California Girl  
By T. Jefferson Parker

     In 1984 when they were in high school, the four Becker boys, David, Clay, Andy and Nick, had a rumble with the Vonn boys, Lenny and Casey, with the Vonn sisters, Janelle and Lynette, watching.

     Sixteen years later the boys have become men. David has become a minister with dreams of having his own church. Nick, now a police officer, is assigned to homicide. Andy is a newspaper reporter with hopes of a big story to make him famous. Clay is in the CIA on a special assignment in Vietnam.

     Their lives are brought together again with the Vonns when the beheaded body of lovely Janelle Vonn is discovered in an abandoned orange packing plant. The death involves three of the Beckers. Nick's first homicide case is the investigation of Janelle's murder. David, who had befriended and had helped her with her drug problem, also needs to find the murderer. Andy, as a reporter, seeks sources to find the murderer. Their search uncovers many suspects and buried secrets from the past threatening them and their way of life. The final solution is long in coming and is a shock.

     This is a powerful story of of two families that become entwined, and disrupts and changes their lives forever. The emotions involved are intense. The strength of the bonds between the brothers is apparent. The ongoing investigations keep the reader guessing with its many suspects. The vividly evoked landscape gives a sense of the time and place.