Breakaway Books

Authored by Jordan Harper; Published April 2026; Thriller

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️

The title of A Violent Masterpiece alone was enough to make me doubt my choice to pick it up. And undoubtedly, it is brutal, graphic, and sometimes difficult to get through. But I can’t say that it isn’t magnetic in its own way. 

In A Violent Masterpiece, we follow three different denizens of Los Angeles: Gibson, a defense attorney used to representing clients scrabbling through the world with every chance of falling through the cracks; Jake, who narrates a true crime podcast; and Kara, an employee of a concierge company that specializes in getting the rich just about anything they would like. With the arrest of a noted celebrity for pedophilia, their lives are set to intersect; the fuse is lit when the celebrity asks for Gibson to represent him and reveals a massive trove of blackmail he has amassed and wants to use to free himself. Set against the backdrop of a city terrorized by a recently-emerged serial killer, each narrator finds themselves entangled in the web of the secrets of the rich and powerful.

This is the rare novel where reading about the secrets of the rich and famous is not an exercise in pure, indulgent escapism. No, in this novel, their debauchery and basest desires are the background for violence and abuse. The description of excesses of the wealthy is very nearly grotesque, and it made me wonder: Does anyone actually live like this? I certainly hope that it’s exaggeration for the sake of fiction, but I do wonder. There is an element of gritty realism in the book, especially in Gibson’s work with client Diablita and the sweeping away of the homeless camps by the police. Should I really take those elements as true-to-life and sweep aside the ridiculous, abusive, and illegal demands of the rich to a fancy concierge company?

The plot itself is intricately woven, and I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. The author balances commentary on the state of urban America with a truly thrilling set of twists and turns, and as Kara, Gibson, and Jake help each other put the pieces together behind the puzzle of the LA Ripper, I only grew more and more invested. I still had to put the book down at times, overwhelmed with the ridiculous sense of entitlement that the rich in this novel enjoy and fearing the horrific and violent events that I was confident would come at the climax of the novel. I was not wrong, but it still ends up more hopeful and optimistic than I expected. I only wish that I didn’t have to listen to so much of Jake’s influencer voice, which is unfortunately realistic and therefore, annoying to me. 

A Violent Masterpiece is certainly not for the faint of heart, but if you’re looking for something urban and gritty that will keep you on the edge of your seat, this is it.