Black Tunnel White Magic: Author Talk by Los Angeles Homicide Detective and Consultant to Michael Connelly

Rick Jackson, a now-retired LAPD detective, had his true crime book released last month. The name of the book is Black Tunnel White Magic: A Murder, A Detective’s Obsession, and ‘90s Los Angeles At The Brink. Authors Rick Jackson and Matthew McGough. Having worked his last 28 years exclusively in homicide investigations, it was one case that stood out that Rick wanted to most write about. It involved the murder of a 21-year-old UCLA student, who had begun to dabble in the occult practice of Wicca.

A major publisher, "Little Brown Publishing,” saw the book proposal first and immediately bought it.  On the morning of its March 4 release, it was named by Apple Book’s “Book of the Month.”  Then on March 5th he was informed that it was Amazon’s No. 1 bestseller of releases for audiobooks in the “Murder/True Crime” genre.

Rick will discuss the case and the journey he took to get the book published as a first-time author.  The book includes several characters, previously unknown to the public, who would later become household names.  Marcia Clark, who was the involved prosecutor in the case, that is until the OJ Simpson murders occurred. She was immediately re-assigned to lead the Simpson prosecution.  Michael Connelly was an LA Times crime reporter, who covered the case for his newspaper.  Yes, the same Michael Connelly, who two years later began his run of No. 1 NY Times best-selling novels (Detective Harry Bosch series, The Lincoln Lawyer movie and TV series, and the Detective Renee Ballard series).  The case also had a significant connection to New England for a period of a year and a half.

Rick will also talk about his ongoing 20-year collaboration with Michael Connelly, advising him on his novels.  Additionally, he will provide information on his work with Connelly on three true-crime podcasts, all on cases in which Rick was involved.  And lastly, the two crime documentaries he appeared in and helped to produce.

In conclusion, Rick will tell you about his special connection with the town of York, Maine. 

A question and answer session will follow, along with books being available for purchase and signed personally to you by Rick. The Booktenders of York, Maine, will be in attendance to sell the books. 

About the book:
In June 1990, Ronald Baker, a straight-A UCLA student, was found repeatedly stabbed to death in a tunnel near Spahn Ranch, where Charles Manson and his followers once lived. Shortly thereafter, Detective Rick Jackson and his partner, Frank Garcia, were assigned the case. 

Yet the facts made no sense. Who would have a motive to kill Ron Baker in such a grisly manner? Was the proximity to the Manson ranch related to the murder? And what about the pentagram pendant Ron wore around his neck?

Jackson and Garcia soon focused their investigation on Baker’s two male roommates, one Black, and one white. What emerges is at once a story of confounding betrayal and cold-hearted intentions, as well as a larger portrait of an embattled Los Angeles, a city in the grip of the Satanic Panic and grappling with questions of racial injustice and police brutality in the wake of Rodney King.

Rick Jackson, the now-retired police detective, along with co-writer, Matthew McGough, take us through the events as he and his partner experienced them, piecing together the truth with each emerging clue. 

Publishers Weekly

About the Authors:

 Rick Jackson had a 34-year career with the Los Angeles Police Department, before retiring in 2013. He is a known homicide expert, as well as a highly-regarded detective with extensive expertise and success in the field of “cold case” homicides. Rick has been a consultant and technical advisor for New York Times #1 bestselling crime fiction author Michael Connelly. This ongoing 20-year relationship has included most of Connelly’s novels, the “Bosch” television series, and numerous other film and TV scripts.

Matthew McGough is an investigative journalist, a lawyer, and the author of two books: The Lazarus Files: A Cold Case Investigation, and Bat Boy: Coming of Age with the New York Yankees, which inspired the CBS series Clubhouse. He is the recipient of two Southern California Journalism Awards from the Los Angeles Press Club for his reporting in The Atlantic. He has also written for television and was a writer and legal consultant for NBC’s Law & Order.