Read by L. J. Ganser

From the master of Western noir comes a provocatively entertaining crime saga set in the early days of thefilm industry.This dark historical adventure captures the beginnings of the Hollywood studio system and the "blue movie"industry that grows up alongside it.Los Angeles, 1916: Photographer Bill Ogden has opened a portrait studio in the seedy noir world of earlyHollywood, where he is joined by his granddaughter, Flavia-a woman in need of a fresh start after bludgeoningher drunken, abusive husband to death in Wichita. Though his business is mainly legit, Bill finds himself brushingup against the "blue movie" porn industry growing in the shadows of the motion picture mainstream.When a series of grisly murders take place across the city, Bill and his capable granddaughter are pulled intoevents as tricky and tangled as anything this side of The Big Sleep. We meet dreamers, opportunists, washed-upformer stars and starry-eyed newcomers, a cast of unforgettable characters living on the margins looking tomake a quick buck, launch a career, or just keep their family together. The Devil Raises His Own is at once astripped-down noir thriller and a panoramic look at Los Angeles at the beginning of motion pictures-a BoogieNights set in the era of D.W. Griffith and Charlie Chaplin from one of the best crime novelists working today

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