Poole also has been contracted to find the woman.

When a corrupt Hollywood producer, an ex-cop with a conscience, and a career criminal without one all have the same quarry, trouble is bound to ensue. And it does, with remarkably satisfying results, thanks to Blake's girlfriend, Carla, a former roller derby queen who has turned more than her own life around.

Filled with rich characters both easy to love and hate, BELOW THE LINE skewers Hollywood in a deliciously fresh way. With his expert eye for true crime detail and his prowess at executing elaborate plot, Cauffiel gives us a thrilling ride on the dark side of Hollywood that lingers long after the credits roll.

Below the Line: A Hollywood Crime Novel
by Lowell Cauffiel