Everybody Knows: ‘Terrifying and exhilarating.' JAMES PATTERSON

This book really hit the spot. You know you're in a safe pair of hands when you pick up a Jordan Harper novel, know that he is going to serve up a perfect blend of drama, emotion and tension and that is exactly what he delivers in Everybody Knows, a book which is sadly all too relevant to present times, a sad indictment of the abuse of power that has been prevalent in Hollywood and so publicly exposed in recent years. Money talks, and with the right profile, and bank balance, anyone can buy a new reality, so carefully created by people like the book's protagonist, Mae Pruett. May is a publicist of the finest order, a kind of spin doctor who can take the most scandalous of circumstances and turn them to the benefit of her clients. No problem too large for her provide and alternate reality. At least until the scandal comes a little too close to home. With her friend and mentor murdered it falls to Mae to try and work out whether it really was a car hi-jacking wrong it whether something he knew, and intended to exploit, led someone to silence him permanently.I liked Mae. Well ... liked is a strong word given that her job is effectively to cover for the less than scrupulous behaviour of her clients. Whilst there is no doubt this is something at which she excels, she is also conflicted. Jordan Harper plays a clever game in allowing us inside Mae's mind, letting us see the conflict within her and how, in a perfect world, she would rather see her clients fail. She is, in spite of her cool exterior, human, with human failings, and I loved the duplicity of her character. On one hand she wants to do the right thing. Hates the times when she is forced to cover up an abhorrent act for a client. Her decision to find out what her colleague was working on before he was killed is driven by a strange mixture of curiosity and fear - fear that she may be next. But there is a very compassionate side to her as well, no matter how hard she may try to hide it, and it was this part of her personality that had me rooting for her.In contrast to Mae we have Chris, disgraced former Cop and effectively muscle for hire. It's his job to make people understand the error of their ways. Usually by force. With much pain. He and Mae have a history, and the chemistry between the two of them when they meet again, drawn together by two sides of the same investigation, is just about perfect. They compliment each other even though they are direct opposites in personality and approach, but it works well for this book. Chris is everything I should hate in a character, the epitome of a corrupt system. The fear that forces people into impossible situations, and yet I couldn't bring myself to do so. His character is complex, his history checkered, his outlook quite straightforward, but even he knows when something is not quite right. Whether he acts solely for the right reasons, or is driven by money, or maybe even an opportunity to remain close to Mae, it doesn't really matter. I was invested in the pair of them from the start and wanted to see them succeed in whatever twisted, and deadly, game they had found themselves caught up in.And deadly it certainly is. Jordan Harper is not stingy with the body count and the murder at the start of the novel is just the beginning. There are many casualties in this quest to maintain the balance of power, and that underlying sense of threat permeates each page right from the start. There is a brutality which is painted in stark contrast with all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, but one which fits within the tainted world of sleaze that Mae and Chris slowly uncover. Certain parts of the story seem almost inevitable, and yet the author retains the ability to surprise, to shock me as a reader, laying bare what perhaps, in all honesty, should have been obvious. The action turns on a dime, that which worked in our protagonists favour being used against them, their bargaining chips going up in smoke as they fight a seemingly endless battle against corruption whilst seeking to expose the seedy underbelly of the system.I've seen the book described as a modern day L.A. Confidential and that was exactly the kind of vibe I got whilst reading it. The novel doesn't centre on corruption in the police in such a strong way, but it does not deny or ignore it either. It has a ripped from the headlines feeling, and if you look on the all too recent fall from grace of high powered moguls from the Hollywood clique you will get a sense of the kind of depravity that is contained within the pages. Nothing in what happens is gratuitous, but to doesn't need to be. Jordan Harper is a truly skilled writer, his narrative creating such strong emotions without having to resort to cheap shocks. In fact, the simple way in which people will overlook such devastating and life changing abuse of power for the sake of a few dollars makes far more of an impression that tonnes of blood and gore could ever achieve. He can afford to leave the violence largely off the page because the actions, and consequences, speak for themselves. I found myself immersed, often uncomfortably so, in the sleazy side of tinseltown, but unable to turn away for a moment. Once I started, I was all in.A truly addictive, shocking, emotive read that had me on the edge of the seat through both heart thumping tension and blood-pressure building anger. With a narrative that creates such vivid imagery that I felt I was walking right alongside Mae and Chris, it was a book that showed the futility of trying to beat a system that is inherently stacked against you, a poignant and yet powerful book that I just couldn't put down. Definitely recommended.

Wonderful novel, bit unsure of the ending. Harper is my find of the year. Deftly told, with economy. Check out his earlier novels.

This was an easy read despite the irritating English. eg: “to submarine” - drive through fog.In the end it is the plucky lady protagonist against the evil plutocrat and unlike Blofeld he doesn’t even have a cat!Brad Easton Ellis did this style of novel decades ago and much better to be honest.

Chinatown-esque, this is a pulsating novel full of ad hoc investigating. The first half of the book, which charts the moral compromises of the main character, is fabulous, and the second half executes the plot efficiently. The prose is pure Marlowe and is hugely enjoyable.

The nastier side of Hollywood. You'd like to think the book is fiction and bears little resemblance to reality and then you remember the events in New York (J.E.and his pals) and think again. I can't say I enjoyed it but I couldn't put it down. The writing is "modern" (not being on the right side of 40 or living in California, there was a lot of words, expressions and abbreviations that I had to look up). I have now read three of JH's books. He certainly knows how to build a story but they don't necessarily have a happy ending !

Really well written.Plot relatively complex, tension builds.Don't like graphic violence.

Not entirely successful, but a good try to match prose with narrative. The journey was enjoyable, though the ending was weak.

A terse hard-boiled novel in which the plot alternatives between two points of view, Mae, the anti-publicist (keeping things quiet) and the jaded muscle, Chris. The pace is relentless as Mae and Cris unravel the conspiracy that drives a plot reminiscent of contemporary events. By the end: Nobody is redeemed, one person is sort of saved, and plenty of people, of course, are dead.

A solid five stars.I have read all my life, sometimes a hundred and fifty books a year. An avid reader. Everybody Knows is the first book that has spoken to me in regard to Los Angeles (as a place), as a three--dimensional character with a voice all its own. This city character is filtered through the eyes of the others with their own profound take on a strange, unique world. In this story Los Angeles is a living breathing brute, a fiend, a beast. People live inside this beast and try to survive. Truly amazing. This one is going to be nominated for some awards.The prose and the voice hark back to the best of James Elroy. This writing is amped, like it’s on speed or coke. With only two alternating points of view the story is extremely easy to follow.The story is fast paced and never for a moment gives the reader a chance to take a breath. No chaff, no fluff just head-on crash-into-a-wall story telling.I don’t know if this book is meant to be an anti-hero story but for me, both characters lack any redeeming qualities. In fact, I’m not sure any of the characters in the book have redeeming qualities, (except the girl they are trying to rescue). This book also has an interesting structure, the true antagonist doesn’t raise his ugly head until halfway through the book. Until then, the two hero’s (use the term heroes loosely here) follow the trail of carnage.The glimpse of how Hollywood fixers respond, assess, and spin a screwup caused by an a beloved Hollywood Icon is truly worth the price of admission. The incidences are gritty and all too real.I really loved, “She Rode Shotgun,” by this author, (one of my favorites the year it came out), this book is nothing like it. Doesn’t matter though. This is truly the kind of book when you open it you strap-in and hold on.One trope I didn’t really care for, one used far too often in storylines, movies and books is the ol’ “I won’t tell you now, I’ll tell you tomorrow.” But tomorrow never comes. That person is dead, and the protagonists have to figure out what was going to be told. If this concept is buried in a solid motivation it doesn’t matter, but in this novel, no reason was ever given as to the, “why,” he couldn’t tell us until later.Another great read by this author and I’ll be again waiting in line when his next one arrives.David Putnam author of The Bruno Johnson series.

Not sure who the intended audience for this is. Maybe if one is very interested in Los Angeles and Hollywood. I regret that I fell for the rave reviews. Nearly 400 pages of ultra-short sentences. This did not mamage to catch my interest or imagination.

Mae works in LA for an outfit that kills stories A-listers don’t want known. Her mentor is killed after sussing her out re a major side hustle. She teams up with former lover, former cop Chris to figure out what Dan was onto. Suffice to say it’s a Geoffrey Epstein type thing. Chris now works for security company BlackGuard, the blackguards who do the dirty work for the rich and famous. Harper presents a world of graft and corruption, lies and sleaze that’s hard to stomach but he does it very well. Subplots and coincidences that might be gouache in other hands become emotionally convincing. He leaves the ending a little up in the air but with hope that Mae’s final play will work. One of the great things about the novel is the atmospherics - the feel of a multicultural, multilevel society all scrabbling to make a life. Now I’m off to read a novel about nicer people who at least try to live ethically to cleanse my soul of gloom. Or maybe a dystopian novel about climate change wherein all the humans die would do the trick.

This is one smart book. The style is clipped and contemporary, the imagery true to a particular time and place, as far as I can tell. I do believe in the ugliness exposed, the power of money. And the ruthlessness. Can’t wait for a sequel to this mystery.

Dieser rasant und originell erzählte Thriller mit einigen wirklich spannenden, aber auch einigen hochemotionalen Episoden vermittelt teilweise erschütternde Einblicke in die Welt der Hollywood-Filmindustrie. Für deutsche Muttersprachler wie mich aber nicht ganz einfach zu lesen. Falls es schon eine deutsche Übersetzung gibt, würde ich die lieber gelesen haben.