California Girl by T. Jefferson Parker

T. Jefferson Parker has been a favorite of mine, but this book tops the others. This was a story told in current times about a murder that took place in 1968. It was a story of two families in Tustin, California, one a working class family that was intact and functional, the Beckers. The others was a white trash family that was not functional, the Vonns. The children of the family are the same age. The Becker boys all make something of themselves. Perhaps the most charismatic was Clay who was killed in Vietnam, a pain that lived with all of the Beckers every day. Nick became a cop, Andy became a newspaper reporter, and David became a preacher. The novel is narrated by Nick. All of the Vonns begat trouble, but its Janelle who seems to have grown above the downward spiral that has the rest of the family in its grip. She wins a beauty contest, but has to forfeit her crown when she poses for the cover of Playboy, with more clothes on that when she won the title of Miss Tustin. She was only 19 when she was killed in the most gruesome manner, a gross decapitation. Parker briefly includes encounters with Charlie Manson and Richard Nixon, just to drop two names, and the plot involves the Orange County John Birch Society and the congressman they elect, Congressman Stoltz, who was also trying to help Janelle. Her murder is solved, but did they put the correct man in jail? This was a very good read with believable characters and fast action. This was good entertainment and gets my highest recommendation.