Murders & Mayhem in Malibu... or, Just Another Day in L.A.? (Movieland book REVIEW)

There are certain things an Angeleno just accepts as part of life. Insane amounts of traffic, clogging freeways and local access roads alike, for two-thirds of every day. Choppers flying overhead fast and low, at all hours. Perpetual threats of wildfires and earthquakes. The realization that no matter how much you might want to be one of those people who has “beach days”, the chances of such are slim. Some new political scandal, somewhere in the county. Rationalizing those late-night In-and-Out burgers by consuming mass quantities of kale and outrageously-priced juices. Avoiding most of Hollywood like the plague (despite some great theaters and restaurants), due to the overwhelming presence of mentally-unstable transients and gaping tourists (who can never understand why they aren’t running into “stars” at every corner). And—since the arrival of the coronavirus—a resurgence of the rampant crime (that had actually, finally, been on the downswing).

Why do we accept all of that? Because—dietary choices, aside—there’s not much we can do about most of it. We’ve all gotta live somewhere, and L.A. is where some ten million of us currently lay our heads each night.

Lee Goldberg is (or has been) one of those millions, because he writes about all of that, and more, in the latest entry in his series about Detective Eve Ronin, Movieland.

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Eve occupies a not-entirely-enviable position in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department… a young female (in a still-predominantly-male arena) detective, just 26 years old, who fast-tracked her way up to that rank and a position at the Lost Hills sheriff’s outpost through a combination of skill, guts, luck, and canny deal-making. (Saying that there are a lot of pissed-off male police—some, with legitimate beefs, but most, just jealous and misogynistic—would be soft-pedaling the situation; Eve is frequently harassed, and often threatened, by a number of those Very Angry Men.)

She lucked out, at least, by being paired with a great partner; Duncan (“Donuts”) Pavone is a genuinely-good guy… older, wiser, smart, realistic, and patient—the perfect foil for the impetuous Eve. [The fact that he is now, when Movieland starts, just two weeks out from his retirement, is something Eve prefers not to dwell on, because he is definitely her rock.]

When the duo get called to the scene of a tragic double-shooting in nearby Malibu Creek State Park, though, the normally-cool Duncan is the shaken one, because he has seen this same scenario—shotgun blasts, in and around the area—multiple times before… but in each prior instance, was persuaded by the powers-that-be to keep quiet, when his investigations hit brick walls.

This case promises to be a little different, though, because this time, one of the shots was fatal, with the other blast injuring the dead woman’s girlfriend… an outspoken nature blogger, with a long-standing and very vocal dislike of the L.A. police. (“The squeaky wheel”, and all that…)

Unsurprisingly—if you know anything about politics, anywhere—neither the sheriff’s department nor the park service want the public getting alarmed; the state park is massive, and a huge draw for locals, semi-locals, and tourists, alike (meaning, lots of money flowing in to area businesses and restaurants). And, in this case, Malibu Creek State Park literally is—or, used to be, anyway—“Movieland”, a huge area where scores of movies and TV shows were shot, in the past (making it, obviously, that much more of a destination location, now).

So, Eve and Duncan begrudgingly start working the case on the down-low, as much as possible… but the perpetrator(s?) have other ideas, and clearly want to be heard.

As Eve faces continuing hassles [originating in the earlier three books in the series, apparently] courtesy of some very angry sheriff’s department gang members—although truth be told, it seems there’s no shortage of people she’s managed to get on the bad side of, in her short policing career—the real question is, will one of them, or maybe even the crazy Malibu Park shooter, get to her, or to Duncan, first… or will our detective duo solve this pesky—and now, deadly—case, once and for all? 

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Movieland is the first Eve Ronin book I’ve read, so there was a little catching up to do, but Goldberg handles it all smoothly, giving enough backstory to clue the reader in, without going on about anything so long as to annoy already-existing fans. [And that’s definitely saying something, because when an author can’t do that well, it can be really off-putting.]

Eve is a very “L.A.” character, which, depending on how you feel about our megalopolis, can either be a plus or a negative. She’s the daughter of a now-elderly (but still-recognized) director and a somewhat-younger (but never-recognized) extra. They have issues. She’s grown a tough skin. Those exploits I touched on earlier—the ones that went down in the previous books—have garnered her enough notoriety to net herself a TV show deal, based on her life (which she’s not too keen on, but still accepted, because, money, duh). 

Regardless, Eve comes across as a (mostly) believable young detective, whose past experiences enable her to understand a fair amount that her male counterparts—particularly the older ones—might not. She’s impetuous and eager enough to feel relatable, for her age, and the situations she finds herself in? Well, maybe you’d just have to spend some time in L.A. to get that they’re all actually pretty realistic. 

Duncan is a boon to the series, as well—a great foil, and one of those guys you immediately trust and like. [In all my years in this city, I’ve only dealt with a handful of local cops… none of whom fit the negative stereotypes many people have, so trust me when I say, Duncan is the real deal, too.]

And of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about Goldberg’s handling of the true femme fatale in Movieland… L.A., itrself. No matter what area Goldberg is talking about (primarily, the far-western San Fernando Valley, here), he gives an excellent sense of place, and attitude, of the environments and the people who inhabit them, which lends the kind of verisimilitude you can only get from someone who knows a place well… warts and all.

Movieland is a fine read, on its own—a suspense/thriller/detective tale that keeps you guessing, and keeps you interested in (and titillated by) all of the many characters which pass through it. For anyone who has already been following Eve’s journey, it must be even that much better.

~GlamKitty