Informed by the police that Chris, his son has committed suicide, David Hook, an Illinois farmer, knows that this cannot be true. He knows that something else must have happened in California to cause the death of Chris, who loved life too much to take his own. He also knows that he must go West to find out what did happen. In California he discovers corruption, immorality and pain that shocks him to the very core of his being but he also discovers exhilaration and pleasure that changes him forever. First published in 1973, To Die in California was the first novel to reveal what lies behind West Coast bright lights and glitz.
Newton Thornburg was born in Illinois in 1929. He was a creative director for various advertising agencies and, since 1973, has been a full time novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of ten novels including Knockover, To Die in California, Black Argus and Dreamland. The film, Cutter's Way, starring Jeff Bridges and John Heard, was based on Cutter and Bone.