The transformative moment in Luke Crosswhite’s life was witnessing his father brutally kill a man in a bowling alley parking lot. He was only seven years old, but everything changed for him. His father’s incarceration and his mother’s chemical dependency led him to leave his father’s relatives in California and live with his mother’s family in Colorado. His father’s imprisonment and his mother’s surrender to addiction left an emptiness in his life that reverberated over a decade later.

The past never quite let go of Luke, who knew about his father and the criminal enterprise that operated out of the Inland Empire. He would read about the group known as “The Combine,” whose members included his Uncle Del and various associates. Despite his early removal from his father’s family and their criminality, Luke feels drawn back to California. After a breakdown and various self-sabotaging actions, he reaches out to Del’s wife to see if he would be welcome there.

"THE LAST KING OF CALIFORNIA comes in swinging and doesn’t cease its furious onslaught until its brilliant conclusion."

Luke arrives at his childhood home, but now he is practically a stranger. Del allows him to live in a trailer on the property, but a conversation about his future goes sideways, and Del looks askance at him. Luke knows he will need to prove himself and take initiative in order to get his uncle’s approval. So he musters up some fortitude and pulls off a lucrative break-in. Del acknowledges his nephew’s potential, and soon after Luke is initiated into the Devore Combine.

The world Luke is stepping into is fraught with danger, and The Combine is facing the possibility of a war with a white supremacist group over territorial encroachment. Del is the acting head of the group and refuses to acquiesce to the entreaties and/or threats from a rival organization. Shots are exchanged, foretelling a lengthy and bloody conflict. Meanwhile, Luke’s cousin, Callie, plots a risky maneuver to make some life-changing money. But the plan goes sideways; she is in hot water with the law and, potentially, The Combine.

As Luke solidifies his criminal credentials, he will be faced with making decisions that will bring him closer to his father than he ever considered possible.

THE LAST KING OF CALIFORNIA comes in swinging and doesn’t cease its furious onslaught until its brilliant conclusion. Jordan Harper continues to distinguish himself as a force to be reckoned with in the crime fiction genre. Luke had a normal life stolen from him, yet he opts to walk into the abyss so he can be a part of something. While acclimating to his new life, Callie wants to extricate herself from the underworld. The decisions they make to cement their futures carry grave consequences for both.

Harper aptly portrays the chaotic nature of organized crime and how familial bonds can be easily cast aside when loyalty is questioned. Luke and Callie are intriguing in their narratives, and Harper imbues them with equal parts depth and complexity. This inspired and memorable novel will garner acclaim far and wide.