Author: T. Jefferson Parker
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Date of Publication: January 11, 2022
Pages: 368
T, Jefferson Parker is a marvelous writer. He has won two previous Edgar Awards for the best mystery novel of the year (Silent Joe in 2001 and California Girl in 2003) and another Edgar for the best short story ("Skinhead Central" in 2008). A Thousand Steps may be his best yet.
This is basically a missing girl story, but it is so much more than that. It is a surreal look into the culture in Southern California in the late 1960s. It is like opening a time capsule and seeing all of the music, clothes, drugs, cars, and attitudes of that time and place. At the center of the story is Matt Anthony, a sixteen year old in Laguna Beach who lives off of his paper route money and is basically raising himself. His dad has moved on to another family in Arizona and his mom is trying to find herself in the counterculture. His older sister Jasmine (nicknamed Jazz) fails to come home for several nights in a row. The police figure she is just another hippie girl runaway. However, a classmate of Jazz' is found dead on the beach which ratchets up the tension quite a bit. Matt initiates his own investigation which leads him on a circuitous path through pot parties, orgies, communes, and music festivals. Parker brings that era back to life with great characters (fictional as well as real-life folks such as Timothy Leary), incredible detail, and vivid descriptions of place.
This is a a great read. I can't imagine that this book won't be nominated for next year's Edgar Award and probably be the winner.
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