Joseph Schneider’s debut police procedural, One Day You’ll Burn, should come with a warning label of graphic violence. And, don’t try to read it while eating. Saying that, this first book in the Detective Tully Jarsdel series is an homage to every corner of Hollywood, its history and its present. It’s obvious Schneider knows the city. And, he’s given us a fascinating new police detective to introduce us to the hidden secrets.

Detective Tully Jarsdel is a lonely man, and a disappointment. His fathers hoped he would join them in academia, but, just short of his PhD, he decided he wanted to be a police officer. His partner, Oscar Morales, and his lieutenant at the Hollywood station, do not appreciate the new program that advances high-scoring police officers into Hollywood’s Homicide Dept., despite their lack of street knowledge. But, Tully’s unusual background in history will help with the first case he’s assigned as lead detective.

When a body, burned to a crisp, is dumped in Thailand Plaza, the medical examiner says the victim was cooked in some sort of oven that reached over 400 degrees. After the initial footwork, Jarsdel and Morales have to wait for the DNA results to come back to try to identify the man. While they wait, they examine a fifteen-year-old cold case that comes up again every few years. Someone poisons dogs while the owners are at their weddings. Within the department, the unknown killer is known as the “Dog Catcher”.

Unlike other officers, Tully sees cases as knots to untangle. This time, one knot leads him to Hollywood’s movie theaters and museums, while the “Dog Catcher” knot finds him tangled up with one of the attractive former brides, now on her way to divorce. Following those knots lead Jarsdel into a dangerous situation, so dangerous that he might be one more person disappointed that he didn’t stay in academia.

Tully Jarsdel is an intriguing man. His world philosophy led him to the police department because he views the world as on the path to a good future, and he wants to be part of the plans to renew and remake the world. He’s slightly awkward in his relationships with others, too willing to lecture, and not willing to admit he doesn’t know a subject.

While I found myself skipping some of the more violent details, and, even skipping some of the details of Tully’s philosophy, I’m glad I picked up this debut. The details and descriptions of Hollywood are obviously written by someone knowledgeable who loves the city, even with its flaws and traffic. And, Tully is an intriguing detective. Aren’t most protagonists a little odd in one way or another? I’m looking forward to Schneider’s next case for Detective Tully Jarsdel.

Joseph Schneider’s website is https://jschneiderbooks.com

One Day You’ll Burn by Joseph Schneider. Poisoned Pen Press/Sourcebooks, 2020. ISBN 9781492684442 (paperback), 336p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure – I received the book to review for a journal.