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Charles Carr #3
To Die in Beverly Hills
US Treasury Agents Charlie Carr and Jack Kelly, investigating a counterfeiting ring, are tipped off by Detective Travis Bailey of the L.A. police - a cool, ruthless cop with some strange tastes in sex and women - who warns them of a plot to murder their prime witness. Unwittingly, they are involved in a phony stake-out in which Kelly is seriously wounded. Deeply suspicious and determined to avenge his partner, Carr puts his life and career on the line in order to build a case against Bailey, and sets out to prove that he is the mastermind behind a series of robberies from the area's wealthy residents. Carr's mission draws him into the depths of moneyed Beverly Hills, as well as into the underworld of have-nots, hungry for a piece of the Rolls-Royce action. TO DIE IN BEVERLY HILLS is a masterly, original and harrowing thriller. Gerald Petievich once again successfully demonstrates both his talent for convincing characterization and his inside knowledge of the U.S. Secret Service.
276 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1984
10 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Gerald Petievich
30 books23 followersGerald Petievich belongs to that tiny group of writers who came to crime fiction from careers in law enforcement. He has been an Army counterspy and a U.S. Secret Service agent, using his real life experiences to achieve verisimilitude in his fiction. His novels are known to come as close as any in the mystery- and-thriller genre to a genuine realism. Three of his novels have been produced as major motion pictures.
Gerald grew up in a police family. His father and brother were both members of the Los Angeles Police Department. He attended the Defense Language Institute in Monterey and later served in Germany as a US Army Counterintelligence Special Agent. As Chief of the Counterespionage Section, Field Office Nuremberg, he received commendations for his work during the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
In 1970 he joined the United States Secret Service where as a Special Agent he spent fifteen years engaged in duties relating to the protection of the President and the enforcement of Federal counterfeiting laws. It was during a long-term Secret Service assignment in Paris, France that Petievich discovered the works of Per Wahloo & Maj Sjowall, Graham Greene and John le Carre, and decided to become a writer. Later, while serving in Los Angeles as the US Secret Service representative to the Department of Justice Organized Crime Strike Force, Gerald's schedule consisted of rising at 4 AM to write before going to his government office.
In 1985, Gerald left the Secret Service to pursue his writing career full-time.
Gerald grew up in a police family. His father and brother were both members of the Los Angeles Police Department. He attended the Defense Language Institute in Monterey and later served in Germany as a US Army Counterintelligence Special Agent. As Chief of the Counterespionage Section, Field Office Nuremberg, he received commendations for his work during the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
In 1970 he joined the United States Secret Service where as a Special Agent he spent fifteen years engaged in duties relating to the protection of the President and the enforcement of Federal counterfeiting laws. It was during a long-term Secret Service assignment in Paris, France that Petievich discovered the works of Per Wahloo & Maj Sjowall, Graham Greene and John le Carre, and decided to become a writer. Later, while serving in Los Angeles as the US Secret Service representative to the Department of Justice Organized Crime Strike Force, Gerald's schedule consisted of rising at 4 AM to write before going to his government office.
In 1985, Gerald left the Secret Service to pursue his writing career full-time.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 28, 2024
Perfectly good crooked cop thriller, kind of James Ellroy-lite. Good writing and pacing, believable dialogue, some effective scenes and characters. Good sense of place too. Recommended!
June 29, 2014
To Die in Beverly Hills charts the battle of wills between a laconic US Treasury Agent and a vain, corrupt cop. Charlie Carr isn’t interested in career progression or conforming to social expectations, he just wants to catch the bad guys. It’s an attitude that has got him regularly shifted between offices and frustrates his long-term girlfriend. Travis Bailey is a sociopath and social climber who lives beyond his means, uses his job to spot potential targets for his crew of burglars and fences, and treats women as sex objects. Petievich provides an in-depth characterisation of both men as they circle round each other, the former looking to bring the latter to justice. They are each surrounded by a band of engaging secondary characters who are each flawed in some way. Beverly Hills provides an interesting back drop and the plot nicely unfolds as Carr slowly unpicks Bailey’s scheming, scams and crimes, but the key strength of the book is the characterization. Overall, an engaging read about a cop who’ll go to any lengths to protect his position and another whose prepared to match and catch him.
December 17, 2020
Interesting , exciting, and an excellent plot.
A friend mentioned a book titled Earth Angels, by Gerald Petievich. My friend , also a fellow police officer, knows my enjoyment reading police procedural thrillers, both fiction and nonfiction. My friend's recommendation was in fact a good referral. I really enjoyed this book and wrote a review on that book.
I decided to research Petievich's books and chose To Die in Beverly Hills.
Initially, I though, "here we go again with a dirty cop story." However, I was very happy that I read this book. The plot was outstanding and the characters were interesting. I enjoyed the many interesting subplots, which interwoven into an excellent story. I particularly enjoyed the new evidence being discovered and what the suspects did not cover themselves.
This setting took place during the 80's. The technology and crime fighting techniques brought back memories.
To Die in Beverly Hills was published in 2011. So, I got a great price on this book. To Die in Beverly Hills is fast-paced, exciting, and realistic for those times. I really enjoyed the interviews and interrogations.
I recommend this book.
A friend mentioned a book titled Earth Angels, by Gerald Petievich. My friend , also a fellow police officer, knows my enjoyment reading police procedural thrillers, both fiction and nonfiction. My friend's recommendation was in fact a good referral. I really enjoyed this book and wrote a review on that book.
I decided to research Petievich's books and chose To Die in Beverly Hills.
Initially, I though, "here we go again with a dirty cop story." However, I was very happy that I read this book. The plot was outstanding and the characters were interesting. I enjoyed the many interesting subplots, which interwoven into an excellent story. I particularly enjoyed the new evidence being discovered and what the suspects did not cover themselves.
This setting took place during the 80's. The technology and crime fighting techniques brought back memories.
To Die in Beverly Hills was published in 2011. So, I got a great price on this book. To Die in Beverly Hills is fast-paced, exciting, and realistic for those times. I really enjoyed the interviews and interrogations.
I recommend this book.
April 28, 2023
You've probably seen To Live and Die in L.A., and if you haven't then you should. I think by now it's fair to say it's one of the classic crime movies from not just the 80s but from any era. Petievich wrote the novel that movie was based on. I've read a handful of his books and all of them have been excellent suspenseful and gritty capers. This one is no different. The setup here is a corrupt Beverly Hills detective, Travis Bailey, who operates a network of burglars who hit the homes of the "rich and famous" in Beverly Hills. Things are going along just fine until one of gang tries to screw over Bailey on a stolen painting. Bailey decides to set the thief up for murder. In the process, Treasury Agent Charles Carr's partner is nearly killed. Agent Carr appeared in two other books before this one, but you don't have to read those to enjoy To Die in Beverly Hills. In addition to all the criminal shenanigans you have a glimpse into the vapid and venal pursuits of both the criminals and the "victims" they prey on. Screenwriters write about talking cars, bank presidents inflate the values of their stolen golf clubs, a conman makes a killing as therapist for the tennis set. It's all a bit cynical and tons of fun. Published in 1983 the 80s vibe drips from each page. Those were the good old days. Everybody Wang Chung tonight.
July 17, 2022
Best crime-fiction I've read in quite awhile...it has an '80's vibe to it and there's a romance sub-plot that never gels but other than that top-notch writing....A little like Elmore Leonard but not as snarky....Basically it's a good-cop vs. bad cop story set in swank Beverly Hills....I will be reading more Petievich's novels and highly recommed this one....4.0 outta 5.0...
September 5, 2023
Gritty and authentic. Descriptions of L.A. weree sot on. The bumpy road to resolution of the romantic conflict was satisfying.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews