JANUS A Crude Kill

John Steinbeck said something like "You can't go home again because home is just a memory." Private Detective Janus Payette sets out to challenge that premise when he's called to his hometown to investigate the killing of a friend's husband. He learns early on that any memories he held before about his oil-soaked upbringing had long ago been extinguished. Taft is one of several small towns on the western side of the valley that float atop a lake of oil lusted after by scores of drillers and...