James Queally, in conversation with Tod Goldberg, discusses & signs Surviving the Lie: A Russell Avery Novel

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Everybody in Los Angeles has a version of the city they think is the real one, and almost nobody's version includes the 3am parts — the watch commander's log, the press conference nobody attended, the case that got two paragraphs and then nothing. Crime fiction written by somebody who actually worked that beat reads differently than crime fiction written by somebody who researched it, and the readers who can tell the difference tend to be a little obsessive about it. They will drive across the county for a writer who gets the procedural details right. A Tuesday night in a bookstore is where that crowd surfaces: retired detectives arguing with novelists, court reporters, a couple of people who just love a good LA noir and want to hear how the sausage is made. Free entry, which keeps it the kind of room where people ask real questions instead of performing. Southern California's oldest independent bookstore, in business since 1894. Free entry, 7:00pm, Tuesday the 18th.

Come with a question you actually want answered.