All Involved

A Novel

By: Ryan Gattis

Narrated by: Anthony Rey Perez, Marisol Ramirez, Jim Cooper, Adam Lazarre-White, James Chen

A propulsive and ambitious novel as electrifying as The Wire, from a writer hailed as the West Coast's Richard Price—a mesmerizing epic of crime and opportunity, race, revenge, and loyalty, set in the chaotic streets of South Central L.A. in the wake of one of the most notorious and incendiary trials of the 1990s

At 3:15 p.m. on April 29, 1992, a jury acquitted three white Los Angeles Police Department officers charged with using excessive force to subdue a black man named Rodney King, and failed to reach a verdict on the same charges involving a fourth officer. Less than two hours later, the city exploded in violence that lasted six days. In nearly 121 hours, fifty-three lives were lost. But there were even more deaths unaccounted for: violence that occurred outside of active rioting sites by those who used the chaos to viciously settle old scores.

A gritty and cinematic work of fiction, All Involved vividly re-creates this turbulent and terrifying time, set in a sliver of Los Angeles largely ignored by the media during the riots. Ryan Gattis tells seventeen interconnected first-person narratives that paint a portrait of modern America itself—laying bare our history, our prejudices, and our complexities. With characters that capture the voices of gang members, firefighters, graffiti kids, and nurses caught up in these extraordinary circumstances, All Involved is a literary tour de force that catapults this edgy writer into the ranks of such legendary talents as Dennis Lehane and George V. Higgins.

Excellent!

This was an intense story from start to finish, never a dull moment. Will listen again!

Pay Nada Shoe Store

If you where there as I was its an inside look !
Many angles many separate takes very well described and performed

LOS ANGELES 1992

Ryan Gattis’s novel, “All Involved”, is a “lock the doors-get the guns”’ tale of the Los Angeles riots in 1992. Four Los Angeles Police officers inflict a beat-down on Rodney King while arresting him after a high-speed chase. Sergeant Stacey Koon, the commanding officer at the scene is said to have tased King twice. Koon argues the tasing is ineffective and suggests King is “dusted”; i.e. meaning hyped by PCP. The four involved officers are white. Rodney King is black.

Gattis’s novel looks at L.A’s riots through the eyes of minority communities living in the poorest parts of South Central Los Angeles. His story begins with the brutal murder of an innocent Latino by a Latin gang. The murder occurs just after the State’s acquittal of the four officers. Gattis infers the murder occurs because it could be disguised as a part of the Los Angeles’ riots.

Police and fire departments are caught in the middle of a war that cannot be won. It is the same war that defeated America in Vietnam. As a Pogo comic strip observed, “We have seen the enemy and he is us”. The solution for America is not for public safety departments to be drawn down to the level of gangs. The solution is to raise gangs to the level of good citizens by genuinely educating and providing equal opportunity for all.

Gattis tells a story that exposes poverty’s sharp edges and democracy’s vulnerabilities. The map for poverty’s elimination is a destination at the end of a long road. The road to a police state, a gang-like sanction of government enforcers, is a short cut to Democratic’ Armageddon.

Best Multi-Voice Narrative

This book is a perfect example of how an audiobook can be more immersive than reading physically. The multi-narrative is the best I've listened to. The authenticity of the characters and the narrators who voiced them transported me to that time.
Each chapter is from another characters point of view, and all written flawlessly.
Simply my favorite audiobook.

Audible 20 review sweepstakes entry.

Wow!

This was an unexpected gem!

Thoroughly enjoyed it. This novel was well written and engrossing. I could not put this down.

All (except for one) of the narrators were great.

Adult content, violence, and profanity. For adult audiences 17+.