Today I was able to get the LA Times homicide report on the murder near my home. Jonathan Alfred Morales,

age 17, was stabbed at approximately 6:37 p.m. One suspect is in

custody and another remains at large.



Every victim of a violent crime deserves some

dignity. It began, for me, by finding the name of the victim. As a

writer and afficionado of mystery fiction, I like to maintain the myth

that justice is done, that wounds are healed, grievances are… Continue

Last night I arrived home to find that my

apartment building was inside the perimeter of a crimescene. It offered a very different perspective on the

sight, one few novelists (and never on television)

describe. I was not there as a reporter, nor a witness, neither casual observer nor victim.



I

finally was allowed to enter in order to go home. My brother, on the

other hand, was not allowed to retrieve his car to go to work; no one

could

leave the… Continue

The 6th annual West Hollywood Book Fair last

weekend was hit --especially the track of mystery panels organized by

local author John Morgan Wilson. There were a number of mystery fans

--and writers-- in attendance.



After the LA Times Festival of Books each

April, the WHBF has grown in a relatively short time to become the

second largest literary event in Southern California. It is no where as

crowded, however. Yes, people do read in Southern… Continue