L.A. Rex

A gritty and ferocious novel written by Will Beall, an LAPD officer who continues to patrol the streets he writes about. L.A. Rex is the story of Ben Halloran, a seemingly fresh-faced rookie assigned to the 77th Division, L.A.'s most violent precinct, still reeling from the Rodney King riots. Partnered with old-school cop Miguel Marquez, the two plunge fast and deep into the city's burgeoning gang war—and it soon becomes clear that they won't be able to emerge again unless Ben faces the demons he's running from once and for all. Bristling with the energy and authenticity of the author's experiences as a working policeman in South Central L.A., this is a literary thriller that doesn't just unfold. It explodes."L.A. Rex is a stunning debut. A gritty tale dripping with truth—it could only have come from a writer who has lived the life."—Michael Connelly

"L.A. Rex is to the twenty-first century noir thriller what Apocalypse Now was to the twentieth-century war movies: vivid, powerful, imaginative, unique."—Joseph Wambaugh

"A brutal and dynamic novel about patrolling the City of Angels in the post-Rodney King era. L.A. Rex reads like a combination of Joseph Wambaugh and Tom Wolfe."—The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Has the crackle and spark of what one could easily imagine was life on the streets in 1998 Los Angeles, a city still on edge after the Rodney King riots...Beall excels at painting a slang-rich world of cops and criminals."—Los Angeles Times

"A kind of crime fighter's bildungsroman...It's hard to imagine a better training ground for crime writing than police work."—The New York Times Book Review

"Will Beall is as tough as they come, and L.A. Rex is really good in all the right ways. It is intelligent, powerfully written, and pulses with raw authenticity."—Robert B. ParkerWill Beall is an officer in the LAPD's 77th Division, which covers South Central Los Angeles.