The Left-Handed Policeman

Robert Westbrook

Author of the Howard Moon Deer Mysteries



"The battle of wits and nerves that unfolds in this expertly paced novel as Nicky struggles to snare the serial killer, keep his job, and juggle an increasingly complex love life make for compelling reading . . . In Nicky Rachmaninoff [Robert Westbrook has] created one of the most engaging new detective heroes since Joseph Wambaugh got philosophical. About the only thing that cushions the disappointment of coming to the end of this page-turner is the knowledge that there's a sequel in the works." —Wall Street Journal



Murder in Beverly Hills



A killer is on the loose in Beverly Hills. Late at night, as moguls, starlets, actors, and rock stars head home after a night on the town, a Corvette pulls up beside a Rolls-Royce at a traffic light. A gun goes off—and another of Hollywood's elite lies dead.



Beverly Hills cowers in terror. It's up to Police Lt. Nicky Rachmaninoff—reluctant cop, ex-hippie, divorced father, and the mean­est left-handed jazz pianist in all L.A.—to trap the murderer before he dispatches all of South­ern California's rich and famous. It's an assign­ment Nicky is reluctant to take on: He'd rather play the piano, worry about his love life, or gaze at the stars above his Hollywood Hills bungalow than search out a serial killer.



Nicky's ex-wife, the beautiful blond star of TV's "Cassie and the Cop," suddenly wants Nicky back. But Nicky finds himself caught up with the lovely and well-heeled widow of one of the murder victims—even as he thinks he really does love his ex-wife.



But someone else loves "Cassie," too. His name is Lawrence Ferguson and he is a nobody. After being diagnosed as terminally ill, Law­rence quits his job, withdraws his life savings, moves to the Beverly Hills Hotel . . . and buys himself a Corvette. And Lawrence has decided to exercise his final fantasy on the woman whose television image he has long worshiped. Can Nicky stop him in time?



The Left-Handed Policeman is a gripping novel of life—and death—among the big names and the nameless of Beverly Hills. Nov­elist Robert Westbrook—himself the son of a famous Hollywood personality—explores the boulevards and back alleys, the myths and real­ities, of the greatest, most deadly dream factory of all: Hollywood.




"IF YOU HAVEN'T GOT TIME TO VISIT LOS ANGELES COUNTY'S TONIEST CITY,
WESTBROOK'S NOVEL IS THE NEXT BEST THING.
Westbrook, the son of former Hollywood gossip columnist Sheilah Graham knows
the police and he know's Southern California, from the back alleys of
Beverly Hills to the Salton Sea."
—Philadelphia Inquirer



"FAST...TERRIFYING...WESTBROOK'S STORY IS DANDY!"
—Publishers Weekly