A Violent Masterpiece: A Guest Post by Jordan Harper

A missing young woman, a serial killer on the loose, and deep-rooted corruption pulse through this gripping Hollywood noir thriller, drenched in violence and glitter. Read on for an exclusive essay from author Jordan Harper on writing A Violent Masterpiece.

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This epic crime novel tells a story of Los Angeles power brokers and those at the edge—and a single shattering incident that threatens to bring it all crashing down. 

A serial killer on the loose in Los Angeles. Men with black rubber gloves cleaning up crime scene before the cops can arrive. A Hollywood sicko behind bars, ready to spill the secrets of the rich and powerful. All of the murders and lies woven together into one terrible crime.

On the other side of the table: a true crime livestreamer driving at high speed through the city, filming the craziness, running from his past. A defense attorney learning too many secrets about too many powerful people. A private concierge who can get the rich whatever they want – because in this world, there are no rules, only prices. These three people living on the edge between good and evil, coming together to uncover a vast conspiracy, and maybe even saving themselves.

This is my new novel, A VIOLENT MASTERPIECE.

This book took years to create. I planted the seeds for this story in my first LA-based novel, EVERYBODY KNOWS. (You don’t have to have read that one to read this one – they share a world, but different protagonists). I love writing about this city. It is my home for fifteen years. Los Angeles as the most American city there is. A place of dreams and violence.  Los Angeles is a place made up of other places. More Thai people than anyplace outside of Thailand, more Korean people than anyplace outside of Korea, more Armenian people than anyplace … you get it.

I spent fifteen years working as a writer in Hollywood. I learned about scandals and things that would be scandals if they ever broke containment. Everything you’ve ever heard about Hollywood is true. Even the lies. Especially the lies. I saw people behaving badly and getting rewarded. I saw red carpets and beautiful people. I sat on film sets and watched cars rolling down hillsides, hoping the stuntman inside could stay safe as the car crashed on purpose. This whole city is a car crash on purpose. This country, too. I wanted to catch that feeling in the pages of a novel. It was hard to write. I had to write about dark things, bad things, beautiful things. And at the end of all of it, I wanted there to be hope, too. Because there is always hope.

I wanted A VIOLENT MASTERPIECE to be even bigger, crazier, more violent than my last one. I wanted to write a book set in a pulpy, crazy version of America. But then, as I was writing it, the world said “Me too. I want to go crazy too.” So now the book feels like it was written yesterday. Or maybe like it was written tomorrow.