{"product_id":"the-darkest-glare-a-true-story-of-murder-blackmail-and-real-estate-greed-in-1979-los-angeles-9781644281918","title":"The Darkest Glare: A True Story of Murder, Blackmail, and Real Estate Greed in 1979 Los Angeles","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Chip Jacobs\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Rare Bird Books\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Rare Bird Books\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Con Artists, Hoaxes \u0026amp; Deceptions\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLate-seventies Los Angeles was rampant with killers and shady characters, but all the go-getters at Space Matters saw was possibility. Richard Kasparov was handsome and charismatic; his younger associate, Jerry Schneiderman, brilliant and nerdy. When the pair hired a veteran contractor to oversee construction, the space planning firm they operated out of a hip mansion in LA's Miracle Mile district appeared poised to transform the boundless skyline into their jackpot. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter the promising team imploded, however, the orderly lines on their blueprints succumbed to treachery and secrets. To get even, one of the ex-partners launched a murder-for-profit corporation using, among other peculiar sorts, a bantam-sized epileptic with a deadeye shot and a cross-dressing sidekick. The hapless criminals required a comical number of attempts to execute their first target. Once they did, on a rainy night in the San Fernando Valley, the surviving founder of Space Matters was thrown into a pressure cooker existence out of a Coen Brothers movie. Threatened for money he didn't have, he donned a disguise, survived a heart-pounding encounter at the La Brea Tar Pits, and relied on an ex-Israeli mercenary for protection. In the end, he had to outfox a glowering murderer, while asking if you can ever really know anyone in a town where dirty deals send men to their graves. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Darkest Glare\u003c\/i\u003e, Chip Jacobs recounts a spectacular, noir-ish, true-crime saga from one of the deadliest eras in American history. You'll never gaze out windows into the dark again. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eIncluded as a bonus is an original true crime short from the same unhinged era. In \"Paul \u0026amp; Chuck,\" a flashy, crusading attorney wages war against the messianic leader of a bloodthirsty cult determined to teach the world to stay away.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Rare Bird Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":45134518255767,"sku":"9781644281918","price":1256.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9781644281918.webp?v=1767907962","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/the-darkest-glare-a-true-story-of-murder-blackmail-and-real-estate-greed-in-1979-los-angeles-9781644281918","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}