Robert Ellis: THE LOVE KILLINGS Interview, Part 1

Coming August 2, 2016

CITY OF ECHOES and THE LOVE KILLINGS back to back add up to an epic crime story reminiscent in scope and power to James Ellroy's L.A. CONFIDENTIAL. How do these two remarkable novels, CITY OF ECHOES and THE LOVE KILLINGS, connect?

CITY OF ECHOES is the introduction of a new LAPD homicide detective, Matt Jones, on the first night of his first murder case. A man has been gunned down in a parking lot off Hollywood Boulevard. At a glance, the bullet-riddled body appears to be the work of a serial robber who's been working the Strip for months. The crime is so grisly, the identity of the victim so outrageous, that Jones and his partner, Denny Cabrera, jump into the investigation faster than they should. Nothing about the direction they're taking is safe or even close to safe. As Jones uncovers evidence linking the crime to a brutal, ritualized murder that occurred eighteen months prior, he begins to suspect that there's more going on beneath the surface, and that he and his partner are in a great deal of danger. When Jones discovers how far the corruption goes, a cover-up that defies the imagination, and his own personal ties to the rising body count, he's no longer sure he can trust anyone, not even himself.

Robert Ellis

And that's where THE LOVE KILLINGS kicks off! There's a sense to the ending of CITY OF ECHOES that this story isn't complete and that it truly is a personal journey on the part of Detective Matt Jones -- his lifelong need to discover who he is and where he came from. Six weeks of story time pass between the two novels, which gives Jones a chance to recover from his horrific ordeal in CITY OF ECHOES. And then we're off! The serial killer fled Los Angeles and has struck again in Philadelphia. Jones is recruited by a federal prosecutor with the Department of Justice to join the FBI's special task force in the hunt and capture of this mass killer. But like I said before, THE LOVE KILLINGS is all about the journey Matt Jones is making. And like my previous six novels, the hero's attempt to understand the world we're living in, and do it an entertaining way. This is a fusion of character and plot more closely intertwined and more powerful than I ever imagined or even dreamed of. THE LOVE KILLINGS is the most personal story I've ever written, and like THE DEAD ROOM, takes place in the city and neighborhoods where I grew up.

THE LOVE KILLINGS is coming August 2, 2016 and is available everywhere.
 THE LOVE KILLINGS Link to Amazon

THE LOVE KILLINGS Link to B&N