Book Review: EVERYBODY KNOWS by Jordan Harper

EVERYBODY KNOWS by Jordan Harper (Mulholland Books, January 30, 2024) Trade Paperback, 352 pages. ISBN #9780316458023 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .

Welcome to Mae Pruett’s Los Angeles, where  “Nobody talks. But everybody whispers.”  As a “black-bag” publicist tasked not with letting the good news out but keeping the bad news in, Mae works for one of LA’s most powerful and sought-after crisis PR firms, at the center of a sprawling web of lawyers, PR flaks, and private security firms she calls “The Beast.” They protect the rich and powerful and depraved by any means necessary. 

 

After her boss is gunned down in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel in a random attack, Mae takes it upon herself to investigate and runs headfirst into The Beast’s lawless machinations and the twisted systems it exists to perpetuate. It takes her on a roving neon joyride through a Los Angeles full of influencers pumped full of pills and fillers; sprawling mansions footsteps away from sprawling homeless encampments; crooked cops and mysterious wrecking crews in the middle of the night.

 

Edgar Award-winner Jordan Harper’s EVERYBODY KNOWS is addicting and alarming, a “juggernaut of a novel” and “an absolute tour de force.” It is what the crime novel can achieve in the modern portrayal of the human lives at the center of vast American landscapes, and make us thrill at their attempts to face impossible odds.

 

 MY FIVE-STAR REVIEW ON THE GOODREADS WEBSITE . . . . 

“Life is a glorious cycle of song. A medley of extemporanea."

     I'll let some of my notes reveal my thoughts on EVERYBODY KNOWS - a highly recommended read, especially if you like realistic crime fiction that tackles hard subjects. This also makes an underlying statement about the corruption and entitlement of those with riches and power. 

February 22: Just finished reading Part One = a fascinating portrait of celebrity-ridden Los Angeles/Hollywood that is primarily a set-up for what is to come. I'm anticipating even more reveals of the seamier side of this locale and those who work behind the curtain to keep bad publicity at bay. 

February 23: This does remind me of Raymond Chandler in that the observations are wry, cynical and sometimes subtle - and often poetic in their descriptions. But since there are two main characters (Mae and Chris) and neither one is a private detective - I'm not getting any Phillip Marlowe vibes. 

I love the descriptions on Page 42-43: "She fights through traffic, hangs a left towards the great pink pleasure dome of the Beverly Hills Hotel. The valet opens the door - - he says something but she can't hear it over the roar of blood in her ears. A couple stands waiting for their own car - - the woman has billows of blond hair framing her acid-peel face, her teeth like pearls between Joker-plump lips. Her husband stands like a sack of something wet, puffs of gray hair lifting his shirt, tangling out from the button gaps like prisoners grasping between bars. He looks the age the woman is not allowed to be."

It is passages like this that remind me of Chandler, although Harper is not creating a pastiche/homage here and has his own style of writing - - which is similar in that respect. Harper does not have the same propensity of Chandler to describe scenes and situations via creative similes - and I'm glad he didn't try to force it. 

There are some very memorable scenes, especially after Chris interviews the family of a wannabe gang-banger who was shot dead by police: "He shows himself out. On his way out the door, Chris throws one more look toward Gustavo. The man's face is still frozen. His hands in his lap grasp and clench the air like he's trying to find the world's throat and choke it until it's dead."

Mae, who works for the largest 'crisis PR' firm in L.A. and doesn't always feel good about what the job requires her to do, has a moment of reflection that is indicated through some body language: 

    She sticks a plastic fork into her leg. The tines make cones of pain. She wonders which will break first, the fork or her skin.

   "Okay. Forget it. Look, I did my job.”

   "That's all I ever ask of you."

    The fork breaks first. 

February 24: I'm a huge fan of Ramond Chandler, and while I was familiar with Harper's writing (via SHE RIDES SHOTGUN) it was a television interview that compared EVERYBODY KNOWS to Chandler that made this a must-read for me. However, if you're looking for a character or characters like Phillip Marlowe you won't find it here. 

In fact, the motives of the two main characters were suspicious (to me) until the very (and very satisfying) ending to the story. Harper compares to Chandler in themes, settings and his underlying message about riches and power. Chandler wrote about corruption, entitlement, and spoiled rich elites in 1930's and 1940's Los Angeles. Harper updates that for us by focusing on current Los Angeles, especially Hollywood, and takes us to the dirty underside, exposing a separate behind-the-scenes industry that keeps bad publicity away from their rich clientele - an industry that is just as corrupt and jaded as the Hollywood elite.

February 25: Yes, there are parts of this novel that are disgusting and brutally blunt. There's a lot of rightfully expressed cynicism in these characters but there still remains traces of decency and integrity. 

I definitely want to read more from Jordan Harper.