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Whistler #1
In La-La Land We Trust
From the highly acclaimed author of Fat Tuesday and The Junkyard Dog comes a steamy, enthralling mystery set in Los Angeles and New Orleans in which a tough, no-nonsense private eye uncovers a murderous scam.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
About the author
Robert Campbell
503 books7 followersBorn in Hot Springs Arkansas where I now currently reside. I write horror stories for kids and teenagers.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 7, 2023
Although In La-La Land We Trust is written in the ‘80s and set in the ‘80s, the book, its language, the slang and the misogynistic attitudes give the impression of a decades earlier time period. There is the distinctive feeling that we’ve landed in the middle of a 1950s noir classic.
“Sleeping too long with nightmares that refuse to escape in a scream wracks the bones and dries out the juices of the body.
When Whistler slid out of the bed stenciled with the sweaty shape of a mummy three thousand years old, it was five o’clock in the morning. The air was already hot and tasted of brass.
He turned on the television set. The commentator said, in the hollow voice of early morning, that it had been very hot and humid the day before, and the city could expect more of the same. There might be a chance of a cooling rain if everybody prayed.”
Somehow, a bodiless head discovered in New Orleans and a headless body in Los Angeles are connected. And they have some kind of connection to the sordid porn industry in both cities. It just takes a series of unfortunate mistakes and an observant private investigator to make the connections and take us on a journey through a quagmire of immorality and debauchery for financial gain.
Whistler is a night prowler who also does a bit of work on the side as a type of private investigator. It’s around 2am and he’s sitting in a cafe on the corner of Hollywood and Vine when he happens to witness a car accident involving a BMW, driven by a television star and a beat up station wagon that also happens to contain a headless corpse. He becomes involved when he provides the drunken TV star with some valuable advice on how to beat the drunk driving rap. Part of his assistance came in the form of driving his date, a beautiful aspiring actress, to her home to keep her out of any trouble.
When it becomes obvious there’s been a cover-up to protect the actor, Whistler tries to follow up on the welfare of the aspiring actress, only to find she has suddenly left town. Fearing something more than just an innocent desire to take an unscheduled holiday has overcome her, he takes a trip to New Orleans in an effort to try to track her down.
But Hollywood has a dark and dingy side to it and there are some powerful men running the show who also happen to be ruthless sleazes. When there’s money to be made and embarrassing secrets to be kept, absolutely nothing’s off the table when it comes to keeping meddlers quiet. No matter whether he operates in New Orleans or back in Los Angeles, Whistler finds himself up against some ruthless operators.
There’s no getting around it, In La-La Land We Trust covers some of the more sordid, gruesome sides of what might be referred to as the “entertainment industry” as it’s possible to get. Forced pornography, child pornography and snuff films only begins the depths of depravity plumbed from New Orleans to Los Angeles.
This is not a crime novel for everybody. There are scenes involving excessive violence and plenty of inferred sexual references meant to shock. It’s a dark comedy with humorous moments and situations scattered through the course of the story that become slightly farcical in nature, somewhat reminiscent of Elmore Leonard or even Donald Westlake. I appreciated the sharp dialogue that seemed to capture the nature of the characters perfectly. The line between good and evil is succinctly drawn and the story progresses steadily with few surprises as to the fate of the bad guys.
In La-La Land We Trust was a finalist for the 1987 Shamus Award for Best PI Novel, the year in which The Staked Goat by Jeremiah Healy was the winner.
“Sleeping too long with nightmares that refuse to escape in a scream wracks the bones and dries out the juices of the body.
When Whistler slid out of the bed stenciled with the sweaty shape of a mummy three thousand years old, it was five o’clock in the morning. The air was already hot and tasted of brass.
He turned on the television set. The commentator said, in the hollow voice of early morning, that it had been very hot and humid the day before, and the city could expect more of the same. There might be a chance of a cooling rain if everybody prayed.”
Somehow, a bodiless head discovered in New Orleans and a headless body in Los Angeles are connected. And they have some kind of connection to the sordid porn industry in both cities. It just takes a series of unfortunate mistakes and an observant private investigator to make the connections and take us on a journey through a quagmire of immorality and debauchery for financial gain.
Whistler is a night prowler who also does a bit of work on the side as a type of private investigator. It’s around 2am and he’s sitting in a cafe on the corner of Hollywood and Vine when he happens to witness a car accident involving a BMW, driven by a television star and a beat up station wagon that also happens to contain a headless corpse. He becomes involved when he provides the drunken TV star with some valuable advice on how to beat the drunk driving rap. Part of his assistance came in the form of driving his date, a beautiful aspiring actress, to her home to keep her out of any trouble.
When it becomes obvious there’s been a cover-up to protect the actor, Whistler tries to follow up on the welfare of the aspiring actress, only to find she has suddenly left town. Fearing something more than just an innocent desire to take an unscheduled holiday has overcome her, he takes a trip to New Orleans in an effort to try to track her down.
But Hollywood has a dark and dingy side to it and there are some powerful men running the show who also happen to be ruthless sleazes. When there’s money to be made and embarrassing secrets to be kept, absolutely nothing’s off the table when it comes to keeping meddlers quiet. No matter whether he operates in New Orleans or back in Los Angeles, Whistler finds himself up against some ruthless operators.
There’s no getting around it, In La-La Land We Trust covers some of the more sordid, gruesome sides of what might be referred to as the “entertainment industry” as it’s possible to get. Forced pornography, child pornography and snuff films only begins the depths of depravity plumbed from New Orleans to Los Angeles.
This is not a crime novel for everybody. There are scenes involving excessive violence and plenty of inferred sexual references meant to shock. It’s a dark comedy with humorous moments and situations scattered through the course of the story that become slightly farcical in nature, somewhat reminiscent of Elmore Leonard or even Donald Westlake. I appreciated the sharp dialogue that seemed to capture the nature of the characters perfectly. The line between good and evil is succinctly drawn and the story progresses steadily with few surprises as to the fate of the bad guys.
In La-La Land We Trust was a finalist for the 1987 Shamus Award for Best PI Novel, the year in which The Staked Goat by Jeremiah Healy was the winner.
October 10, 2012
Quite dark noir detective novel set in LA in the late 80s. The La-La-Land books are the polar opposite of Campbell's quirky Jimmy Flannery books. It's a good read, well developed characters, some nice action scenes, and great pacing.
November 16, 2009
A modern master of shadow-reality.
November 4, 2017
PG25!!!
February 12, 2023
Great stuff! Plot driven not violence and sex, edgy subject matter excellent style, but I would say that this book feels very much like it was written for a male audience. That said I would not toss this on my wife's nightstand to read, but even in this new world that is ok she would not put an Oprah's Choice on mine. /shudder
August 11, 2017
It was actually fun in the beginning to read one of the mainstream raunchy, misogynistic, and fast paced murder mysteries. As it progressed it was quite obvious what would happen and grew quite boring. What made the book interesting at all was the lecherous ideas I'd never come across before.
March 21, 2025
Disappointed in this one. Campbell is a good writer but this story is full of truly awful, disgusting characters. I couldn’t get into it and set it aside. Campbell’s Jimmy Flannery stories are much more satisfying and entertaining.
September 5, 2025
Quite dark noir detective novel set in LA in the late 80s. The La-La-Land books are the polar opposite of Campbell's quirky Jimmy Flannery books. It's a good read, well developed characters, some nice action scenes, and great pacing.
August 10, 2025
It's like La La Land isn't Hollywood, La La Land is its' own sad sick world. That's the strength of Robert Campbell's writing. It is tought to take at times but readable.
July 12, 2010
A bit gruesome and coarse in parts but a good storyline. Strong main character - don't know if he's in any other books but could have a series with him in.
November 15, 2012
hard boiled noir at its best.couldn't put it down.great writer.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews