DOS ANGELES
by Michael O'Hara
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE:
Mystery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Dos
Angeles, the first in a franchise of mysteries featuring Paco Moran, puts the
multicultural thirty-something ex-LAPD homicide detective turned reluctant
private eye on the trail of a beautiful young Latina on the run with ten
million dollars in cash. Half Anglo and half Mexican, Moran is a transitional
character equally at home working in Beverly Hills or blue collar Boyle
Heights, the tough East Los Angeles neighborhood where he was raised by a
single mom. In his debut case Paco quickly learns he will be the fall guy if he
doesn't track down the young immigrant who allegedly stole a small fortune from
a sleazy Hollywood producer secretly laundering money for a notorious drug
cartel. Paco's frantic search takes him on a roller-coaster ride through a
shadowy place he calls Dos Angeles a city within the city and a virtual country
unto itself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
Dante Pirelli thought the timing could not have been better
to get out of town and spend a week in Maui at the oceanfront condo he owned on
Kaanapali Beach. For days all the local media could talk about was the
potentially record-breaking heat about to hit Southern California. Temperatures
in downtown Los Angeles were expected to soar above a hundred, and out on the
western edge of the San Fernando Valley where Pirelli lived it would probably
be ten to fifteen degrees hotter.
An added benefit was that Vyna, his beautiful young trophy
wife, was excited about getting away, too. That meant there could be lots of
sex on the holiday agenda. Vyna had been suffering with a bad case of the blues
lately, but when she was in a good mood she could be a real tiger in bed.
Just as the stretch limousine arrived that would take him
and his family to the airport, Pirelli gave a final briefing to Maria Rojas,
the young woman he was leaving behind in charge of his sprawling, Tuscan-style
estate.
“Remember, always keep ice in the dog’s bowl. And make sure
you’re here for the gardeners and pool man. Any problems with anything you got
the numbers to call.”
“Yes, sir,” Maria nodded with a nervous smile. Although
confident, she could handle everything expected of her she was anxious about
being left alone in such a big, fancy house. Still, she was going to be paid
double her normal salary and Mr. Pirelli had said she could use any of the
home’s resort-like amenities, including an amazing circular pool with a
cascading waterfall and thirty-foot water slide.
Six days into her stay Maria’s only real challenge had been
coping with the boredom. Outside of taking care of Mrs. Pirelli’s needy French
Pug and dealing with the regularly scheduled service people, there had been very
little to do. As predicted, the scorching weather the Spanish press was calling
Los Días de Infierno had arrived with a vengeance. It was so hot during the day
she rarely went outside, and she soon got tired of watching non-stop
telenovelas. All the idle time made her realize how much she missed her regular
routine at Mr. Pirelli’s film company. She liked how busy it always was and how
the hours just seemed to fly by. Work—like prayer—kept her from worrying about
her recent troubles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Emmy nominee
Michael O’Hara-- who has written and produced some of the highest-rated
television movies and miniseries in recent memory – is adding author to his
resume with the August, 2015 the publication of his first novel, Dos Angeles.
The book,
featuring a bilingual and bicultural private eye named Paco Moran, centers
around Moran’s desperate search for a beautiful young Latina immigrant who
stole ten million dollars from the mob. In a pre-publication review American
Book Award winner Peter Quinn said: Paco Moran’s debut in Michael O'Hara's Dos
Angeles is fast-paced, finely crafted, and full of surprises. It's noir fiction
for the 21st century, a helluva ride from the first page to last. Here's hoping
O'Hara brings Paco back very soon. I can't wait!
A former
award-winning journalist and NBC Vice President of Media Relations, O’Hara made
an auspicious debut as a writer/producer with “Those She Left Behind,” a
critically acclaimed family drama that continues to be the highest-rated TV
movie (25.1/38 share) on any network in over twenty years. It starred Gary Cole
and Colleen Dewhurst (who won an Emmy Award for her performance). That success
was followed by the widely praised NBC movie “She Said No” which won an
American Women in Radio & Television Award for Best Television Dramatic
Special.
O’Hara next
wrote and executive produced “Switched at Birth,” the blockbuster NBC miniseries
that earned an Emmy nomination as Best Dramatic Special and remains the highest
rated (22 rating/33 share) miniseries on network television since its initial
telecast over two decades ago. He was also the writer and executive producer of
“Murder in the Heartland,” a celebrated ABC miniseries which garnered a Casting
Society of America Award and two Emmy nominations. Right after that he created
and executive produced the first of 22 “Moment of Truth” movies for NBC,
establishing one of the most successful film franchises in TV history.
O’Hara also
wrote “She Woke Up Pregnant,” the pilot for ABC’s ‘Crimes of Passion’
franchise. It scored an impressive 13.4 rating and 21 share, making it the
highest-rated ABC movie of the year. He went on to write “One Hot Summer
Night,” another ‘Crimes of Passion’ thriller that was ABC’s highest-rated
Thursday night movie of the season. Other producing credits include two CBS
projects: “Twilight Zone – Rod Serling’s Lost Classics” and “A Child’s Wish,”
which was filmed in the Oval Office and featured a cameo appearance by then
President Bill Clinton. In addition he wrote and executive produced NBC’s “In
His Life: The John Lennon Story” and “1st to Die,” a two-part NBC miniseries
based on the best-selling novel by James Patterson.
Overall
O’Hara has produced four miniseries and 33 Movies of the Week. Besides his Emmy
nomination, other honors include: a Christopher Award (“A Child’s Wish”); a
Prism Award (“The Accident”); a Humanitas Award nomination (“Heart of a Child”);
a National Easter Seal Society Award (“To Walk Again”); an International Health
& Medical Film Award (“Heart of a Child”); and the Media Award from The
National Council on Problem Gambling (“Playing to Win.”)
Michael-ohara.com
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14203330.Michael_O_Hara
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dos-Angeles/1143487899001779
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
