The Black Marble

Russian-American detective A. A. Valnikov is a burned-out homicide detective who gets teamed with Natalie Zimmerman, twice-divorced with a grudge against men. These unlikely partners are assigned the strange case of a stolen show dog being held for ransom. In this bittersweet tale that the Los Angeles Times called "terrifying and romantic," the partners will find much more than they ever could have imagined. Cosmopolitan called it "fast, colorful and gripping . . . as touching as it is breathlessly entertaining." "Terrifying . . . romantic . . . beautifully constructed." -Los Angeles Times "Superb . . . his best book!" -St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Wambaugh sidesteps all the clichés." -The Baltimore Sun The son of a policeman, Joseph Wambaugh (b. 1937) began his writing career while a member of the Los Angeles Police Department. He joined the LAPD in 1960 after three years in the Marine Corps, and rose to the rank of detective sergeant before retiring to write fulltime in 1974. His first novel, The New Centurions (1971), was a quick success, drawing praise for its realistic action and intelligent characterization. He followed it up with The Blue Knight (1972), which was adapted into a feature film and allowed him to retire from the force. Since then Wambaugh has continued writing about the LAPD. He has been credited with a realistic portrayal of police officers, showing them not as superheroes but as people struggling with a difficult job, a depiction taken mainstream in the television drama Police Story, which Wambaugh helped create in the mid-1970s. Wambaugh has also written nonfiction, winning a special Edgar Award for 1974's The Onion Field, an account of the longest criminal trial in California history. His most recent novel is Hollywood Moon (2009).