A terrific and propulsive novel about the Hollywood underbelly. Terrific main characters and a real feel for what LA can be. Echoes Ellroy but is a very strong piece of writing. Hard to put down. This is a real page-turner and Harper's best work to date.

How do you choose a good crime novel when there are so many titles out there? I saw the blurb by Michael Connelly, “The book everybody’s been waiting for.” That was enough for me to push “Everybody Knows” to the top of my TBR list.

Mae Pruett works for a Hollywood PR team, charged with fixing scandals for the rich and famous, à la Ray Donovan. Her boss, Dan Hennigan, lets her know he is hatching a scheme to score a lot of money, life-changing money. Mae doubts the legality of what he has in mind, but she agrees to meet him and discuss the details.

Bang! Mae arrives at the hotel they were to meet and watches in stunned horror as the paramedics wheel Dan’s body to the morgue. Initial reports point toward a carjacking gone wrong, but Mae knows this is no coincidence. Whatever Dan had gotten himself into has teed off some powerful people– and Mae is unsure if she is a target herself.

A second player here is Chris Tamburro, a fired ex-cop working as muscle in a powerful and shady security firm. Once upon a time he and Mae were romantically involved and they now find themselves investigating the same seedy characters behind Dan’s murder.

This is a great LA noir murder case and I look forward to seeing these two again. Mae really drives the investigation, and while Chris is often relegated to a punching bag, they make an intriguing team. Highly recommended– Jordan Harper is playing in the same ballpark as Michael Connelly… probably Dodger Stadium.

Thank you to Mulholland Books and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #EverybodyKnows #NetGalley

I was able to finish this novel before the end of 2022 and what a novel to end my reading year on! This novel is so descriptive about what happens behind the scenes of the rich and famous. This book describes the methods and techniques of how celebrities try to keep their dirty deeds secret. This novel was super entertaining and the way that Jordan Harper writes makes me wanting more. Gritty, dark and thrilling are just some of the words that describes this book. Highly recommend this novel and looking forward to the next book that Jordan writes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for a n advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Nobody talks….but everybody whispers.

So says Mae, a publicist in LA whose firm specializes in the “black bag” side of the business. When a celebrity finds themself in crisis, Mae’s group gets the call. They are just one piece of “The Beast”, the interconnected system of lawyers, agents, Hollywood power brokers and security services who work together to keep the chosen few protected from the results of their transgressions. Mae loves the thrill of always knowing the truth behind what goes on, and has learned well how to get her clients’ stories told in the way that benefits them the most. Then her boss and mentor, Dan, is gunned down in broad daylight, in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel. It is written off as a carjacking gone wrong….but Mae knows better. Dan was about to bring her in on an off-the-books money-making project that sounded a lot like blackmail. She doesn’t know what it was, but she suspects it got him killed. As jaded as she has become to the machinations of Hollywood, she can’t let this get swept under the rug. Joining forces with Chris, her former lover and a disgraced ex-cop who works as muscle for the biggest security firm in town. He thinks of himself as the fist on someone else’s arm, but in Mae’s quest for justice he thinks he might just find some redemption.

Part of the fun is guessing on whom each train wreck of a character is based….is the multiply rehabbed former teen star a little like Britney? Then there is the Democratic mega donor with a taste for drugs and male prostitutes who keep ending up dead. Homeless camps are spreading everywhere, and someone is setting them on fire. The more Mae and Chris dig, the more rot they uncover. The pace is fast, the plot twists keep coming, and the reader can’t help but root for some kind of justice to be yanked from the maw of The Beast. Angels are in very short supply in the City of Angels, but Mae and Chris just might be able to shine a light on the corruption. I loved this read, with its glimpse behind the Hollywood curtain of glamour and glitz. Equal parts gritty and darkly funny, this is a crime novel for readers of Michael Connelly and James Elroy, and viewers of The Usual Suspects or Pulp Fiction. Many thanks to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for the advanced reader’s copy.

Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper is crime fiction that takes you behind the curtain of celebrity scandal and bad behavior.

"Mae is a black bag publicist. Her job is not letting the good news out, but keeping the bad news in. She works for one of the most sought-after crisis PR firms in LA. They protect the rich and powerful by any means necessary.
Her boss claims to have some information that could be life-changing for both of them but he is gunned down in a "random" attack before he can tell her. Mae starts looking into what it could be and soon finds herself up against someone who is only whispered about. She must make a choice about how far she is willing to go."

Harper paints a vivid picture of how far the rich and powerful in entertainment are willing to go to maintain the staus quo - no matter how depraved or criminal. Money or the promise of money talks. Lots of morally grey in the pages.
The story comes from two POVs - Mae and Chris, who works for a security company. They are former colleagues that find themselves working the same issue. They join forces trying to find the truth and save a life.
There are several gruesome moments and an unexpected ending. Harper does a nice job leading you to one ending and pivoting to another.
An interesting, well-written story from Harper.

Loved this new Noir/Thriller from Jordan Harper. It's the first book I've read by him, but it definitely won't be the last since I'm now on the Harper bandwagon.

I think we all know that Hollywood will do just about anything to make a buck and keep its 'Stars' safe from any anything that might cast them in any sort of negative light. In Everybody Knows, Mae, works for a Hollywood PR firm that will do anything and everything needed to keep its clients free from scandal.

Mae loves the action and the thrill of knowing secrets that no one else knows or will ever know about Hollywood's elite. For Mae, things start to change when a colleague is killed, and her own investigation leads her to the sleazy and sordid world of teen (tween) movies and shows. As the book says, "Nobody Talks But Everybody Whispers ".

With this book, Jordan Harper has captured the world where money talks loudest, and anyone who dares to try and stop it is quickly shouted down by any means necessary. A gritty and unflinching look at the entertainment industry that will raise you up to the heavens and then drop you as soon as it squeezes that last dollar from your talent.

Mae Pruett works in PR in Los Angeles, a high power job protecting the elite from scandals of their own creation. When her boss is murdered, it initially appears to be a random robbery gone wrong. But Mae begins to dig deeper into the secrets of the industry she worked to protect. Mae ends up reuniting with her old relationship Chris Tamburro, an ex-cop now working as an investigator. As the two of them uncover more connections between their cases, former clients, and the Hollywood elite, they begin to realize the danger surrounding them.
Jordan Harper has written an exemplary thriller. As much as he takes great care to create new characters distinct from our own Hollywood, his world feels lived in and real (#googleLASDgangs). It is also often appalling and unnerving to read, but you can't stop turning the pages. Harper's prose is wonderful, with vivid details that bring all of the characters and settings to life so that they live in your brain. The story is full of twists and turns that beg you to keep reading, and Harper pulls every thread together so well while doing a great job having the tension continually escalate until the final page. Mae and Chris are excellent narrators that are forced to grapple with the morality of their past jobs and current actions. What they do for a living serves a purpose of keeping the glitz and glamour, the myth, of Hollywood alive, but Harper shows the cost of those actions throughout the book. This is one of the best crime books I have ever read and I will be sure to explore Harper's other books after this one.
Thank you to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jordan Harper writes superb neo-noir novels, and Everybody Knows is a perfect example. It’s an incisive, gritty examination of how the Hollywood business can erode a person’s morals and standards, all in service to The Beast.

Long-time readers of CR will no doubt have noticed that I love crime, thriller and mystery novels set in Los Angeles, and particularly those related to the entertainment industries. In Everybody Knows, Harper takes the crisis PR side of the industry as his focus. This makes the novel very timely — considering the ongoing revelations and drawn-out court cases related to monstrous behaviour by those in power in LA and Hollywood, it’s not difficult to see what might have inspired some of Harper’s plot points and antagonist behaviours.

The novel has two protagonists, each working slightly different sides of the The Beast’s operations. First, there’s Mae, a flak who works for one of the biggest and most powerful crisis PR firms. Through her eyes, we learn of the behind-the-scenes manoeuvring and scheming that is deployed to reshape the public narrative about this or that celebrity scandal. After all, each slip-up by the talent doesn’t only affect the star; the industry has to keep moving, generating profit, after all. Enter the flaks: deployed to manipulate the conversation about this drug-fuelled party, or that car crash, or whatever other misbehaviour the stars get up to. Mae has become pretty cynical, but retains a shred of self-respect and introspection. However, as the novel progresses, it’s made clear that her ambition remains powerful, too.

“I don’t know if this is the place for you. Why? You asked about right and wrong.”

Our other POV character is Chris, a disgraced former cop, now an enforcer for The Beast. He’s huge, intimidating, and resigned to his role in the industry. (The description made me think that Dwayne Johnson would be a great casting choice, in terms of size and presence.) He’s conflicted about his role, just as Mae is, but he has more desire to get out and try to create a new life from himself outside of the business and probably also away from the Los Angeles. He’s tired, broken (so many times), and doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life as a thug-for-hire. At the same time, through his eyes and internal monologue, we learn how powerful is the pull of the law enforcement community. He’s brutally honest about how intoxicating that macho environment was for him, despite also recognizing how toxic it is. (I thought this was a particularly interesting aspect of the story.)

Both Mae and Chris investigate the fallout of the Mae’s boss’s death, at first independently, but inevitably their missions converge. As it happens, they also have a history, which sort-of rekindles over the course of the book. It’s a romance, of sorts, but by no means a Hollywood-ending type. Over the course of their moves, the two characters come into contact with some of the worst people in LA and the industry, and learn how fickle loyalties are — especially if there’s the chance to get ahead.

Harper’s prose and plotting are excellent, and the novel moves at a steady pace — you’ll get through it quickly because you won’t want to stop reading, but it’s by no means rushed. Mae and Chris’s investigation progresses steadily, as they’re taken further into the deepest and darkest corners of The Beast and what it will do to protect itself. They’re confronted with the worst that money and fame can “excuse” in America (that is, consequences from which money can insulate those who have it).

A dark, gritty, and gripping read. Very highly recommended.

An unputdownable neo-noir masterpiece and an unflinching look at Los Angeles beneath the glamour and glitz.

Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper is a tough book to review. It’s one of novels that comes along once in a while where I worry that I won’t find the words to do it justice. Long story short, I loved this book and Harper’s writing is brilliant. Needless to say, he impressed me. He crafts his words and sentences in such a way it suggests meticulous thought has gone into each one. 

The novel is written in third person from the alternating perspectives of the two lead characters—Mae Pruett and Chris Tamburro. And we spend a lot of time in their heads, getting to know them as much from their inner thoughts as their words in the dialogue. Mae is a “fixer” who works for Mitnick & Associates, a crisis management firm that practices the art of “Black-bag PR.” Mae’s job is to kill or contain news in the press and tabloids that could destroy the reputations and careers of her firm’s unsavory but connected clients. And she works with Dan Hennigan, the man who taught her the ropes and the mantra: “Don’t worry about the truth. It’s not that the truth isn’t important. It just doesn’t matter.” Chris is a physically imposing former Los Angeles County deputy sheriff, booted by the agency when exposed as a dirty cop. Now he works for attorney Stephen Acker, an arm of what Chris thinks of as “the Beast,” as hired muscle, “a fist on someone else’s arm.” 

Both Mae and Chris are flawed in their own unique ways—Mae’s is mostly unethical conduct in performing her job, while Chris has a history of acts that are illegal, unethical, and immoral. He’s been as much a criminal as the people he once arrested. Still, when the reader looks deep enough, sufficient good exists in both characters to provoke feelings of empathy and reasons to like them. After all, both are simply products of the corrupt environment they inhabit that the opaque LA power brokers created. Mae and Chris once dated, but haven’t seen each other for years after their breakup until the inciting incident thrusts them together again. They end up opposing the Beast in a contest they hope they can win, but probably can’t. 

At its heart, Everybody Knows is neo-noir. Harper features cynical, brooding, deeply flawed protagonists struggling to survive, and uses dark visuals to emphasize characters or certain details in scenes. The interplay of light and dark until the lines become blurred is one of the most prominent elements of the novel. The book explores the wider themes of ethics, power, and moral dilemmas. Hallmarks of Harper’s work include dense plotting, concise punchy prose that is relentlessly pessimistic. After only a few pages, Harper’s distinctive writing style put me in mind of James Ellroy’s writing, hardly surprising after I found a 2017 interview with crimefictionlover.com where Harper revealed: “James Ellroy and Cormac McCarthy are my style gods.” This novel fits easily into the class of Ellroy’s L.A. Confidential and Polanski’s classic neo-noir film Chinatown. 

Everybody Knows has a cinematographic mood, and before I had even confirmed it by researching his biography, I already recognized Harper had screenwriter chops. At times, you easily imagine you’re reading a film script and this is definitely a novel that deserves an adaptation. It’s a book filled with big ideas, big stakes, and big odds that tells a big story. Harper has written a smart mystery thriller and a haunting tale of moral dilemmas that is deliriously entertaining. Maybe best of all is the setting. Beautiful and sunny LA, a place seething with corruption beneath the glamour and glitz, where cold and ruthless rich and powerful carry out their schemes. I highly recommend this one. Obviously, it’s perfect for fans of James Ellroy.

Mae works in the world of black bag public relations. Her company makes sure to control the media and keep their Hollywood clients golden no matter how shocking their secrets. Mae’s boss offers her a big money, off-the-books opportunity, but he’s killed before he can share the scoop. Mae enlists Chris, a former partner in both senses of the word, to ferret out the truth, and then the body count continues to rise as they uncover all the angles.

“Beautiful Trash,” my favorite story in Harper’s excellent short story collection, LOVE AND OTHER WOUNDS, is also set in the world of black bag public relations. Both works give the reader the feeling of being in the know about the inner workings of Hollywood.

EVERYBODY KNOWS is told from the perspectives of Mae and Chris. Both characters have done terrible things. This job offers them the opportunity for some redemption, a chance to rekindle their relationship, and make money. The risk, however, turns out to be much higher than they believed.

Harper’s storytelling is immaculate. He creates complex characters, a compelling pace, and weaves each element of the tale together to create an intricate tapestry. No word is wasted. The cast is large, but Harper makes the story people manageable by making each of them memorable. There’s plenty of action to keep thriller lovers happy, and the human element will hook readers all genres, as will the excitement that comes from being in on a juicy secret.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Mulholland Books, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc., for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

"Everybody Knows" is a scathing takedown of power wrapped inside a great crime novel.

The book takes place in Hollywood. The two protagonists are Mae, a junior executive at a crisis management PR firm, and Chris, a former LA sheriff's deputy now working as muscle for a private security firm via an attorney. When a murder happens, they go deeper into what they call the Beast than they can imagine. To say more would be to give things away.

The book has undertones of Nathanael West's 1930s novel, "Day of the Locust," about the never-weres that populate Hollywood, the extras and failed actors with destroyed dreams.. While "Everybody Knows" is nominally about people at the apex, the undercurrent is the same. There is a machine that runs Hollywood. Parts break down, parts get replaced, but the machine will always run and there will always be fuel in the form of stars, wannabes, has beens and never weres, to keep it running.

One small typo - when the book first references a character named Patrick DePaulo, it refers to him as Nick DePaulo.

This honest review was given in exchange for an advance reader copy from #NetGalley

This is a perfect LA neo-noir and one of the best thrillers I've read in ages. As befits the setting, it's incredibly cinematic--someone below said it reads like an updated Chinatown, but it's also like if you threw Ray Donovan and the Swimming With Sharks remake and Nightcrawling and a 21st century Ellroy novel in a blender, you'd get something like this... and needless to say, I cannot WAIT for the prestige TV limited series. While the protagonists are both white, Mae is a heroine I think might appeal to readers of Ivy Pochoda and Leila Mottley (as well as Megan Abbott), and I'd also recommend Harper's books to fans of T. Jefferson Parker and S.A. Crosby among others. Gleefully adding his other two books to my TBR pile now, and excited for whatever else he writes next!

Revoltingly realistic and excruciatingly exciting , Everybody Knows is a masterclass of a LA-noir story that should be given instant classic status. Jordan Harper manages to craft scenes that almost seem tangible while forcing our psyches to battle through the gray morass that is the moral code in the world of “black-bag” fixers.

Mae Pruett, publicist by trade and keeper of secrets by necessity, is a woman who seeks to hold back the dark, rather than radiate the light. The high profile PR firm she works for doesn’t so much as promote the good stories in their clients lives, rather they focus on killing bad ones in the cradle. Mae has no qualms about working for “The Beast”, a loose conglomerate of LA’s rich, powerful, and well connected, and is compensated accordingly for her ability to compartmentalize the horrors she bears witness to.

When her boss and mentor is gunned down outside a renowned and reviled Beverly Hills Hotel, everything changes. Mae throws herself into the investigation, hell bent on determining who is responsible and bringing the whole thing crashing down on their heads, no matter the costs.

Everybody Knows is an intimate look at the modern concept of right and wrong, good and evil, just and inhumane. There is no shining night here. No pure hero of impeccable standing. There are only people, wonderfully created with layer upon layer that seem to blur the lines like the smog that hangs over the City of Angels obscures the setting sun. The crime narrative in this book is enthralling all on its own, but it’s the questions Harpers forces the reader to grapple with that really set this book apart for me.

At the end of the calendar year I often find myself thinking back to the earliest books in the year trying to remember how I really felt about them. I won’t have that issue with Everybody Knows. This book is going to stick with me. Harper will certainly be on my (and many others) best of 2023 lists.

EVERYBODY KNOWS is a clever and witty face-paced mystery version of the Harvey Weinstein and Me Too Hollywood saga.
Thank you Alyssa of Little Brown and Co for the physical review copy.

Mae is a fixer. She’s a publicist for big names and is in charge of their secrets. She’s an intelligent powerhouse among the rich and famous. As she travels to meet her boss Dan, a day after he requests a meeting with her to disclose possibly a life-changing secret, he’s gunned down outside the restaurant where they are supposed to meet. The circumstances surrounding it are too coincidental for Mae, who is not one who leaves things to chance or coincidence. In a town where the words that go unsaid are the loudest, Mae decides to investigate the murder herself.

Everybody Knows is a brilliant piece of LA noir that takes you on to the sidewalks of Sunset Boulevard, the hills of West Hollywood, and inside the doors of the Chateau Marmont.

Harper is one of the best authors when it comes to developing characters, both likable and unlikable. The characters and story has 10,000 leagues of depth, and with how well Harper paint the picture of LA, you feel like you are living and breathing alongside Mae, Dan, and Chris. The emotions are palpable, and their anxiety will trigger your own.

If you aren’t reading Jordan Harper yet, his whole canon is stellar, but this is one of the best noir-style books I’ve ever read. It’s a mystery, drama, and thriller fused into one Louisville slugger that’ll hit you in the shins then kick you while you’re down, and I couldn’t have enjoyed the beatdown more.

Explosive, powerful and darker than a black hole in deep space, Everybody Knows will put you in a choke hold and not let go until it’s probed the far reaches of your soul. It’s a haunting, gritty, immaculately written tale that will leave you completely breathless and utterly thunderstruck. Jordan Harper has crafted a brilliant masterpiece of crime noir that promises to live rent free in your brain for months after completion.

Mae Pruett is a black-bag publicist, working to own the narrative and win in the court of public opinion for her rich and famous clients when they do something unsavory. Chris Tamburro is a dirty ex-cop – and Mae’s ex-lover – who is a fixer/investigator for a lawyer who represents the same wealthy clientele as Mae’s PR firm. They are just two of the many individuals who make up “The Beast,” the dark underbelly of Los Angeles that exists to serve and protect the interests and debauchery of the wealthy and powerful. When Mae’s boss is gunned down in the streets of Beverly Hills on the eve of sharing a huge and potentially lucrative secret with her, Mae hooks up with Chris to investigate and unravel the mystery with the hopes of hitting it big. But secrets like this are dangerous, with very influential people willing to do anything to keep them in the dark. Mae and Chris might be in over their heads but if they play it smart, they just might find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Maybe even some redemption. But only if they can survive “The Beast.”

Everybody Knows contains a sadly realistic storyline that not only feels ripped from the headlines, but also taps into the innate nature of humans to desire fame and fortune. It’s these two features that make it relatable and allows the reader to make connections with characters with whom they wouldn’t normally associate or come into contact. Which leads to what makes this novel special. Mae and Chris are employed by the dark side of the celebrity industry with responsibilities that are slimy at best and despicable at worst, which should make them inherently loathsome and unredeemable. In fact, the investigation they undertake is derived from hatching a get rich quick scheme that includes morally bankrupt motivations and possibly illegal activity. But as the story progresses, they are forced to face their actions and the people they have become, searching their souls to determine if they are so far gone and self-centered that it’s just about the money or if they can eschew a big payday in the name of doing what’s honorable and righteous. And it’s through this self-reflection and their resulting behavior that Mae and Chris worm their way into your heart and have you hopeful for a happy ending you don’t think is possible, but think they probably deserve. Because everyone loves a redemption story. And that’s a big part why Everybody Knows is so phenomenal.

This was my first Jordan Harper book, but on the basis of this story alone he has entered “must read” territory whenever he publishes a new novel. It’s so damn good it’s ridiculous. Do yourself a favor and kick off 2023 in style by getting a copy of Everybody Knows, finding a quiet spot and diving into this magnificent piece of literature.

Terms get thrown around a lot with crime fiction. Hardboiled. Cozy. Noir. Neo-noir. That last one that I've heard quite a bit to describe Jordan Harper's EVERYBODY KNOWS. It's an apt term, I suppose, but does nothing to truly distill the brilliance of this novel in a neat genre definition. Yes, there's a sense of doom from the first pages, and yes, that's a hallmark of noir. But Harper does things with words, with characters, with plot, that just...defy explanation. How much do I love his work? THE LAST KING OF CALIFORNIA just came out, only in the UK, and I ordered it and had it shipped stateside. How much do I love his work? I've reread SHE RIDES SHOTGUN at least five times (rivaling my love for Dennis Lehane's MYSTIC RIVER). How much do I love his work? I'll be thinking about EVERYBODY KNOWS for the duration. Here's a thumbnail of the story. Set in Hollywood, a "black bag" publicist (scandal vaporizer for the stars) Mae is pulled into the darkest parts of the town when her boss, Dan, is gunned down in broad daylight. Tagging along is her former lover, Chris, a crooked ex-cop now acting as a "fist" for a crime outfit (might as well be). The chemistry between these two is palpable, and in alternating chapters we get a glimpse at how they see the world: in Technicolor, thanks to Harper's fiery prose. This is top-shelf crime fiction. Shoot, top shelf fiction, period. Descriptors, after all, just don't do it justice. Highly recommended.

An instant neo-noir classic that will change the way you look at Hollywood and media culture forever. It really does feel like “Chinatown” updated for the modern age.

The contemporary Hollywood crime novel we need right now. A big, brilliant, bruiser of a story about money, power, secrets, and the compromises we make. When the boss of an ambitious young black-bag publicist is murdered in broad daylight, she digs into what he was up to. Finding out why he was killed sends her into the arms of her ex-boyfriend, a former sheriff's deputy now working shadowy private security gigs, and up against the rich and famous Angelenos whose sins she has a hand in covering up. Harper, an Edgar Award winner and acclaimed film and TV writer, knows the terrain and puts it down on the page in a blistering, telegraphic style. In EVERYBODY KNOWS, everybody is guilty, but the reader definitely wins.