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The Killing Look
Civil War veteran L.D. Cade arrives in 1870s San Francisco, seeking his fortune and a place to end his restless wandering. A job as bodyguard to a flashy real estate speculator seems like just the opportunity he’s been looking for. But beneath the glitter and glamour of Gilded Age San Francisco lie festering greed, corruption, and intolerance. It’s a dangerous place for an honest man, even one who’s as good with a gun as Cade. As he makes his way between the decadent chaos of the notorious Barbary Coast, the luxurious mansions of Russian Hill, and the secretive societies of Chinatown, Cade will face vicious and sadistic enemies, find allies in unexpected places, and encounter a pair of enigmatic women who will change his life forever.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published August 24, 2021
17 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
J.D. Rhoades
25 books186 followersJ.D. Rhoades is America's foremost writer of the genre known as "Redneck noir," and his biography reads like "Tobacco Road" as written by Hunter S. Thompson.
Rhoades never knew his parents; he was found abandoned on the steps of a cut-rate Filipino tax preparation service in Slidell, La. As a child, he was bounced around between a series of orphanages, reformatories and opium dens. His first brush with the law came when he shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. He was seven years old at the time.
Rhoades first turned to drugs at the age of five, when he discovered you could get high by snorting Nestle’s Quik through a rolled up copy of Highlights magazine. Since then, he claims to have ingested marijuana, peyote, heroin, psilocybin, uppers, downers, screamers, laughers, dried banana peels, glue, paste, mucilage, LSD, DMT, STP, ABC, CNN, TLC, Sterno, Drano, Bondo, Ketamine, Dopamine, glucosamine, Ovaltine, and Krispy Kreme.
He hit rock bottom when he did all of them in the same night and woke up two weeks later, hanging upside down by his knees from a tree limb in Duluth, Minn., and singing an aria from “Die Fledermaus.” In German, a language that he does not speak.
Rhoades is rumored to have once killed a stripper with a fondue fork and disposed of the body using an electric pencil sharpener over a period of 14 hours.
Ii is not known whether the rumors are true that Rhoades kidnapped the Lindbergh Baby, nor can reports that he was the shooter on the grassy knoll when Kennedy was shot be confirmed. He does, however, know Tom DeLay personally.
-Biography contributed by James Frey
Rhoades never knew his parents; he was found abandoned on the steps of a cut-rate Filipino tax preparation service in Slidell, La. As a child, he was bounced around between a series of orphanages, reformatories and opium dens. His first brush with the law came when he shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. He was seven years old at the time.
Rhoades first turned to drugs at the age of five, when he discovered you could get high by snorting Nestle’s Quik through a rolled up copy of Highlights magazine. Since then, he claims to have ingested marijuana, peyote, heroin, psilocybin, uppers, downers, screamers, laughers, dried banana peels, glue, paste, mucilage, LSD, DMT, STP, ABC, CNN, TLC, Sterno, Drano, Bondo, Ketamine, Dopamine, glucosamine, Ovaltine, and Krispy Kreme.
He hit rock bottom when he did all of them in the same night and woke up two weeks later, hanging upside down by his knees from a tree limb in Duluth, Minn., and singing an aria from “Die Fledermaus.” In German, a language that he does not speak.
Rhoades is rumored to have once killed a stripper with a fondue fork and disposed of the body using an electric pencil sharpener over a period of 14 hours.
Ii is not known whether the rumors are true that Rhoades kidnapped the Lindbergh Baby, nor can reports that he was the shooter on the grassy knoll when Kennedy was shot be confirmed. He does, however, know Tom DeLay personally.
-Biography contributed by James Frey
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 30, 2021
I will confess that I almost gave THE KILLING LOOK a pass. It seemed from the locale (San Francisco) and the time period (post-Civil War) that it was somewhat outside of author J.D. Rhoades’ comfort zone of the contemporary American South, bounty hunters and the like. What swayed me back to the side of the angels was knowing that he has never written a bad book coupled with the fact that I like historical westerns. Why, then, would I turn down a book set at the beginning of that time period in one of the westernmost cities of the United States? So I persuaded myself to read it, and I’m glad I did. It’s one of Rhoades’ best.
A Civil War veteran on the winning side, L.D. Cade has landed in San Francisco after working in several occupations and traveling through multiple states. He feels that he has run out of road on his journey to achieve financial and vocational responsibility, and he is in the company of many who are in similar straits. An antagonistic encounter involving a stranger gives Cade an opportunity to display his skill set and restraint, neither of which is lost on John C. Hamrick, a self-styled real estate investor.
Hamrick takes Cade in and hires him as a bodyguard. He is concerned that his business dealings have made him a number of enemies in the city, including but not limited to powerful business interests in Chinatown. Cade barely has had the opportunity to become familiar with Hamrick’s large and fashionable home before an attempt is made to kidnap Hamrick’s wife and daughter. That attack is successfully repelled, but Cade quickly learns that the chill permeating the rooms and halls of the Hamrick mansion has little to do with the seasons of San Francisco, resulting in serious repercussions for Cade later on.
Meanwhile, a shadowy figure plots with one of Hamrick’s former business associates to bring him down for good. But all is not how it seems on several fronts. Soon enough, Cade learns quite a bit about his employer, the man’s family and household, as well as who he can and cannot trust. Allies are in short supply for Cade, but the ones he acquires are effective and schooled at showing up at just the right time, to say the least.
The plot twists and turns throughout the narrative, leading to a violent conclusion that could go in any number of directions --- and does --- before coming to a surprising and satisfying end. Rhoades expertly weaves into the mix the tumultuous cultural and societal elements that were present at the time, making them an important part of the storyline rather than randomly inserting them to demonstrate that he has established his research bona fides. While violence is also involved here, it is balanced to some extent by the grim humor that Rhoades is known for injecting into his books at strategic points, as well as a plethora of interesting main and supporting characters.
THE KILLING LOOK may be a stand-alone work, but it also feels like the jumping-off point for a series. That would be a great thing, and I hope that Rhoades sees fit to make that happen.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
A Civil War veteran on the winning side, L.D. Cade has landed in San Francisco after working in several occupations and traveling through multiple states. He feels that he has run out of road on his journey to achieve financial and vocational responsibility, and he is in the company of many who are in similar straits. An antagonistic encounter involving a stranger gives Cade an opportunity to display his skill set and restraint, neither of which is lost on John C. Hamrick, a self-styled real estate investor.
Hamrick takes Cade in and hires him as a bodyguard. He is concerned that his business dealings have made him a number of enemies in the city, including but not limited to powerful business interests in Chinatown. Cade barely has had the opportunity to become familiar with Hamrick’s large and fashionable home before an attempt is made to kidnap Hamrick’s wife and daughter. That attack is successfully repelled, but Cade quickly learns that the chill permeating the rooms and halls of the Hamrick mansion has little to do with the seasons of San Francisco, resulting in serious repercussions for Cade later on.
Meanwhile, a shadowy figure plots with one of Hamrick’s former business associates to bring him down for good. But all is not how it seems on several fronts. Soon enough, Cade learns quite a bit about his employer, the man’s family and household, as well as who he can and cannot trust. Allies are in short supply for Cade, but the ones he acquires are effective and schooled at showing up at just the right time, to say the least.
The plot twists and turns throughout the narrative, leading to a violent conclusion that could go in any number of directions --- and does --- before coming to a surprising and satisfying end. Rhoades expertly weaves into the mix the tumultuous cultural and societal elements that were present at the time, making them an important part of the storyline rather than randomly inserting them to demonstrate that he has established his research bona fides. While violence is also involved here, it is balanced to some extent by the grim humor that Rhoades is known for injecting into his books at strategic points, as well as a plethora of interesting main and supporting characters.
THE KILLING LOOK may be a stand-alone work, but it also feels like the jumping-off point for a series. That would be a great thing, and I hope that Rhoades sees fit to make that happen.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
August 30, 2021
I will confess that I almost gave THE KILLING LOOK a pass. It seemed from the locale (San Francisco) and the time period (post-Civil War) that it was somewhat outside of author J.D. Rhoades’ comfort zone of the contemporary American South, bounty hunters and the like. What swayed me back to the side of the angels was knowing that he has never written a bad book coupled with the fact that I like historical westerns. Why, then, would I turn down a book set at the beginning of that time period in one of the westernmost cities of the United States? So I persuaded myself to read it, and I’m glad I did. It’s one of Rhoades’ best.
A Civil War veteran on the winning side, L.D. Cade has landed in San Francisco after working in several occupations and traveling through multiple states. He feels that he has run out of road on his journey to achieve financial and vocational responsibility, and he is in the company of many who are in similar straits. An antagonistic encounter involving a stranger gives Cade an opportunity to display his skill set and restraint, neither of which is lost on John C. Hamrick, a self-styled real estate investor.
Hamrick takes Cade in and hires him as a bodyguard. He is concerned that his business dealings have made him a number of enemies in the city, including but not limited to powerful business interests in Chinatown. Cade barely has had the opportunity to become familiar with Hamrick’s large and fashionable home before an attempt is made to kidnap Hamrick’s wife and daughter. That attack is successfully repelled, but Cade quickly learns that the chill permeating the rooms and halls of the Hamrick mansion has little to do with the seasons of San Francisco, resulting in serious repercussions for Cade later on.
Meanwhile, a shadowy figure plots with one of Hamrick’s former business associates to bring him down for good. But all is not how it seems on several fronts. Soon enough, Cade learns quite a bit about his employer, the man’s family and household, as well as who he can and cannot trust. Allies are in short supply for Cade, but the ones he acquires are effective and schooled at showing up at just the right time, to say the least.
The plot twists and turns throughout the narrative, leading to a violent conclusion that could go in any number of directions --- and does --- before coming to a surprising and satisfying end. Rhoades expertly weaves into the mix the tumultuous cultural and societal elements that were present at the time, making them an important part of the storyline rather than randomly inserting them to demonstrate that he has established his research bona fides. While violence is also involved here, it is balanced to some extent by the grim humor that Rhoades is known for injecting into his books at strategic points, as well as a plethora of interesting main and supporting characters.
THE KILLING LOOK may be a stand-alone work, but it also feels like the jumping-off point for a series. That would be a great thing, and I hope that Rhoades sees fit to make that happen.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
A Civil War veteran on the winning side, L.D. Cade has landed in San Francisco after working in several occupations and traveling through multiple states. He feels that he has run out of road on his journey to achieve financial and vocational responsibility, and he is in the company of many who are in similar straits. An antagonistic encounter involving a stranger gives Cade an opportunity to display his skill set and restraint, neither of which is lost on John C. Hamrick, a self-styled real estate investor.
Hamrick takes Cade in and hires him as a bodyguard. He is concerned that his business dealings have made him a number of enemies in the city, including but not limited to powerful business interests in Chinatown. Cade barely has had the opportunity to become familiar with Hamrick’s large and fashionable home before an attempt is made to kidnap Hamrick’s wife and daughter. That attack is successfully repelled, but Cade quickly learns that the chill permeating the rooms and halls of the Hamrick mansion has little to do with the seasons of San Francisco, resulting in serious repercussions for Cade later on.
Meanwhile, a shadowy figure plots with one of Hamrick’s former business associates to bring him down for good. But all is not how it seems on several fronts. Soon enough, Cade learns quite a bit about his employer, the man’s family and household, as well as who he can and cannot trust. Allies are in short supply for Cade, but the ones he acquires are effective and schooled at showing up at just the right time, to say the least.
The plot twists and turns throughout the narrative, leading to a violent conclusion that could go in any number of directions --- and does --- before coming to a surprising and satisfying end. Rhoades expertly weaves into the mix the tumultuous cultural and societal elements that were present at the time, making them an important part of the storyline rather than randomly inserting them to demonstrate that he has established his research bona fides. While violence is also involved here, it is balanced to some extent by the grim humor that Rhoades is known for injecting into his books at strategic points, as well as a plethora of interesting main and supporting characters.
THE KILLING LOOK may be a stand-alone work, but it also feels like the jumping-off point for a series. That would be a great thing, and I hope that Rhoades sees fit to make that happen.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
October 4, 2022
An enjoyable read—historical fiction wrapped up in a thriller. I’d read more of the adventures of L.D. Cade in a heartbeat.
August 30, 2025
Having previously read and enjoyed some of the Jack Keller series by this author, I was intrigued to try The Killing Look which is an unusual combination of historical fiction and thriller with a bit of romance thrown in.
LD Cade is newly arrived in San Francisco after serving on the winning side in the Civil War. He is offered a job as bodyguard to businessman John Hamrick, who has made enemies, and wishes to protect his family. From the beginning there is something off about Hamrick, which only becomes clearer when Cade moves into his house and meets his attractive wife.
The story is told through multiple points of view, one of which is a shadowy figure plotting against Hamrick but aiming to place the blame on the Chinese. Almost immediately, there is an attempt to kidnap Hamrick’s wife and daughter, thwarted by Cade and the black servant Samuel. From here on, Cade does his best to find out who is behind the threat with the help of some very unusual allies.
The author has obviously done a lot of research into what life was like in San Francisco at this time, and this helps him to paint a vivid picture and seamlessly weave the historical facts into the narrative. The characters are well drawn, there is dark humour to offset the violence, and the plot contains many twists and turns to keep you guessing. My attention was grabbed right from the start and I look forward to reading the next book in this fascinating series, The Golden Mountain.
While reading The Killing Look, I could not help imagining it being turned into a film with a mysterious lone hero, and some very devious villains. Thanks to Bloodhound Books for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
February 6, 2022
4.5 stars, rounded up.
* Reminiscent of Tom Lin's The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu in offering a snapshot of the Chinese experience in late 1800s America which is unflinchingly accurate at times and somewhat fanciful at others.
* Obviously, the novels differ in that Mr. Lin's protagonist is a Chinese anti-hero, while Mr. Rhoades focuses on the "one good (white) man" who treats blacks and Chinese based on their character, not the color of their skin.
* That said, the story itself does not fall into cliché, because the protagonist's treatment of others across racial and gender lines comes naturally to his own character, and it is efficiently linked to his own backstory.
* The third-person perspective effectively moves across the POVs of multiple characters, revealing histories and motivations. As in real life, some people surprise us, and some people do not. The drama is well-paced, and the action comes in short sharp bursts.
* Possible spoiler:
* Overall, a very enjoyable read, grabbing our attention from the opening scene, and over almost too quickly.
* Reminiscent of Tom Lin's The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu in offering a snapshot of the Chinese experience in late 1800s America which is unflinchingly accurate at times and somewhat fanciful at others.
* Obviously, the novels differ in that Mr. Lin's protagonist is a Chinese anti-hero, while Mr. Rhoades focuses on the "one good (white) man" who treats blacks and Chinese based on their character, not the color of their skin.
* That said, the story itself does not fall into cliché, because the protagonist's treatment of others across racial and gender lines comes naturally to his own character, and it is efficiently linked to his own backstory.
* The third-person perspective effectively moves across the POVs of multiple characters, revealing histories and motivations. As in real life, some people surprise us, and some people do not. The drama is well-paced, and the action comes in short sharp bursts.
* Possible spoiler:
* Overall, a very enjoyable read, grabbing our attention from the opening scene, and over almost too quickly.
August 6, 2025
If you’re a fan of old fashioned Westerns you’ll love this but if you’re into the more modern Yellow Stone series you’ll love it even more. I was gripped from page one even though this isn’t my usual genre. So well told that I became invested in the characters and their story lines. I’m looking forward to the next one from this author.
October 7, 2021
3.5 rounded up. There was much to like about this book -- great characters, good plot and I'll look forward to a sequel (if there is one) because I'd like to know what happens next. Sadly the middle section lacked the narrative drive of the first and last sections.
August 28, 2025
Rhoades 'The Killing Look is an easy read. The storyline is a mix of thriller, comedy, and romance. For the most part it was well written. It has a good storyline and plot that keeps you guessing and wanting more.
December 21, 2021
3.5 rounded up
August 2, 2022
Strong start, but steadily lost traction and tripped and the finish line.
June 21, 2025
A good suspense that takes place in post Civil War San Francisco with all the feelings of the post war years!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews