“A riveting mystery romp… the ultimate dive into the 1970s underground scene.” - Michael Musto, Village Voice

It's New York's hellacious summer of '77. Rampant crime, a city-wide blackout and the Son of Sam murders have knocked Gotham on its ass. When Lucien Lowe, a young poet on the downtown scene, is found dead in his East Village tenement with a heroin needle in his arm, overworked cops rule it an accidental overdose. But Ike's wealthy girlfriend Julie Baroda suspects murder and urges Ike's best friend, the artist and punk rock fashion designer Finn Burdon, to investigate.

Despite Finn's own issues with heroin, he shows an uncanny talent for detective work. As Julie, Finn and police detective Benny Cherin dig deeper, their investigation ultimately encompasses some of the most famous names of 1970s New York, including William S. Burroughs, Jean-Michel Basquiat, CBGB owner Hilly Kristal, Allen Ginsberg, Lou Reed, Truman Capote, Roy Cohn, Fat Tony Salerno, Holly Woodlawn, Steve Rubell, Andrew Crispo, Bella Abzug, Leonard Cohen and many others. In the process, they begin to glimpse the outlines of a violent plot to sabotage the opening night of Hilly Kristal's highly anticipated new venue, The CBGB 2nd Avenue Theater, when Patti Smith is playing and it's packed with thousands.

Set during the glory days of New York's downtown music, art, literary and fashion scenes, The CBGB Conspiracy mixes fiction with a host of real events and historical figures. Behind them all looms a character just as visceral and ultimately doomed: the crumbling New York of 1977.

Content Warning: This novel contains material that might prove controversial or triggering to certain readers, including references to child abuse, arson, substance abuse and smoking, addiction, homophobic violence and hate speech, incest and murder.

Gabriel Rotello is an Emmy-nominated and GLAAD Award-winning writer, director, producer, and musician. His nonfiction book Sexual Ecology, published by Dutton in 1997, received starred reviews in Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly and was praised in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and numerous other publications. He has contributed to The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Village Voice and The Nation, and has written and produced dozens of TV shows for networks such as HBO, Showtime, the History Channel, Cinemax, Bravo, and Comedy Central.