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Aaron Gunner #3
You Can Die Trying
The apparent suicide of an unpopular, bigoted, former LAPD cop, Jack McGovern, has the most unlikely protagonist fighting racism, violence, and hostility to bring to light the truth about the ex-cop's death in the latest Aaron Gunner novel. Reprint.
224 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1993
11 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Gar Anthony Haywood
40 books70 followersaka Ray Shannon.
Gar Anthony Harwood also writes as Ray Shannon. He has won the Shamus and Anthony Award for his mystery fiction. He writes stand-alone novels and short-stories as well as series. He has also written for the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, written scripts for television drama series (e.g. New York Undercover and the District) and Movies of the Week for ABC. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of America.
Gar Anthony Harwood also writes as Ray Shannon. He has won the Shamus and Anthony Award for his mystery fiction. He writes stand-alone novels and short-stories as well as series. He has also written for the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, written scripts for television drama series (e.g. New York Undercover and the District) and Movies of the Week for ABC. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of America.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 22, 2019
What an expressive writer!! I've spent time roaming these streets in LA of which he writes, and it embellishes the realism and authenticity of his stories. All those excursions of the 80's come flooding back as I delve further and further into Haywood's stories. He has become one of my favorite writers.
December 19, 2021
I’ve been going through some of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series this past year. One thing I’ve written about it is my concern of how Connelly walks to the edge of police criticism but then draws back because he needs his Harry Bosch character to be “good,” even when Harry is bending and breaking laws to solve cases that apparently only he can solve.
I like Connelly a lot, I really do. But reading Gar Anthony Haywood’s take on systemic racism and police brutality in You Can Die Trying, I am reminded once more that in a different world, Haywood is a bestselling writer, a household name. And I’m also reminded why that is not the case.
The premise here is an audacious one: Haywood’s Aaron Gunner is hired to prove that a police officer accused of shooting an unarmed Black man did not, in fact, do the deed. Gunner has to navigate LA, including the fraught hierarchy of the department, in order to not only figure out what happened but why he was even hired in the first place.
That’s a lot to take on but Haywood handles it deftly. It helps that he’s built up goodwill from the first two books and that carries this one home. At the heart, this is an examination of why Black people have no good choices in a system stacked against them. Haywood attempts to solve the case but as he does, he realizes that what’s going on has far broader implications. That he’s handling this imperfectly adds more weight to the story: there are no heroes here. Just survivors and killers.
Again, I like Michael Connelly. But if you really want to use fiction in order to get a full picture of how the criminal justice ecosystem impacts Black Angelenos (and by extension, Black people at large), check out Haywood’s work.
I like Connelly a lot, I really do. But reading Gar Anthony Haywood’s take on systemic racism and police brutality in You Can Die Trying, I am reminded once more that in a different world, Haywood is a bestselling writer, a household name. And I’m also reminded why that is not the case.
The premise here is an audacious one: Haywood’s Aaron Gunner is hired to prove that a police officer accused of shooting an unarmed Black man did not, in fact, do the deed. Gunner has to navigate LA, including the fraught hierarchy of the department, in order to not only figure out what happened but why he was even hired in the first place.
That’s a lot to take on but Haywood handles it deftly. It helps that he’s built up goodwill from the first two books and that carries this one home. At the heart, this is an examination of why Black people have no good choices in a system stacked against them. Haywood attempts to solve the case but as he does, he realizes that what’s going on has far broader implications. That he’s handling this imperfectly adds more weight to the story: there are no heroes here. Just survivors and killers.
Again, I like Michael Connelly. But if you really want to use fiction in order to get a full picture of how the criminal justice ecosystem impacts Black Angelenos (and by extension, Black people at large), check out Haywood’s work.
March 3, 2023
Very noirish. Aaron takes on a case that puts it him at odds with the black community. He’s in need of some revenue but he’s a man of principle. A racist cop was fired for killing an unarmed black teenager. But now eight months later a witness who remained silent comes forward and states the teenager was armed and did fire at the officer. Nobody wants to hear it. And the witness has ulterior motives. It’s quite a journey into corruption and deceit.
September 18, 2013
As a fan of his mysteries involving the retired Loudermilk's and their Airstream trailer, I avoided the Aaron Gunner novels because they seemed the opposite extreme: edgy, violent, lurid compared to the genial atmosphere of the cozy-style.
Tracy found this one at a book store on the coast and the description seemed just like the kind of mystery I enjoy: politically aware with characters engaged with the major social and personal issues of the day. In this case--with a 1993 publishing date--Los Angeles, cops, and the black community.
There's a twisty enough mystery here and a solid engagement with the complexities without ignoring racism. Gunner seemed opaque, but given this is the third book maybe there was more personal background in the first.
Sadly, the issues from a twenty year old novel are still relevant. If you like the Harry Bosch series, get another view of L.A. from Aaron Gunner.
Tracy found this one at a book store on the coast and the description seemed just like the kind of mystery I enjoy: politically aware with characters engaged with the major social and personal issues of the day. In this case--with a 1993 publishing date--Los Angeles, cops, and the black community.
There's a twisty enough mystery here and a solid engagement with the complexities without ignoring racism. Gunner seemed opaque, but given this is the third book maybe there was more personal background in the first.
Sadly, the issues from a twenty year old novel are still relevant. If you like the Harry Bosch series, get another view of L.A. from Aaron Gunner.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews