Nikki Black, 17, a self-imposed lone wolf since her mother died, fled suburban Chicago to escape her painful past. But when her so-called boyfriend reveals why he really lured her to Southern California -- to star in child porn flicks -- she ends up on the streets of L.A. with only the clothes on her back and a twelve-year-old addict named Rain trailing in her shadows. The girls seek refuge at a residential hotel above a punk rock bar in downtown L.A. a few months before the city erupts into chaos during the 1992 riots. At The American Hotel, Nikki makes friends and for the first time in years feels as if she has a real family again. All that changes when Rain disappears. Everyone except Nikki, including the police, thinks Rain succumbed to the seductive allure of addiction and life on the streets. Nikki finds herself fighting for her own life the closer she gets to unveiling a sinister cover-up by a powerful group that secretly controls the city of angels. City of Angels is an edgy, gritty, mature Young Adult mystery about a teenager's struggle to not only belong -- but survive.

 

There are 304 pages in this book. This book was published 2017 by Polis Books .

Kristi Belcamino is a writer, crime reporter, and Italian-American mama who makes a tasty biscotti. She is the author of the Gabriella Giovanni mystery. As a reporter in the San Francisco Bay Area, she flew in an FA-18 jet with the Blue Angels, raced a Dodge Viper at Laguna Seca, and attended barbecues at the morgue. Her first book, Blessed are the Dead, based on her dealings with a serial killer, was nominated for the 2015 Anthony and Macavity awards for best first novel. Her first novel for Young Adults, City of Angels, will be published by Polis Books in Spring 2017.