I could not resist buying this book after seeing the fine film made from it. The book stands perfectly well on its own, but I found it extremely interesting to contemplate how writers converted it to the screen. The events and characters in the book are almost all the same as in the film, but the movie presents scenes in a different order and significantly revises the prominence/roles of various characters.

I wish I had seen the process, which must have involved scores of 3x5 cards showing major scenes from the book, all rearranged and rearranged again to finally arrive at a linear progression for the movie... one just as good as, but totally different from, the book.

It's worth paying a little extra to obtain this rare volume, just to read the original story. What a bunch of sleazy people these characters were!

This novel became an equally excellent movie directed by William Friedkin (The Exorcist), who then went on to direct an absolute LOSER of a movie entitled PYTHON WOLF. Where has Friedkin been since? This is unknown. . . Gerald Petievich is a former US Treasury agent who has worked the streets and managed to install his brother into not only TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A., but the movie SHAKEDOWN as well (which included Dennis Hopper and Viggo Mortensen). -- The bar scene in TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. -- : "Hey, Petievich, get over here!" delivered by William Peterson. Petievich has walked the walk and admirably knows how to talk the talk. His dialogue is some of the finest written, easily on a par with that of Elmore Leonard. His plotting and exposition is terse and spare. There is no overabundance of words. He has not, to my knowledge, written a book since 1991's PARAMOUR. This in itself is a crime. Petievich knows about plot, about characterization, and how to make it all work in a minimal number of words and sentences. GODDAMMIT, PETIEVICH, WHERE ARE YOU?!

Better than the Movie an action filled story of LA undercover cops running a drug bust. Proably the best of Petievich's books. His knowledge of law enforcement makes this a real page turner.

Petievich captures the attitudes, language, and deadly gamesmanship of L.A. gangbangers and the cops caught up in the gangbangers' world. Written a decade ago, the book is eerily prescient in its depiction of an out-of-control antigang unit that starts functioning like a street gang itself - predating the actual Rampart/CRASH scandals with disturbing precision. I've read dozens of police procedurals; few can compare to EARTH ANGELS in the accuracy of its portrayals and the lean, unfliching realism of its prose. A hypnotizing excursion into the no-man's-land of gang warfare, this novel is even more relevant and timely now than when it was first published. I predict it will continue to stand the test of time and be remembered as one of the few classics in the police-fiction genre. Don't miss it!

Anyone who has read this book, written nearly ten years ago, will be amazed at its accuraccy concerning the corrupyion at the LAPD. I am so astounded at its parralels, that I truly think it is not so much as a fiction book, but a true life account of todays headline news. It even names C.R.A.S.H. as the main police gang buster team. I think someone should look into this. Anyone else interested, E Mail me!

If you are a fan of Las Vegas, and great mysteries, this book is for you. The lean prose keeps the pace exciting, and this book is a lot of fun, just like the author's other works. I wish he would have written more of them.

"The Sentinel" is vintage Petievich. This is a tough, uncompromising depiction of the Secret Service's highest visibility law enforcement program under maximum stress. Characters include a variety of duplicitous White House denizens and toadies, protected by ambitious, self-serving Secret Service agents and officials. The principals misbehave and have things to hide. Extra-marital activity is a big problem. The Ten Commandments are out, the Seven Deadly Sins are in.

To achieve their plans, flawed (and sometimes outright criminal) officials who run Petievich's Secret Service must somehow outsmart the system of repetitive checks and audit trails built into the agency's intimidatingly thorough security design. The basic honesty and competence of individual agents prove to be an obstacle, too. To find out whether the system prevails under this assault, read the book.

Critics/readers who find the plot line "a stretch" should lighten up and enjoy the ride. Embrace conspiracy and paranoia. After Oklahoma City and Waco, the extra-marital conduct of high-visibility public officials (Clinton, Gingrich, Giuliani, Condit, ad nauseum), September 11, and the documented treason of homegrown moles in the FBI and CIA - it's hard to visualize any fictional event that should be excluded as improbable.

It's past time for the return of ex-Special Agent Petievich, U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Military Intelligence (where was he? Guess #1: he was running Treasury's Witness Protection Program under an assumed name; or Guess #2: he was, himself, a witness in hiding). No matter - welcome back.

...

Or, maybe he never left. I hadn't seen any of his titles since Earth Angel and wondered if he had gone on to other interests. Then, I saw his name on the cover from halfway across the local Barnes & Noble. I grabbed the book and didn't even open it until I had gone through the check out and driven home. After that, I settled into one of the most enjoyable tales I've read in a long time. Gerald Petievich's inside knowledge of law enforcement makes this book come alive in several different ways and directions, all at once. His protagonist, Special Agent Pete Garrison, is believable, attractive, and action-oriented, a character the reader 'pulls for' throughout the entire book. Plot twists lurk in unexpected places, and every page is an absolute banquet of inside information and character development. I have been a fan since reading "To Live and Die in L. A." and I believe that this writer just gets better with each book. Highly recommended.

Fans of To Live and Die in L.A will be anxious to read Gerald Petievich's latest book. A great read, this book features a tightly woven plot centered in Washington,DC as a Secret Service agent fights against time to protect the President. Petievich kept leading me down paths before revealing that I'd made false assumptions. I read this book in one sitting -- that's how good it is.

Gerald Petievich's "To Die in Beverly Hills" is not one of his best works of writing. But it does have some strong points.

As can be expected, it is about the Secret Service. (Mr. Petievich is a former agent and uses this past experience to his advantage).

The problem with the book is that it is a very predictable. It was written almost as if he was rushed to write "something". He is a very detailed orientated writer but it wasn't used to its fullest in this book.

He hasn't written a book since 1991 but I do hope he writes a new book soon!