A Question of Murder

About the Book

Gross ambition…an obsession for money…power…leads to murder and betrayal.  On Saturday, September 27, 1969, two LAPD Homicide detectives, Steve Keller and Joe Rodriguez are called to 1025 Sunset Plaza Drive, the sprawling, Spanish style, Hollywood Hills home of tabloid-publisher, Randall Curtiss.  Curtiss’ wife, Valerie has been found shot to death in the bathroom of the master bedroom.  Curtiss is discovered in the family den, the victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.  It becomes apparent that Curtiss was beset with heavy financial difficulties, coupled with the fact that his smarmy scandal sheet, Hollywood Confidential, has been hit with a $50-million libel suit.  Screen actor, Gregg Chandler was suing Curtiss for defamation of character, invasion of privacy.  The stage is set for the murder-suicide.  However, following an intense investigation of the crime scene, which includes a ballistics report, and a phony suicide note, the detectives come to the conclusion that the murder-suicide was a “set-up”…that in actuality, the Curtisses were both murdered.

Because of Curtiss’ affiliation with the notorious scandal magazine, a host of possible suspects emerges, including his ex-wife, Barbara; his business partner, Diane Walker; a sleazy paparazzi, Tony D’Amato; a competitor, Marty Schwimmer; a disgruntled and recently-fired employee, David Levine; a Mafia-connected  hoodlum, Nick DiNapoli.  

Played against a background, where the Curtiss-Chandler trial is imminent, and surprising testimony from a dying associate of Randall Curtiss surfaces, the detectives’ investigation leads them into an intricate web of blackmail, deception and murder.

About the Author

John Leslie Evans, born in Corsham, England and raised in Kimberley, British Columbia, Canada, presently lives in Brea, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, His first published novel, “Prescription: Murder,” was adapted from a screenplay by the same name. His second novel, “Eyes of a Killer,” tells the story of a predatory woman who lures a rogue cop into a complex web of murder and deception. In addition, Mr. Evans has just completed “A Question of Murder,” which was also adapted from a screenplay. The story concerns the alleged murder-suicide of tabloid publisher, Randall Curtiss and his wife, in their palatial Hollywood Hills mansion