NON-MILITARY - FICTION
"The Secrets of Harry Bright" by Joseph
Wambaugh 
One off the funniest and best cop books written. Never has such a bizarre and motley cast of characters ever been assembled in a single novel. This is one of the few books I have read three times!
The son of a rich and powerful man from LA has been
found murdered out in the California desert and the Palm Springs PD can't crack
the case. A year and a half after the murder, a LA PD homicide detective is
maneuvered onto the case by the father. Sidney Blackpool and his partner
Otto, take a bundle of money from the father and plan on a little vacation in
Palm Springs. But, Blackpool is always the cop and he tries to actually solve
the case. During the course of the investigation, Blackpool and Otto meet the
rich, strange desert rats, doper bike gangs, and the screwball sheriff's
department from the small town of Mineral Springs. Chief Paco Pedroza, and his
sergeant Harry Bright have assembled quite a force of deputy misfits, including
A. O. (Out of Ammo) Jones, Wingnut (his ears stick out), and a few others.
Laugh-out-loud funny.
Reviewed by Kenneth S. Smith 7/22/2001
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Sorry, gave the book away!
