Debut suspense novel from Morgan Hatch
"George Jones - one of the most evil characters you'll ever find in a book."
- R.G. Belsky, award-winning author of IT'S NEWS TO ME
Two brothers from the streets of LA headed in different directions get caught in the crosshairs of a hedge fund fixer.
Javier Jimenez is on a glide path to college while his brother, Alex, has done a 180 and is heading for trouble. Neither, however, have any idea what's coming their way when George Jones sets in motion his plan for their neighborhood. "Some people flip homes. I flip zip codes." It's a cataclysmic vision of urban renewal replete with manmade disasters, civil unrest, and a tsunami of ambitious Zoomers.
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Meanwhile, Alex and Javier's feud quickly escalates, even as Alex finds himself in way over his head with Denker Street, the local mara. The bodies start falling, and Javier soon realizes Jones has put a target on his back. It's time to go to ground. Can he keep Alex from falling further into the streets? Can he outplay Jones at his own game? All this and his own hopes, once so bright, now fading like a smog-shrouded LA skyline.
Bio
Having taught for almost 30 years in the Los Angeles public schools, Morgan Hatch now writes about some of the people and places he's come to know. Residents of Los Angeles, particularly the Valley, will recognize many of the landmarks, though considerable liberties have been taken with the details.
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Most of the narrative of Gone To Ground was pulled from the headlines, sometimes with uncanny overlap. Corruption, engineered gentrification, and even bullet train rerouting were page 1 articles in the LA Times during the time at which the novel was written.
"Hatch's vivid, rhythmic prose...will stick with readers"
- Kirkus Reviews
