Bad Night is Falling

Los Angeles is shocked by the fire bombing death of the Cruzado family in the multi-racial Rancho Tajuat housing projects. Just about everyone including the police and the tenants feel that the Ra-Falcons, a Black Muslim group who provide security to the complex, killed the Mexican-American family. The leader of Ra-Falcons, Minister Antar Absalla decides to hire South Central private Investigator Ivan Monk to uncover the identities of the killers. At the same time that Ivan begins to investigate what really happened to the Cruzado family, his significant other, Judge Jill Kodama is under recall pressure for not enforcing the three strikes and your out rule. However, Ivan has little time to provide her comfort as he has his own worries because he is now under indictment for murdering a gang member. With his priorities starting to shift, Ivan knows that while he tries to clear his name, he must discover the real culprit before more trouble leads to a racial civil war in the LA projects. In his third appearance (see VIOLENT SPRINGS and PERDITION), Ivan Monk remains a great private investigator, who brings to life the mean streets of LA. BAD NIGHT IS FALLING is filled with the usual tremendous characterizations and two interesting story lines that actually work well together. Though at times the vernacular is difficult to follow, Gary Phillips continues to rise to the top of the ethnic who-done-it sub-genre.Harriet Klausner