Picture the 1970s in Los Angeles and what do you remember? Times were flying. Well, they usually fly in LA. It's a place where you can reinvent yourself. Money can be made if you find the right angle or know the right people.
During this time three people got together in real estate. Two of them were partners in a business they called Space Matters. These two, Jerry Schneiderman and Richard Kasparov, designed the office interiors for large and small firms in whatever building they were in. The partners were very successful in this work. So successful that Richard suggested they expand into home renovation. For this they needed a construction supervisor with a construction license. They found Howard Garrett.
With the start of the new business Richard started stealing from his partner, Jerry. He offered a partnership to Howard, and then started stealing from him. Howard was a little more knowledgeable or a little less trusting than Jerry because he found out about the theft quickly. He threatened Richard and demanded half of the illegal funds, which Richard was happy to promise. When he didn't pay up, Howard left the companies and sued. Howard put liens on all the houses Richard had deals with so work had to stop.
About this time Jerry learned that Richard was stealing from him. The partnership was dissolved. Howard sued both Richard and Jerry. Jerry tried to come to a settlement with Howard, but that went nowhere.
Howard had a very violent nature. He generally kept it under covers. But when he felt that he was being disrespected, he wanted bloody revenge. His solution was to kill anyone he had a beef with. He acquired a sloppy group of minions, drug addicts and assorted low-lifes.
This is a true crime book. As with many true crime, we know who did what to whom. We know about the investigation and trial, if there was one. There isn't a lot of suspense. I like true crime stories. Reading them helps me judge how well the fiction writers come to reality. This book keeps the characters within the realm of understanding. We see what they did and how they acted, so we can believe we know why they acted as they did.
I received the copy of this e-book OI read for this review from BookishFirst.
During this time three people got together in real estate. Two of them were partners in a business they called Space Matters. These two, Jerry Schneiderman and Richard Kasparov, designed the office interiors for large and small firms in whatever building they were in. The partners were very successful in this work. So successful that Richard suggested they expand into home renovation. For this they needed a construction supervisor with a construction license. They found Howard Garrett.
With the start of the new business Richard started stealing from his partner, Jerry. He offered a partnership to Howard, and then started stealing from him. Howard was a little more knowledgeable or a little less trusting than Jerry because he found out about the theft quickly. He threatened Richard and demanded half of the illegal funds, which Richard was happy to promise. When he didn't pay up, Howard left the companies and sued. Howard put liens on all the houses Richard had deals with so work had to stop.
About this time Jerry learned that Richard was stealing from him. The partnership was dissolved. Howard sued both Richard and Jerry. Jerry tried to come to a settlement with Howard, but that went nowhere.
Howard had a very violent nature. He generally kept it under covers. But when he felt that he was being disrespected, he wanted bloody revenge. His solution was to kill anyone he had a beef with. He acquired a sloppy group of minions, drug addicts and assorted low-lifes.
This is a true crime book. As with many true crime, we know who did what to whom. We know about the investigation and trial, if there was one. There isn't a lot of suspense. I like true crime stories. Reading them helps me judge how well the fiction writers come to reality. This book keeps the characters within the realm of understanding. We see what they did and how they acted, so we can believe we know why they acted as they did.
I received the copy of this e-book OI read for this review from BookishFirst.