All God's Children

Jacob Asch Mystery #2

by Arthur Lyons

We provide free tracking with every order, ship daily, and use bubble mailers for packaging! An excellent copy almost like new, unread, but may have some very minor shipping, shelving, storage defects to the dust jacket or wraps in form of rubs or scratches with the book possibly having very slight wear to book's board corners.

Genres: Mystery

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

A member of the Palm Springs City Council from 1992-1995. Authored 21 books and numerous mystery novels. His 1986 novel "Castles Burning," which took place in Palm Springs, furnished the basis for the telemovie "Slow Burn" with Johnny Depp. Author of "Death on the Cheap -- The Lost B Movies of Film Noir.".

Reviews

[Rambling Raconteur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as strong as Lyons’ debut, but the mid-1970s world is captured in solid detail, particularly the post-hippie burnout and the sense of disenfranchisement that families developed, even with children too young to have been part of that era.

[Joe Nicholl · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Gods Children by Arthur Lyons (1975) – It was a journey just to get to page 1 of the excellent All God's Children. About a year ago I came across the book Death on the Cheap -- The Lost B Movies of Film Noir by Arthur Lyons. I said that's for me and ordered it...fun book. This led to research of Lyons and I came across a positive review of All Gods Children and a mention of his character P.I. Jacob Asch. This rang some bells and I remembered him from the '70's...I may have read a Asch book back then, I can't remember. Anyways, I ordered All God's Children and surprisingly I received a First Edition HC in perfect shape....for $2.99! Pretty cool! Then I noticed that All God's Children was the second book of the Asch series, so I ordered The Dead Are Discreet to start at the beginning of the series....and I got to tell ya, this turned out to be one of the worst Detective books I've ever read! Bad writing, Asch was a fruitcake, canned humor, on & on; it was the crappiest read of 2021 for me. So, I left All God's Children on the shelf for a year to collect dust...I was about to give it up to the local library donation the other day but at the last second I decided, what the heck, at 184 pgs. it won't hurt to give it a quick read...And boy, am I glad I gave it a second chance! All God's Children is excellent, it's like Lyons started all over again and learned a few lessons from his first Asch book. The writing is very tight as is the plot & mystery and P.I. Asch got a complete make over. Here he's down & out 35-ish living in a beat studio apt. in Los Angles and hitting the bottle. He takes on a case of a missing 18 year-old girl from a wealthy family. The path to find her leads Asch to a Jesus-Freak cult and on to a motorcycle gang not to mention a few bumps, bruises, and murder along the way. The book is very reminiscent of Ross Macdonalds writing, but not as complex....call it Lew Archer-lite. There was only one clunker in the book, near the end there's a reference to former TV star, fiddle player Spade Cooley, who killed his wife in 1961, and his name was in-turn attached to a black LAPD Detective character....kinda stupid and had nothing what-so-ever to do with the book. BUT the book is VERY '70's... it's an easy, fast, fun read...I highly recommend All God's Children...4.0 outta 5.0!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a book that was originally published in 1975 this one holds up pretty well, particularly when you consider that it combines two of the standard genre villains of the time; outlaw bikers and religious cults.

Now don't get me wrong, All God's Children (Jacob Asch #2) isn't anyone's idea of an action packed pulp adventure but it's a good, thoughtful mystery that unfolds at a steady pace. Reporter turned P.I. Jacob Asch is more a thinking man than a fighting man - a fact which is blatantly obvious in one of the more explosive episodes in the book.

Cynical, studious, and with maybe a bit more of a smart mouth than is healthy for him, Jacob Asch is one of those detectives who stumbles along as the clues dictate until, finally, something begins to break and the picture comes into focus.

The author doesn't fall back on trying to be too hip or trendy for the time period which goes a long way towards making it an enjoyable read. There's a few decent plot twists... Might be a bit too slow-paced for some readers but it's not a bad book. I think fans of Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer series might enjoy this one.

There is strong language, adult situations and some violence. I'd give it a PG -13 rating, mostly for language.

[Mikel Pfeiffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite liked this crime noir that never got as dark as the cover suggested but told quite an interesting story of kidnapping with a nice twist. The detective, Jacob Asch is refreshing as a likable, stand up guy dealing with low lifes and shysters. I wanted more evil from the cult or motorcycle gang. I mean, if you have a gang called Satan's Warriors, can't we get a little devil worship going? Put that aside, it's still a compelling read.

[Richard Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great find! I love the protagonist. He's a detective who you like from the very first page. I also enjoyed the misdirection. I'm surprised Arthur Lyons is a pretty obscure writer (I bought this novel at a Book Nook in my library for a quarter), since he's one of the best I've ever read. Highly recommended.

[Rob Kitchin · Rating 3 out of 5]

All God’s Children is a fairly glib affair that felt like a fairly standard episode of the Rockford Files or Columbo -- more small screen than big; more everyday than exceptional -- but with a lead character who lacks warmth, depth and vitality. At the one level, this provides a degree of social realism -- Asch is a fairly ordinary guy working as a private investigator. At another, it took a mix of rich family searching for a runaway child, a cultish commune, and a thuggish motorcycle gang, and made them pretty mundane. Moreover the denouement felt weak. The result was an okay, run-of-the-mill story that lacked sparkle and edge.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good follow up to his first Jacob Asch case - no sophomore slump here. Will be breezing through this LA/Noir series....quickly!