Search - Cleas' Moon

This is a tremendously well-written mystery--hard to believe it was the author's first novel. Set in late-1940's Los Angeles, the main character is a former B-movie cowboy who's come out of prison and sets out to find his missing step-daughter. The characters are vividly drawn, and a tremendous amount of research obviously went into the book, as the author describes Los Angeles on the brink of becoming the megalopolis of the late 20th century. If you like noir movies and books, or Hollywood history, or if you just want a well-crafted mystery with excellent characters, I recommend this one.

A third-rate cowboy actor is out of prison, blacklisted, and has time to search for the daughter of his ex in 1940s Los Angeles. Interesting array of characters including the Indian sidekick. WARNING: about child porn.

Mystery with former cowboy movie star as protagonist in the 1950's. California setting. Dark material involving photos of underage girls & a couple of deaths sets John Ray Horn on the search, esp. since one of the photos is of someone he knows.

Great characters and great story

From the cover: John Ray Horn used to be a big star, a Hollywood hero in B westerns. Now, after two years in prison, he's just down-and-out. His wife left him. The studios have blacklisted him. The only way he can make ends meet is by collecting debts for a gambler, who just happens to be his old Indian sidekick from the big screen. But then, Horn is told of a collection of photos - obscene shots of underage girls, one of whom might be Clea, his stepdaughter before the divorce. Someone has killed to keep the photos in the dark - and now the sun is about to set on the runaway Clea. HOrn searches for her among neon-lit oceanfront peirs and wooded canyons, estates in the HOllywood Hills and jazz clubs on Central Avenue - all the while trying to pull himself together in time to save her.