-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
A Charlie Hood Novel
Los Angeles County sheriff 's deputy Charlie Hood is attached to the ATF, working undercover on the iron river that flows across the U.S.-Mexican border. The diamond fillings he wears in his left canine glimmer, distracting the men who sell the illegal firearms that enable the unspeakable violence on both sides of the map. Spotting the sparkle when "Charlie Diamonds" opens his mouth is often their first step toward life behind bars.
Meanwhile, Bradley Jones, sheriff 's deputy and employee of the Baja Cartel, son of the love of Charlie's life, the deceased L.A. outlaw Suzanne Jones, is expecting a son of his own. Suzanne was descended from famed Mexican desperado Joaquin Murrieta, whose embalmed head Bradley inherited from her and keeps nestled among piles of cash, proceeds from Bradley's own life of crime.
Charlie knows all of Bradley's secrets; the question is what he'll do with the information. Until he decides, his obsession remains the inexplicable existence of Mike Finnegan, the diminutive devil who flits in and out of both men's lives, knowing things he shouldn't, seemingly immortal.
Three men: earnest law-enforcer, inveterate lawbreaker, and the man who pits them against each other - hurtle toward one another in the jaw-dropping conclusion to T. Jefferson Parker's mesmerizing vision of the border. Their climactic showdown brings to a spectacular close a crime series that obliterated the boundaries of the genre.
"Starred Review. This highly impressive thriller demonstrates how genre fiction can take on substantial themes in an entertaining and provocative way." - Publishers Weekly
"Part cops-versus–drugs-and-guns procedural, part elemental morality play, part fire-and-brimstone mythmaking, all of it inimitably Parker." - Kirkus
"Starred Review. Parker's knack for intriguing characters and steadily escalating suspense make this a memorable finish to a standout series." - Booklist
"Parker pulls it all together in a rather complex plotline that first-time readers might find confusing and slow-paced for a police procedural. But series fans will want this." - Library Journal
This information about The Famous and the Dead was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Marion Ettlinger
T. Jefferson Parker is the author of numerous novels and short stories, the winner of three Edgar Awards (for Silent Joe, California Girl, and the short story "Skinhead Central"), and the recipient of a Los Angeles Times Book Prize for best mystery (Silent Joe). Before becoming a full-time novelist, he was an award-winning reporter. He lives in Fallbrook, California.
If you liked The Famous and the Dead, try these:
by Henry Wise
Published 2025
Holy City is the captivating debut from Henry Wise about a deputy sheriff who must work alongside an unpredictable private detective after he finds himself on the outs from his sheriff's department over his unwillingness to look the other way when an innocent man is arrested for murder.
by Walter Mosley
Published 2019
From trailblazing novelist Walter Mosley: a former NYPD cop once imprisoned for a crime he did not commit must solve two cases: that of a man wrongly condemned to die, and his own.
by CB McKenzie
Published 2016
The newest winner of the Tony Hillerman Prize, a debut mystery set in the Southwest starring a former rodeo cowboy turned private investigator, told in a transfixingly original style.
Most of us who turn to any subject we love remember some morning or evening hour when...
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
