LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records' Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal - Softcover

Sullivan, Randall

Softcover

ISBN 10: 080213971X ISBN 13: 9780802139719

Publisher: Grove Press, 2003

Synopsis

In September 1996, Tupac Shakur was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. In March 1997, the Notorious B.I.G. was similarly shot after an awards show in Los Angeles. Neither crime has ever been solved. Also in 1997, highly decorated LAPD detective Russell Poole uncovered evidence that certain officers in the department were moonlighting for Death Row Records―and, when he was placed on the task force assigned to the Notorious B.I.G.’s murder, evidence that these same men were linked to the murders. The first book to bring this story out of the shadows, LAbyrinth received critical acclaim, ignited a firestorm of controversy, and prompted two lawsuits against the LAPD. Now the basis for the major motion picture City of Lies and updated with new material from the author, LAbyrinth is a compelling tale of a grave miscarriage of justice.

About this title

About the Author:

Randall Sullivan was a contributing editor to Rolling Stone for over twenty years. He is the author of The Price of Experience, LAbyrinth, The Miracle Detective, and Untouchable. His work has been published in, among many other places, Esquire, Outside, Men’s Journal, Washington Post, and the Guardian. He lives in Oregon.

From Publishers Weekly:

Sullivan (The Price of Experience) strikes again in the arena of California true crime, exploring the sordid world of big money, gangsta rap, guns and drugs. Opening with the shooting of a black man by a white man during a traffic incident, Sullivan underscores the not-so-well-known racial tempest brewing on the West Coast especially when he reveals that the shooter was an undercover narcotics investigator and the man killed was an off-duty L.A.P.D. officer who moonlighted for the disreputable Death Row Records. From here, Sullivan outlines the bad and the ugly of the music industry: mafioso-style music label management; the unsolved murders of rap superstars Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G.; and a dizzying series of binary oppositions Crips vs. Bloods; West Coast rappers vs. East Coast rappers; Death Row Records' exec Suge Knight vs. Puffy Combs of Bad Boy Records, etc. Unfortunately, the basic material isn't exactly new; journalists Ronin Ro and Cathy Scott, among others, have previously covered the murders of Shakur and B.I.G. Still, Sullivan's reportorial writing style accurately reflects the investigative work of homicide gumshoe Russell Poole while building the drama within the truly labyrinthine political coverups, cop-to-criminal crossovers and the breaks in the L.A.P.D.'s code of silence. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Grove Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 080213971X
• ISBN 13: 9780802139719
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336