BooksChatter: ☀ Dos Angeles: Paco Moran Mysteries [1]

Thank you for joining us on the Virtual Book Tour for Dos Angeles, a PI Mystery by Michael O'Hara (1 September 2015, Strategic Media Books, 280 pages).

This is the first book in the Paco Moran Mysteries series.

"Paco Moran's debut in Michael O'Hara's Dos Angeles is fast-paced, finely crafted, and full of surprises. It's noir fiction for the 21st century, a helluva ride from the first page to the last. Here's hoping O'Hara brings Paco back very soon. I can't wait!" Peter Quinn, Winner of The American Book Award for Banished Children of Eve.

PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and excerpt below.

Author Michael O'Hara will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other excerpts (☀), and reviews (✍).

Synopsis | Teaser | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

Synopsis

Dos Angeles, the first in a franchise of mysteries featuring Paco Moran, puts the multicultural thirty-something ex-LAPD homicide detective turned reluctant private eye on the trail of a beautiful young Latina on the run with ten million dollars in cash.

Half Anglo and half Mexican, Moran is a transitional character equally at home working in Beverly Hills or blue collar Boyle Heights, the tough East Los Angeles neighborhood where he was raised by a single mom.

In his debut case Paco quickly learns he will be the fall guy if he doesn't track down the young immigrant who allegedly stole a small fortune from a sleazy Hollywood producer secretly laundering money for a notorious drug cartel. Paco's frantic search takes him on a roller-coaster ride through a shadowy place he calls Dos Angeles a city within the city and a virtual country unto itself.

Teaser: Excerpt

Then, the day before the Pirellis were due home, something unexpected came up that needed her immediate attention. On hearing what she thought was the sound of a toilet running she first checked downstairs before heading up to the master suite. Inside the gaudy all gold and marble bathroom she discovered a puddle of water seeping out from inside the extra-long double vanity. Opening the main cabinet doors she saw one of the stainless steel hoses was leaking badly. She tried to tighten the connection but it had no effect. Afraid she might make matters worse, she turned off the valve and hurried downstairs to call a plumber on the approved contact list.
      A half hour later Sid Kantor showed up and Maria was immediately intimidated by his off-putting physical presence. Short and obesely overweight with a large shaved head, a Quaker-like beard, and dull, hooded eyes, Kantor reminded her of El Malvado, a cartoon villain that used to terrify her as a little girl in Oaxaca. Because of that and his gruff, unfriendly manner, she quickly sensed he was one of those aggressive white foreigners who only saw Mexicans as workers, never as equals.
     Not about to give him the satisfaction of staring at her shapely bottom on the way up the steep winding staircase, she politely stepped aside and gestured for him to lead the way. By the time they reached the second floor landing he was grunting and panting so much she feared he might have a heart attack.
     “Are you okay, sir?” she asked with genuine concern.
     “Ya, ya,” he muttered, wiping his brow with his shirt sleeve. “It’s dis damn heat.”
     Minutes later Maria stood by patiently as Kantor awkwardly maneuvered his way under the sink to remove and replace the faulty hose. When he finally finished he turned the water back on to test it.
     “Dat should do it,” he said in a heavily accented, non-American voice. “Let run five minutes to make sure.”
     After struggling to get back up on his feet Kantor gestured with the flashlight he’d been using, illuminating the inside of the cabinet.
     “You know what behind dere?” he asked, focusing the light on a small pocket door under the sink.
     “Behind where?” Maria was confused.
     “Dere, dere!” he growled, swirling the light around to emphasize what he was talking about
     “I don’t know,” she shrugged.
     “Strange. Hah?” He pointed the flashlight at the door again. “Must be something back dere.”
     Since Kantor was obviously way too big to crawl through himself, Maria volunteered to take a look while he was still there.
     “No time,” he said, tapping on his watch. “Late for next appointment.”
     He handed her a business card. “You call if any more problems.”
     She promised she would and saw him out.
     After he left, she decided to return upstairs to check behind the cabinet to make sure there were no hidden pipes that could be leaking. When she slid open the mystery door, she was startled to discover a secret room. “Dios mío!” she whispered.

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About the Author

Emmy nominee Michael O’Hara-- who has written and produced some of the highest-rated television movies and miniseries in recent memory – is adding author to his resume with the publication of his first novel, Dos Angeles.

A former award-winning journalist and NBC Vice President of Media Relations, O’Hara made an auspicious début as a writer/producer with “Those She Left Behind,” a critically acclaimed family drama that continues to be the highest-rated TV movie (25.1/38 share) on any network in over twenty years. It starred Gary Cole and Colleen Dewhurst (who won an Emmy Award for her performance). That success was followed by the widely praised NBC movie “She Said No” which won an American Women in Radio & Television Award for Best Television Dramatic Special.

Michael O'Hara created and executive produced the first of 22 “Moment of Truth” movies for NBC, establishing one of the most successful film franchises in TV history.

Overall O’Hara has produced four miniseries (including “Switched at Birth”, “Murder in the Heartland” and “1st to Die"), and 33 Movies of the Week. Besides his Emmy nomination, other honors include: a Christopher Award (“A Child’s Wish”); a Prism Award (“The Accident”); a Humanitas Award nomination (“Heart of a Child”); a National Easter Seal Society Award (“To Walk Again”); an International Health & Medical Film Award (“Heart of a Child”); and the Media Award from The National Council on Problem Gambling (“Playing to Win”).

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