The Long Shot

An unlikely pair races to find a murderer in the hazy underbelly of Los Angeles

Vivien Cokes and her husband, Jasper, are LA royalty, and they have the lifestyle to prove it. Big parties, a huge mansion in Malibu, and complicated affairs are all part of the package. However, during a morning swim, Vivien makes a discovery that changes her life forever. Smelling smoke, she sees her home in flames, and inside, she finds her husband dead in the hot tub with his male lover in an apparent double suicide.


To find out the truth behind her husband's death, Vivien must turn to the unlikeliest of sources: a failed writer and grifter who was the boyfriend of her husband's late lover. After finding kinship in a sort of shared widowhood, the two set out to bring to justice the people behind their loved ones' deaths.


Paul Monette has a poet's touch, and his aptitude is on full display in The Long Shot as he immerses readers in a mystery with a cast of characters that is as diverse and memorable as the city in which they live.


This ebook features an illustrated biography of Paul Monette including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the Paul Monette papers of the UCLA Library Special Collections.