Devil's GardenFrom the critically acclaimed, award-nominated author comes a new noir crime classic about one of the most notorious trials in American history. Critics called Ace Atkins’s Wicked City“gripping, superb” (Library Journal), “stunning” (The Tampa Tribune), “terrific” (Associated Press), “riveting” (Kirkus Reviews), “wicked good” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram), and “Atkins’ best novel” (The Washington Post). But Devil’s Gardenis something else again. San Francisco, September 1921: Silent-screen comedy star Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle is throwing a wild party in his suite at the St. Francis Hotel: girls, jazz, bootleg hooch . . . and a dead actress named Virginia Rappe. The D.A. says it was Arbuckle who killed her—crushing her under his weight—and brings him up on manslaughter charges. William Randolph Hearst’s newspapers stir up the public and demand a guilty verdict. But what really happened? Why do so many people at the party seem to have stories that conflict? Why is the prosecution hiding witnesses? Why are there body parts missing from the autopsied corpse? Why is Hearst so determined to see Fatty Arbuckle convicted? In desperation, Arbuckle’s defense team hires a Pinkerton agent to do an investigation of his own and, they hope, discover the truth. The agent’s name is Dashiell Hammett, and he’s the book’s narrator. What he discovers will change American legal history—and his own life—forever. “The historical accuracy isn’t what elevates Atkins’ prose to greatness,” said The Tampa Tribune. “It’s his ability to let these characters breathe in a way that few authors could ever imagine. He doesn’t so much write them as unleash them upon the page.” You will not soon forget the extraordinary characters and events in Devil’s Garden. |
Contents
Section 1 | 7 |
Section 2 | 14 |
Section 3 | 26 |
Section 4 | 38 |
Section 5 | 49 |
Section 6 | 61 |
Section 7 | 74 |
Section 8 | 83 |
Section 19 | 196 |
Section 20 | 205 |
Section 21 | 216 |
Section 22 | 224 |
Section 23 | 233 |
Section 24 | 241 |
Section 25 | 251 |
Section 26 | 260 |
Section 9 | 93 |
Section 10 | 101 |
Section 11 | 112 |
Section 12 | 124 |
Section 13 | 135 |
Section 14 | 145 |
Section 15 | 156 |
Section 16 | 165 |
Section 17 | 175 |
Section 18 | 187 |
Section 27 | 274 |
Section 28 | 284 |
Section 29 | 297 |
Section 30 | 305 |
Section 31 | 315 |
Section 32 | 326 |
Section 33 | 335 |
Section 34 | 344 |
Section 35 | 353 |
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Common terms and phrases
Alice Blake Arbuckle asked bastard Brady breath cable called Chief O'Brien cigarette coffee cops Daisy dark Dashiell Hammett Dominguez door dress drink eyes face Fatty feeling feet fella Ferry Building fingers Fishback Freddie gin blossoms girl glass goddamn hair hand Haultain hear heard Hearst hell Henry Lehrman Hupmobile Irene Morgan Jack Lawrence Jose jury Kate Kennedy laughed leaned legs Lehrman Louderback Lowell Sherman Mabel Normand Marion Marion Davies Maude Delmont McNab Minta Minta Durfee Miss Davies Miss Rappe mouth newsboys nodded Phil Pierce-Arrow Pinkerton pulled Reagan Roscoe Arbuckle Roscoe looked Rumwell Sam's Semnacher shook his head shrugged smelled smiled smoke stared stood stopped street talk tell thing told took turned U'Ren Virginia Rappe waiting walked Wallace Reid watched What's window woman women wore Zukor