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L.A. Burning
An ex-con hits the streets of L.A. to find her twin sister’s killer. Is it a mission of justice—or a quest for vengeance?
Cody Bonner, identical twin, daughter of a major movie star, a teenage street kid in Los Angeles, a bank robber at nineteen, and a prison inmate at twenty. When she’s released after six years, she returns to L.A. with a purpose: to learn the truth about her sister Julie, who washed up on a Malibu beach a year earlier. The connection between the twins was so powerful that the day Julie died, Cody collapsed in the prison yard. Now that bond is driving her to seek justice—at any cost.
Using bootleg skills she learned in prison, Cody begins to peel back the layers of mystery. Her search leads her to the darker alleys behind the dazzle of the film business, and into the world of high-powered agents, high-priced call girls, and men with a taste for sexual violence. As she homes in on her mother’s powerful agent, Harry Groban, a man with ugly accusations of abuse in his past, Cody becomes more deeply enmeshed in the life she left behind as a teenager: her mother’s star power, her former classmates-turned-producers, glitzy parties, and a handsome former love who knows all the players. Is Groban at the center? Could there be others who had a hand in Julie’s murder?
As Cody gets closer to the truth, another ghost from her criminal past is stalking her—one that could put her back in prison for years.
Cody Bonner, identical twin, daughter of a major movie star, a teenage street kid in Los Angeles, a bank robber at nineteen, and a prison inmate at twenty. When she’s released after six years, she returns to L.A. with a purpose: to learn the truth about her sister Julie, who washed up on a Malibu beach a year earlier. The connection between the twins was so powerful that the day Julie died, Cody collapsed in the prison yard. Now that bond is driving her to seek justice—at any cost.
Using bootleg skills she learned in prison, Cody begins to peel back the layers of mystery. Her search leads her to the darker alleys behind the dazzle of the film business, and into the world of high-powered agents, high-priced call girls, and men with a taste for sexual violence. As she homes in on her mother’s powerful agent, Harry Groban, a man with ugly accusations of abuse in his past, Cody becomes more deeply enmeshed in the life she left behind as a teenager: her mother’s star power, her former classmates-turned-producers, glitzy parties, and a handsome former love who knows all the players. Is Groban at the center? Could there be others who had a hand in Julie’s murder?
As Cody gets closer to the truth, another ghost from her criminal past is stalking her—one that could put her back in prison for years.
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First published February 8, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
February 7, 2022
As Cody Bonner checked out of the women’s prison after five years of incarceration, she vowed never to return. She needed to return to Los Angeles, to her hometown, and find the person who murdered Julie, her identical twin sister. Their mother was a famous movie star, so there were plenty of people in their orbit – both good and bad. And she knew drugs were rife, corruption was spread through everything a person touched, and the cruelty and depravity were widespread. Where would Cody start?
Julie’s body had been discovered on a Malibu beach a year ago and it was likely any evidence was long gone. But she had a journalist friend who might help her. She also had old school friends who were now high up in the movie industry – she would talk to them. But it was when she picked up Julie’s laptop from the cops and paid another friend to break the encryption code for her, that her worst fears were realized. What on earth had Julie been involved in? The danger was high, the threat of prison again, even higher – but Cody was determined…
L.A. Burning is a chilling thriller by D.C. Taylor which took me to a Los Angeles that I really hope isn’t like its portrayed in this book! From the homeless and starving to the rich and famous, and many in between, the inhumanity and harshness filled every corner. I admired Cody; her determination and positivity, the learning she’d taken from prison, her ability to look after herself – she was one tough customer! L.A. Burning is my first by this author and I have no hesitation in recommending it.
With thanks to Crooked Lane via NetGalley for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
Julie’s body had been discovered on a Malibu beach a year ago and it was likely any evidence was long gone. But she had a journalist friend who might help her. She also had old school friends who were now high up in the movie industry – she would talk to them. But it was when she picked up Julie’s laptop from the cops and paid another friend to break the encryption code for her, that her worst fears were realized. What on earth had Julie been involved in? The danger was high, the threat of prison again, even higher – but Cody was determined…
L.A. Burning is a chilling thriller by D.C. Taylor which took me to a Los Angeles that I really hope isn’t like its portrayed in this book! From the homeless and starving to the rich and famous, and many in between, the inhumanity and harshness filled every corner. I admired Cody; her determination and positivity, the learning she’d taken from prison, her ability to look after herself – she was one tough customer! L.A. Burning is my first by this author and I have no hesitation in recommending it.
With thanks to Crooked Lane via NetGalley for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
July 11, 2024
This one started out like a house on fire and I was sucked in right away. There's nothing quite like an L.A. setting that really plays up the Hollywood sleaze. Heroine, daughter of a celebrated actress, is fresh out of prison (for bank robbery!) and determined to track down the slime who murdered her twin sister. When it was a straight up amateur sleuth story with a street savvy heroine, I was hooked. When the author morphs it a bit more into a thriller where the heroine is planning to kill the man how murdered her sister? Not as much. But the ship rights itself and it's got a bang-up finish, even if the whodunit isn't much of a brain teaser. Really enjoyable.
April 20, 2022
https://headbutler.com/reviews/l-a-bu...
I don’t read thrillers, and that goes double for thrillers with a detective as the main character, but a friend introduced me to David Taylor, who had written “Night Life,” which is about my double least favorite genre. Of course I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. And I was thrilled for my new discovery when “Night Life” was nominated in the Best Novel category for an Edgar Award and won the Nero Wolfe Award for 2016.
I was exceedingly impatient for “Night Work,” Taylor’s next thriller. Same detective, different problem. And a beginning that commands your attention: “The dead man sat on a wooden kitchen chair just inside the 72nd Street entrance to Central Park.”
As the author of “L.A. Burning,” David Taylor writes as D.C. Taylor. He’s fooling no one. It begins: “No one oversleeps the day they come to release you from prison.” The guard escorting the prisoner “pushed his groin against me and ran his hand over my ass.” That’s when I realized the prisoner is female. Cody Bonner. 26. She’s served her full five-year sentence. She’ll leave prison with $320 and a ticket to the county where was arrested. She’s not going there. She’s going home.
Not so fast. At the bus station she’s accosted by a janitor and his skeevy friend, who has “a bone for you you’ll never forget.” He’s unaware that she’s practiced half-speed strikes and sparring in the prison yard. He finds out. She leaves with $480 from his pocket and takes a cab to the airport.
Looking down on Los Angeles, she knows her sister’s killer is down there. “Who was he? Where was he? Could I find him? What if I did? What would I do then?”
Cody is a twin. Her sister Julie was a lawyer, as straight as Cody was bent. So how did she end up dead on a beach at the Malibu Colony, with bruises on her torso, signs of strangulation, and a broken nose?
Consumer warning: There is considerable violence in this book, all directed at women. Exploitation is routine. There are men whose kink is beating women, and women who are paid to endure that. To read these scenes is to be nauseous. This may not be a book you can stand to read.
Small world? Some of the characters are familiar to Cody. Her first suspect, Harry Groban, is so twisted he makes Harvey Weinstein look innocent — and, oh, he’s the agent for her mother, a four-time Academy Award nominee and winner of one. She reconnects with high school classmates who are now in the film business. She gets involved with Curtis Whyle — in school, her sister nicknamed him Wile E. Coyote. And she is being tracked by Detective Aaron Steckley, who believes she robbed two banks for which she wasn’t charged — he’s obsessed with sending her back to jail. One more plot twist: Cody pursues Harry Groban, Steckley pursues Cody. And because fire is a season in LA, there’s a fire that burns hundreds of acres.
Along the way, there are sentences that remind you the author is as gifted a stylist as he is a plotter.
“The valet took Curtis’s Porsche and parked it in a corner where it wouldn’t embarrass the really expensive cars.”
“We’d been in his pool and lying naked on pads, absorbing a dose of cancer.”
And this, about the blurring of fantasy and reality in LA: “People living in a desert imported snow for a child’s birthday party, movie stars insisted I do my own stunts, and a girl who had everything could wake up one morning and decide that robbing banks was a good idea.”
I hated this book. I loved this book.
I don’t read thrillers, and that goes double for thrillers with a detective as the main character, but a friend introduced me to David Taylor, who had written “Night Life,” which is about my double least favorite genre. Of course I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. And I was thrilled for my new discovery when “Night Life” was nominated in the Best Novel category for an Edgar Award and won the Nero Wolfe Award for 2016.
I was exceedingly impatient for “Night Work,” Taylor’s next thriller. Same detective, different problem. And a beginning that commands your attention: “The dead man sat on a wooden kitchen chair just inside the 72nd Street entrance to Central Park.”
As the author of “L.A. Burning,” David Taylor writes as D.C. Taylor. He’s fooling no one. It begins: “No one oversleeps the day they come to release you from prison.” The guard escorting the prisoner “pushed his groin against me and ran his hand over my ass.” That’s when I realized the prisoner is female. Cody Bonner. 26. She’s served her full five-year sentence. She’ll leave prison with $320 and a ticket to the county where was arrested. She’s not going there. She’s going home.
Not so fast. At the bus station she’s accosted by a janitor and his skeevy friend, who has “a bone for you you’ll never forget.” He’s unaware that she’s practiced half-speed strikes and sparring in the prison yard. He finds out. She leaves with $480 from his pocket and takes a cab to the airport.
Looking down on Los Angeles, she knows her sister’s killer is down there. “Who was he? Where was he? Could I find him? What if I did? What would I do then?”
Cody is a twin. Her sister Julie was a lawyer, as straight as Cody was bent. So how did she end up dead on a beach at the Malibu Colony, with bruises on her torso, signs of strangulation, and a broken nose?
Consumer warning: There is considerable violence in this book, all directed at women. Exploitation is routine. There are men whose kink is beating women, and women who are paid to endure that. To read these scenes is to be nauseous. This may not be a book you can stand to read.
Small world? Some of the characters are familiar to Cody. Her first suspect, Harry Groban, is so twisted he makes Harvey Weinstein look innocent — and, oh, he’s the agent for her mother, a four-time Academy Award nominee and winner of one. She reconnects with high school classmates who are now in the film business. She gets involved with Curtis Whyle — in school, her sister nicknamed him Wile E. Coyote. And she is being tracked by Detective Aaron Steckley, who believes she robbed two banks for which she wasn’t charged — he’s obsessed with sending her back to jail. One more plot twist: Cody pursues Harry Groban, Steckley pursues Cody. And because fire is a season in LA, there’s a fire that burns hundreds of acres.
Along the way, there are sentences that remind you the author is as gifted a stylist as he is a plotter.
“The valet took Curtis’s Porsche and parked it in a corner where it wouldn’t embarrass the really expensive cars.”
“We’d been in his pool and lying naked on pads, absorbing a dose of cancer.”
And this, about the blurring of fantasy and reality in LA: “People living in a desert imported snow for a child’s birthday party, movie stars insisted I do my own stunts, and a girl who had everything could wake up one morning and decide that robbing banks was a good idea.”
I hated this book. I loved this book.
April 25, 2023
this crime thriller hooked me right away. the narrator’s voice emanated the character of Cody perfectly. I loved her take-no-shit attitude and her determination to find her sister’s killer. the story has a Hollywood backdrop but it wasn’t at the forefront; it was seductively just ~there~, and I liked that. some parts fell flat for me, I felt like a few fight scenes dragged on and it especially feels longer when listening, I just wanted to skip it. all in all, this was a pretty decent audiobook with enough action and sassy was to keep me interested!
May 2, 2022
Most of us grew up immersed in the celluloid fantasies of Hollywood, captivated by the glittering images of glamourous film stars and the fertile imaginations of the writers and directors who brought them to the screen and made them seem real. But every once and a while we have witnessed the curtain being drawn back to reveal a darker and more ominous world in which the players’ true personalities are revealed, and some of the myths dispelled. This is nowhere less true than in David C. Taylor’s latest novel, L.A. Burning, a gripping read that draws upon events rooted in the real world of Hollywood to paint a picture altogether less glamorous, and a great deal more disturbing, than that woven by industry flacks.
Ex-bank robber and prison inmate Cody Bonner has just been released from a five year stretch in prison for bank robbery, and she’s a gal on a mission. While locked up her twin sister Julie had been brutally murdered, her body washed up on a beach in Malibu.
As twins, the two had been especially close. Cody is committed to finding out how Julie died, and why. The trail will lead her into the dark recesses of Tinseltown, a world of sleazy agents and even sleazier movie moguls. Throughout her journey Cody will also have to navigate the byzantine world of her mother, a fading film star who seems less concerned about her daughter’s death than her own tenuous position in the ephemeral heights of the Hollywood firmament. But Cody has two things going for her: the skills she picked up while in prison, and her own dogged determination to solve her sister’s death. It is a riveting tale that turns on the seamy underside of an industry built on image, power, and perversion. All the while lurking in the background is a cop who is convinced that Cody was behind other crimes than those that sent her to prison, and who is bent to bringing her down for those as well.
This is not Taylor’s first rodeo and it shows. The action is perfectly paced, the dialogue is crisp, and drawing on over two decades of writing for movies David Taylor shows an unerring eye for the layered and nuanced world of the film industry and throws in a twist in the tale to keep readers guessing. The result is a captivating read that will leave readers hungry for Taylor’s next book. Highly recommended.
_______
Jim Napier is a reviewer with over six hundred reviews to his credit,
Ex-bank robber and prison inmate Cody Bonner has just been released from a five year stretch in prison for bank robbery, and she’s a gal on a mission. While locked up her twin sister Julie had been brutally murdered, her body washed up on a beach in Malibu.
As twins, the two had been especially close. Cody is committed to finding out how Julie died, and why. The trail will lead her into the dark recesses of Tinseltown, a world of sleazy agents and even sleazier movie moguls. Throughout her journey Cody will also have to navigate the byzantine world of her mother, a fading film star who seems less concerned about her daughter’s death than her own tenuous position in the ephemeral heights of the Hollywood firmament. But Cody has two things going for her: the skills she picked up while in prison, and her own dogged determination to solve her sister’s death. It is a riveting tale that turns on the seamy underside of an industry built on image, power, and perversion. All the while lurking in the background is a cop who is convinced that Cody was behind other crimes than those that sent her to prison, and who is bent to bringing her down for those as well.
This is not Taylor’s first rodeo and it shows. The action is perfectly paced, the dialogue is crisp, and drawing on over two decades of writing for movies David Taylor shows an unerring eye for the layered and nuanced world of the film industry and throws in a twist in the tale to keep readers guessing. The result is a captivating read that will leave readers hungry for Taylor’s next book. Highly recommended.
_______
Jim Napier is a reviewer with over six hundred reviews to his credit,
April 12, 2022
4.5 stars.
L.A. Burning by D.C. Taylor is a beguiling revenge mystery.
Ex-con Cody Bonner is determined to find her twin sister Julie’s killer. Her mother Karen is a popular actress who would rather Cody not go looking for trouble. The police have no leads so Cody gets as much information she can about what her sister was doing before her death. Trying to figure out if Julie’s murder is linked to her career as a lawyer, Cody discovers her sister worked with a classmate of theirs, Curtis Whyle. He has left the firm and now works in the movie business. Through her renewed romance with him, Cody is reacquainted with Terry Gwinn and Mark Siegel who also pal around with Hollywood elites. Cody’s best suspect turns out to be agent to the stars, Henry Groban. Will her risky attempts to uncover the truth lead to the evidence she is searching for?
Cody and Julie might have been twins but their personalities could not have been more different. While Julie paid more attention to getting good grades, Cody skipped school and dabbled with drugs. Although their mother paid for her to go to rehab, Cody slips into addiction and eventually becomes homeless. After turning to bank robbery, Cody has just completed her sentence.
Cody hopes to find answers at her sister’s place. She also wants to crack the password on Julie’s laptop. Utilizing her connections from her past and her time on the streets, Cody’s behavior becomes increasingly reckless in her quest to locate Julie’s killer. At the same time, she must dodge the detective who believes she is responsible for other unsolved bank robberies.
L.A. Burning is a tightly-plotted mystery with a stubborn lead protagonist. Cody is tough, intelligent and will go to any lengths to find Julie’s killer. She sometimes has a little tunnel vision as she winnows down the suspect list and she makes perilous choices as she plots her revenge. The detective on her heels is dogged as he tries to find evidence to arrest her for the bank robberies. With a dangerous fire bearing down on the city, D.C. Taylor brings this suspenseful mystery to a twist-filled conclusion.
L.A. Burning by D.C. Taylor is a beguiling revenge mystery.
Ex-con Cody Bonner is determined to find her twin sister Julie’s killer. Her mother Karen is a popular actress who would rather Cody not go looking for trouble. The police have no leads so Cody gets as much information she can about what her sister was doing before her death. Trying to figure out if Julie’s murder is linked to her career as a lawyer, Cody discovers her sister worked with a classmate of theirs, Curtis Whyle. He has left the firm and now works in the movie business. Through her renewed romance with him, Cody is reacquainted with Terry Gwinn and Mark Siegel who also pal around with Hollywood elites. Cody’s best suspect turns out to be agent to the stars, Henry Groban. Will her risky attempts to uncover the truth lead to the evidence she is searching for?
Cody and Julie might have been twins but their personalities could not have been more different. While Julie paid more attention to getting good grades, Cody skipped school and dabbled with drugs. Although their mother paid for her to go to rehab, Cody slips into addiction and eventually becomes homeless. After turning to bank robbery, Cody has just completed her sentence.
Cody hopes to find answers at her sister’s place. She also wants to crack the password on Julie’s laptop. Utilizing her connections from her past and her time on the streets, Cody’s behavior becomes increasingly reckless in her quest to locate Julie’s killer. At the same time, she must dodge the detective who believes she is responsible for other unsolved bank robberies.
L.A. Burning is a tightly-plotted mystery with a stubborn lead protagonist. Cody is tough, intelligent and will go to any lengths to find Julie’s killer. She sometimes has a little tunnel vision as she winnows down the suspect list and she makes perilous choices as she plots her revenge. The detective on her heels is dogged as he tries to find evidence to arrest her for the bank robberies. With a dangerous fire bearing down on the city, D.C. Taylor brings this suspenseful mystery to a twist-filled conclusion.
December 13, 2023
Liked this one. Different. A lot of characters but easy to keep up with. Interesting premise. Unanswered questions as to how Cody turned out like she did as opposed to her twin Julie. No real reason.
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An ex-con hits the streets of L.A. to find her twin sister’s killer. Is it a mission of justice—or a quest for vengeance?
Cody Bonner, identical twin, daughter of a major movie star, a teenage street kid in Los Angeles, a bank robber at nineteen, and a prison inmate at twenty. When she’s released after six years, she returns to L.A. with a purpose: to learn the truth about her sister Julie, who washed up on a Malibu beach a year earlier. The connection between the twins was so powerful that the day Julie died, Cody collapsed in the prison yard. Now that bond is driving her to seek justice—at any cost.
Using bootleg skills she learned in prison, Cody begins to peel back the layers of mystery. Her search leads her to the darker alleys behind the dazzle of the film business, and into the world of high-powered agents, high-priced call girls, and men with a taste for sexual violence. As she homes in on her mother’s powerful agent, Harry Groban, a man with ugly accusations of abuse in his past, Cody becomes more deeply enmeshed in the life she left behind as a teenager: her mother’s star power, her former classmates-turned-producers, glitzy parties, and a handsome former love who knows all the players. Is Groban at the center? Could there be others who had a hand in Julie’s murder?
As Cody gets closer to the truth, another ghost from her criminal past is stalking her—one that could put her back in prison for years.
---------
An ex-con hits the streets of L.A. to find her twin sister’s killer. Is it a mission of justice—or a quest for vengeance?
Cody Bonner, identical twin, daughter of a major movie star, a teenage street kid in Los Angeles, a bank robber at nineteen, and a prison inmate at twenty. When she’s released after six years, she returns to L.A. with a purpose: to learn the truth about her sister Julie, who washed up on a Malibu beach a year earlier. The connection between the twins was so powerful that the day Julie died, Cody collapsed in the prison yard. Now that bond is driving her to seek justice—at any cost.
Using bootleg skills she learned in prison, Cody begins to peel back the layers of mystery. Her search leads her to the darker alleys behind the dazzle of the film business, and into the world of high-powered agents, high-priced call girls, and men with a taste for sexual violence. As she homes in on her mother’s powerful agent, Harry Groban, a man with ugly accusations of abuse in his past, Cody becomes more deeply enmeshed in the life she left behind as a teenager: her mother’s star power, her former classmates-turned-producers, glitzy parties, and a handsome former love who knows all the players. Is Groban at the center? Could there be others who had a hand in Julie’s murder?
As Cody gets closer to the truth, another ghost from her criminal past is stalking her—one that could put her back in prison for years.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2022
This is a terrific read.
It has all the things that make for good stories. An interesting plot. A fascinating protagonist – in this case a young woman with a complex past. When we first meet her, she is released from prison. This is who we are going to root for? You bet! She wants to find who killed her twin sister while she was in the clink. And it is told in the first person which immediately draws one into the story.
Mr. Taylor shares his knowledge of the underbelly as well as the glamor of the eternally magical world of Hollywood. A movie star mother of our heroine. A sleezy talent agent. Young ambitious movie makers. It’s all here for our enjoyment.
The pages turn faster and faster as one plows through the twists and turns of the story. Until one is barely able to keep up with the words towards the end.
But what makes a good book better than a not-so-good book is the surprises in the writing. That little ping of pleasure one gets from the author’s writing style. The frisson of pleasure from a well-constructed sentence. The acute observations the author makes. The casual, off-handed turn of phrase which the author tosses off with regularity. The wonder that the author seems to know the intricacies of things like doorlocks and the effects of drugs and so much more. The book abounds in these moments.
This book MUST be made into a movie or a TV Series.
Buy it!
It has all the things that make for good stories. An interesting plot. A fascinating protagonist – in this case a young woman with a complex past. When we first meet her, she is released from prison. This is who we are going to root for? You bet! She wants to find who killed her twin sister while she was in the clink. And it is told in the first person which immediately draws one into the story.
Mr. Taylor shares his knowledge of the underbelly as well as the glamor of the eternally magical world of Hollywood. A movie star mother of our heroine. A sleezy talent agent. Young ambitious movie makers. It’s all here for our enjoyment.
The pages turn faster and faster as one plows through the twists and turns of the story. Until one is barely able to keep up with the words towards the end.
But what makes a good book better than a not-so-good book is the surprises in the writing. That little ping of pleasure one gets from the author’s writing style. The frisson of pleasure from a well-constructed sentence. The acute observations the author makes. The casual, off-handed turn of phrase which the author tosses off with regularity. The wonder that the author seems to know the intricacies of things like doorlocks and the effects of drugs and so much more. The book abounds in these moments.
This book MUST be made into a movie or a TV Series.
Buy it!
January 3, 2022
Cody Bonner has just been released from prison. She's the daughter of an Oscar-winning movie star, identical twin sister to Julie, street kid, and bank robber. While she was in prison, her sister Julie, an up-and-coming lawyer, was murdered and her nude body found on a beach in Malibu.
Cody is determined to find out who killed Julie and why. Between catching up with former classmates who are now in the movie business and learning about the dark underside of LA with its kinky sex, Cody is also dealing with a cop who is convinced that she committed some bank robberies in LA before the one she was caught for in the Midwest. Stckley was in one of the banks moments before it was robbed and is now obsessed with proving that Cody was the robber. She was but is hoping to keep him distracted the few months until the statute of limitations for those crimes kicks in.
This was a fast-paced and engaging story about a young woman determined to find justice for her twin. I really liked Cody who had matured from an aimless youth to a strong woman while she was in prison. Of course, learning Muay Tai and being educated by the prison librarian who was in for murder did help Cody become the person she was meant to be.
The story had lots of twists and turns and was filled with gritty realism.
Cody is determined to find out who killed Julie and why. Between catching up with former classmates who are now in the movie business and learning about the dark underside of LA with its kinky sex, Cody is also dealing with a cop who is convinced that she committed some bank robberies in LA before the one she was caught for in the Midwest. Stckley was in one of the banks moments before it was robbed and is now obsessed with proving that Cody was the robber. She was but is hoping to keep him distracted the few months until the statute of limitations for those crimes kicks in.
This was a fast-paced and engaging story about a young woman determined to find justice for her twin. I really liked Cody who had matured from an aimless youth to a strong woman while she was in prison. Of course, learning Muay Tai and being educated by the prison librarian who was in for murder did help Cody become the person she was meant to be.
The story had lots of twists and turns and was filled with gritty realism.
March 7, 2022
Cody Bonner has just served time for a bank robbery, and is released back into her L.A. life. The daughter of a Hollywood actress, Cody lived a charmed childhood and then became tempted by drugs. While she was in prison, her twin sister Julie was killed. Now, Cody is desperate to find Julie’s killer, and will stop at nothing to seek revenge.
After a slow start, I was hooked on L.A. Burning after a few chapters. Cody Bonner learned a lot in prison, including how to fight and get away with crime. I loved reading about her taking down sleazy men throughout the book, and rooted for her to find Julie’s killer. This book was suspenseful and kept me interested, anticipating that Cody would solve Julie’s murder case and give the killer what he had coming. The backdrop of the L.A. film industry kept the book exciting, and confirmed the stereotype of film moguls as shady characters. Cody is a strong female lead that won’t take no for an answer. This book is fast-paced, well-written and tough to put down!
After a slow start, I was hooked on L.A. Burning after a few chapters. Cody Bonner learned a lot in prison, including how to fight and get away with crime. I loved reading about her taking down sleazy men throughout the book, and rooted for her to find Julie’s killer. This book was suspenseful and kept me interested, anticipating that Cody would solve Julie’s murder case and give the killer what he had coming. The backdrop of the L.A. film industry kept the book exciting, and confirmed the stereotype of film moguls as shady characters. Cody is a strong female lead that won’t take no for an answer. This book is fast-paced, well-written and tough to put down!
February 6, 2022
This is a page turner! Cody, a child of Hollywood privilege, has just been released from prison after serving five years for bank robbery and she wants to know who killed Julie, her twin. Julie was "the good one," the Stanford/Boalt grad who was working as an attorney when she was found washed up on a Malibu beach. Their mother, an actress, doesn't want to know any more but Cody, she's determined. She makes the most of the unusual skills and contacts she gained in prison to delve into the darkness of Hollywood, starting with her mother's agent, Harry Groban. There's violence against women here. A lot of it. Cody's reunion with old school peers helps but....Oh and an LAPD detective is also hoping to finally get Cody for two bank robberies in LA. This one kept me guessing and Taylor does a great job of maintaining the suspense. I found myself rooting for Cody, an unusual heroine with both serious fighting skills and a heart. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Great read.
April 24, 2022
After writing a trio of politically-tinged novels set in the 50s, D. C. Taylor turns his attention to a milieu he knows well, Hollywood. Cody is the well-off daughter of a movie star who turned her back on her cushy upbringing. She became a street person, and addict, and a bank robber. We meet her as she emerges from a five year stretch in prison, determined to find her sister's killer. Taylor, a screen writer and Emmy nominated producer, knows the hidden habits (mostly bad habits) and perversions of the film community. Cody is both a part of her cosseted society and apart from it. She trusts no one and looks for clues everywhere. She's good at finding clues, not so good at interpreting them. She is an action hero unlike any other. Note: L. A. does not actually burn in the novel, but is singed around the edges. The same can be said about Cody. PS. Taylor is a personal friend
October 9, 2021
This book was different than most books I read but I found it really intriguing. This is about Cody, a beautiful young female who just got out of prison for something she did in her teens. Her mother is a famous movie star and her identical twin sister, Julie, was murdered while Cody was in prison. She comes out with the burning desire to find out who killed her sister. This is a thought-provoking look into the life of Hollywood moguls, stars, and their families. It is also full of suspense and action. I would recommend it to anyone who wants an exciting read.
I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
May 5, 2022
During Cody Bonner's stay in prison, her twin sister was brutally raped and murder. Now Cody is out and she's about to wreak vengeance on person responsible. Cody is not your typical felon. She comes from a life of privilege and her mother is an actress in Hollywood, she just made some bad choices. And as Cody reunites with familiar faces, during her quest, she's finding that glitzy Hollywood can be just as dirty, vicious and terrifying as the prison yard. The only difference is that you can read most folks in the prison yard, but in sunny Los Angeles everyone wears a charming personality up to the very moment they slip the knife between your ribs. Keep your enemies close, but keep your friends beyond striking distance.
March 6, 2022
D C Taylor has written a fast paced mystery set in LA. Cody Bonner uses what she has learned in prison to search for her identical twin’s killer. I was so enthralled I read and finished this book over two days. A good story, enough threads to keep you guessing, an entertaining lead character search for answers and some redemption. If you are into modern based mystery/secretive stories you will love this book.
I was sent this book as an Arc by NetGalley in return for an honest review.
I was sent this book as an Arc by NetGalley in return for an honest review.
March 16, 2022
excellent suspense. Woman is released from prison after serving her time for a bank robbery that she did commit. While she was in jail, her twin sister was murdered and the killer never found. Her goal is to find the killer while staying out of the clutches of a policeman who wants to put her back in jail for two other robberies. Lots of danger, drugs and suspense in Hollywood.
May 9, 2022
What a grades are prize! Excellent story characters And I want more from her
Was this her 1st publish book? It seems like I read that somewhere if not I hope she'll be writing more especially about this character Cody Bonner. You Won't be disappointed , a good breed for sure won't be disappointment
Was this her 1st publish book? It seems like I read that somewhere if not I hope she'll be writing more especially about this character Cody Bonner. You Won't be disappointed , a good breed for sure won't be disappointment
February 20, 2022
Fast paced thriller set in Los Angeles. Plenty of crazy characters and enough twists and turns to keep you reading past bed time! Thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend. Will seek out DC Taylor other works.
February 14, 2022
Decent read, not great but not terrible.
March 4, 2022
Audio version
March 9, 2022
Fun, super fast paced read. Loved this book, a police procedural style novel as seen from a civilians point of view.... keep em coming DC, great stuff!
April 14, 2022
Lean and mean. Excellent!
Read
May 10, 2022excellent - fast moving, cool characters.
July 20, 2022
The final outcome was known a quarter of they way in and the rest was standard fare.
September 14, 2022
A very good suspense thriller.
October 24, 2022
Excellent book
Keeps you in suspense all the way through the book...this is a new author for to read and will read more.
Keeps you in suspense all the way through the book...this is a new author for to read and will read more.
February 11, 2022
New release..
I looked at the two other reviews from people who read this and they were not that good. This confuses me because I really enjoyed this book! Did we read the same book?
A woman gets out of prison for robbery. Her twin sister had been murdered while she was in prison and she wants to solve it.
This book had so many unexpected things:
You got to see a little behind the scene at a prison
You got some more behind the scene of Hollywood. How it works more, and things you suspected were true..
I really liked the main character, so much so that I am hoping another book is written about her. She is sympathetic and really interesting. She is strong, funny and likeable.
I thought the writing was really good. I could picture the characters and I could picture the action. Now I do admit I am fascinated by Hollywood, so I could just picture real people as these characters.
Was some of the book pretty implausible? Sure but who cares. It read like a movie waiting to be made. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. I mean come on, have you read a Tom Clancy or James Patterson - do they seem realistic to you??
This was a fun, easy read and I was swept up.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.
I looked at the two other reviews from people who read this and they were not that good. This confuses me because I really enjoyed this book! Did we read the same book?
A woman gets out of prison for robbery. Her twin sister had been murdered while she was in prison and she wants to solve it.
This book had so many unexpected things:
You got to see a little behind the scene at a prison
You got some more behind the scene of Hollywood. How it works more, and things you suspected were true..
I really liked the main character, so much so that I am hoping another book is written about her. She is sympathetic and really interesting. She is strong, funny and likeable.
I thought the writing was really good. I could picture the characters and I could picture the action. Now I do admit I am fascinated by Hollywood, so I could just picture real people as these characters.
Was some of the book pretty implausible? Sure but who cares. It read like a movie waiting to be made. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. I mean come on, have you read a Tom Clancy or James Patterson - do they seem realistic to you??
This was a fun, easy read and I was swept up.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.
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