Background
Gar Haywood was born on May 22, 1954 in Los Angeles, California, United States.
2015
Craig Faustus Buck, Gar Anthony Haywood, Stephen Schwartz and Phoef Sutton at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books April 2015
Gar Haywood leads an all-boys English class at the USC Neighborhood Academic Initiativ
(The shooting of two Black men by a white youth transforms...)
The shooting of two Black men by a white youth transforms pre-election Los Angeles into a powderkeg, and Aaron Gunner finds himself caught up in political intrigue, violence, and murder.
https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Dark-Gar-Anthony-Haywood/dp/0312017960/?tag=2022091-20
1988
(The new novel from a critically acclaimed and award-winni...)
The new novel from a critically acclaimed and award-winning author - When Errol ‘Handy’ White returns to his native Los Angeles to attend the funeral of his old friend R.J. Burrow, who has been brutally murdered, a terrible secret threatens to reveal itself. Twenty-six years earlier, Handy, R.J. and O’Neal Holden pulled a heist that went horrible awry, and Handy’s been waiting for it to come back and haunt them ever since. Was the murder linked to the past? Handy knows he can’t leave until he finds out for sure.
https://www.amazon.com/Cemetery-Road-Gar-Anthony-Haywood/dp/0727868519/?tag=2022091-20
2010
(Gar Anthony Haywood is a master storyteller, and Lyrics f...)
Gar Anthony Haywood is a master storyteller, and Lyrics for the Blues provides ample proof of that fact. His ability to perfectly blend tightrope suspense, engaging characters, and irresistible wry humor has long earned the admiration of his peers and crime fiction fans everywhere. Writing as Gar Anthony Haywood and as Ray Shannon, he’s won prestigious awards — including Private Eye Writers of America’s Shamus Award and the World Mystery Convention’s Anthony Award — and his work has appeared on bestseller lists and garnered critical acclaim. Lyrics for the Blues includes tales that are moving, provocative, and entertaining. As you explore Los Angeles through Haywood’s keen eye, you won’t just pass through with the windows rolled up — you’ll feel the chill of its shadows on your skin and heat of its streets beneath your feet.
https://www.amazon.com/Lyrics-Blues-Gar-Anthony-Haywood-ebook/dp/B004NNUZUA/?tag=2022091-20
2011
(The new novel from the critically acclaimed and award-win...)
The new novel from the critically acclaimed and award-winning author - When Joe Reddick and his family are threatened in their LA home by a masked, knife-wielding intruder, it means serious trouble for a gang of desperate criminals. The threat sends Joe Reddick over the edge. He's lived the nightmare of losing a family to a crazed killer once, and he's not going to let it happen again. After sending his wife and son to safety, he goes to war, determined to kill those responsible. Soon Reddick's living nightmare will finally be over. One way or the other . . .
https://www.amazon.com/Assume-Nothing-Gar-Anthony-Haywood-ebook/dp/B007BE1V3S/?tag=2022091-20
2012
(A lawyer hires Gunner to help her prove that her gangland...)
A lawyer hires Gunner to help her prove that her gangland client is not a killer Darrel Lovejoy doesn’t owe South Central anything. By all accounts, he is lucky to escape this desperate corner of Los Angeles, to go to college and graduate into a well-paid advertising job. But something compels him to return. He dives into social work, attempting to mediate between the gangs which have brought hell to the streets he grew up on, and he makes slow but steady progress up until the day a shotgun blast cuts him down. After an unusually forthcoming witness swears she saw a car of Imperial Blues kill Lovejoy, the police arrest Blue soldier Toby Mills.
https://www.amazon.com/Long-World-Aaron-Gunner-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B007O3SP76/?tag=2022091-20
2012
(Joe and Dottie Loudermilk are all set for the perfect ear...)
Joe and Dottie Loudermilk are all set for the perfect early retirement. Joe's an ex-cop, and Dottie's a former English teacher, and as soon as the "SOLD" sign goes up on the lawn in front of their longtime Los Angeles home, they intend to take their brand new Ford pickup truck and Airstream trailer wherever the great American highway leads. Unfortunately, fate is determined to have two forms of trouble dog their every step: murder and their five incorrigible grown children.
https://www.amazon.com/Going-Nowhere-Dottie-Loudermilk-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B00DPZ064C/?tag=2022091-20
2013
(Joe and Dottie Loudermilk are all set for the perfect ear...)
Joe and Dottie Loudermilk are all set for the perfect early retirement. Joe's an ex-cop, and Dottie's a former English teacher, and as soon as the "SOLD" sign goes up on the lawn in front of their longtime Los Angeles home, they intend to take their brand new Ford pickup truck and Airstream trailer wherever the great American highway leads. Unfortunately, fate is determined to have two forms of trouble dog their every step: murder, and their five incorrigible grown children. In Dottie's own words, the Loudermilk brood "go to school, but take pains not to learn anything remotely useful; date weird people and adhere to Mickey Mouse religions...And give birth to grandchildren from hell (whom they raise) like goldfish won at a church carnival."
https://www.amazon.com/News-Travels-Dottie-Loudermilk-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B00EVKKN0M/?tag=2022091-20
2013
(Shamus & Anthony Award winning author Gar Anthony Haywood...)
Shamus & Anthony Award winning author Gar Anthony Haywood’s brutally funny Hollywood thriller Man Eater makes Get Shorty and The Player look like Disney movies. Ronnie Deal's no hero. She's just a drop-dead gorgeous Hollywood movie executive having a really bad day who's in no mood to watch when homicidal thug Neon Polk puts a beat down on poor little Antsy Carruth at the Tiki Shack bar. Ronnie puts Polk's lights out with a beer bottle, Antsy takes a powder, and Ronnie tries to forget the whole thing. “The best rip-off of an Elmore Leonard novel since Elmore Leonard,” Publisher’s Weekly – Starred Review But not Neon. Antsy stole twenty-five grand from Neon's drug-dealing boss and Ronnie's just cost him a big recovery fee, not to mention cut his pride to the quick.
https://www.amazon.com/Man-Eater-Gar-Anthony-Haywood-ebook/dp/B00MBPM938/?tag=2022091-20
2014
(Hard times are nothing new for private investigator Aaron...)
Hard times are nothing new for private investigator Aaron Gunner. Working on the mean streets of South Central Los Angeles, he's seen more than his fair share of trouble. But when his cousin and confidante Del Curry commits suicide after allegedly killing his wife and critically injuring their daughter Zina, Gunner knows he's about to face the hardest times of all. He doesn't buy the LAPD's version of the shooting and isn't going to wait for Zina to regain consciousness to disprove it.
https://www.amazon.com/Good-Man-Gone-Bad-Mysteries/dp/1945551666/?tag=2022091-20
2019
Gar Haywood was born on May 22, 1954 in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Gar Haywood worked as a computer technician for over a decade before he started publishing novels. He started his career as a mystery novelist with considerable aplomb, as his first private eye novel, 1988’s "Fear of the Night", was named best first private eye novel of the year. This award, from the Private Eye Writers of America, confirmed Haywood’s emergence as a fresh face on the mystery-writing market, one who provides a searing look into America’s gang-led inner city culture.
In "Fear of the Dark", African American P.I. Aaron Gunner is hired to find the killer who burst into a south central Los Angeles bar and gunned down both the bar’s owner and a patron who turns out to be a black activist. Gunner returns in Haywood’s second book, "Not Long for This World." In this novel, the African American P.I. finds himself defending someone he absolutely detests; a cocky-mouthed gang member accused of murdering someone in a drive-by shooting. Gunner uncovers evidence that the accused, Toby Mills, may have actually been framed, since the key witness is really a crack addict who exchanges testimony for drugs.
Racism, murder, bad cops, and lawsuits are the theme of Haywood’s third mystery novel. "You Can Die Trying", as P.I. Gunner is lured into clearing up a messy case of suicide. Haywood takes an abrupt turn in his fourth book, as he temporarily puts Gunner to rest and introduces a new set of characters: retired police officer Joe Loudermilk and his witty, earthy wife Dottie. In "Going Nowhere Fast", Joe and Dottie begin to realize their dream of a lifetime — selling their house, buying an Airstream trailer, and traveling around the country. Joe and Dottie Loudermilk return for more madcap Airstream adventures in Haywood’s fifth book, "Bad News Travels Fast." Deciding to visit Washington, D.C., Dottie makes plans to see one of their children, Eddie.
Gunner returns to the job in Haywood’s sixth book, "It’s Not a Pretty Sight." When the P.I. investigates the murder of his former girlfriend, Nina Pearson, he finds an ugly past that is indicative of the title. Haywood’s 1997 Gunner episode, "When Last Seen Alive", finds the African American P.I. once again on the streets of L.A. showing his incredible sleuth tactics. Haywood and fictional character Gunner have become an established dynamic-duo. Charles Champlin, commenting on the novel series in the Los Angeles Times Book Review, writes that “Crime-fiction writing has been a white near-monopoly, but there are exceptions and Gar Anthony Haywood is a recent one — an able black writer with a black hero.”
(The new novel from the critically acclaimed and award-win...)
2012(The shooting of two Black men by a white youth transforms...)
1988(The new novel from a critically acclaimed and award-winni...)
2010(Shamus & Anthony Award winning author Gar Anthony Haywood...)
2014(A lawyer hires Gunner to help her prove that her gangland...)
2012(Gar Anthony Haywood is a master storyteller, and Lyrics f...)
2011(Joe and Dottie Loudermilk are all set for the perfect ear...)
2013(Joe and Dottie Loudermilk are all set for the perfect ear...)
2013(Hard times are nothing new for private investigator Aaron...)
2019Gar Haywood is a member of the Mystery Writers of America.
Quotes from others about the person
Haywood has a good ear for the sour voice of the true private eye and the sense of tired hopelessness of the underclass they have always served. One hopes to see more of Gunner." - Publsher Weekly
“A writer who has always belonged in the upper echelon of American crime fiction.” - Booklist
“Haywood writes about people who have enough sensitivity to be hurt, and enough complexity to do wrong and have to live with the consequences.
Gar married a woman named Lynnette in 1981 but the couple divorced. They have two children, Courtney and Erin.