Violent Spring — Gary Phillips

The mystery that launched Gary Phillips's career: Black private eye Ivan Monk investigates the murder of a Korean shop owner in the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

This reissued edition features an introduction by Walter Mosley.

In 1992, Los Angeles burned. In the aftermath of the Rodney King beating and subsequent riots, a ground-breaking ceremony at the infamous intersection of Florence and Normandie unearths the body of a Korean shop owner. Black private eye Ivan Monk searches for the killer -- many suspect the motives for the murder were racial. But then another body turns up, and while the FBI and the Rolling Daltons -- the largest gang in the city -- dog Monk's trail, Monk begins to question just how many people will be involved, and how many will die before he can find the truth.