Labyrinth ─ A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. Implication of Death Row Records' Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los

Flaunt magazine declares LAbyrinth "absolutely impossible to put down" -- a book whose stunning discoveries are nonetheless "incredibly thorough and surprisingly credible." Acclaimed journalist Randall Sullivan follows Russell Poole, a highly decorated LAPD detective who in 1997 was called to investigate a controversial cop-on-cop shooting, and eventually discovered that the officer killed was tied to Marion "Suge" Knight's notorious gangsta-rap label, Death Row Records. During his investigation, Poole would come to realize that a growing cadre of black officers were allied not only with Death Row but with the murderous Bloods street gang. And incredibly, he began to uncover evidence that at least some of these "gangsta cops" may have been involved in the murders of rap superstars Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. Still more shocking is what happened when Russell Poole became lead investigator in the murder of Notorious B.I.G.: as his shrewd detective work pointed to crooked cops such as David Mack, who orchestrated one of the biggest bank heists in Los Angeles history, Poole found his investigation stifled by a police chief wary of doing further damage to a department already sullied by the O. J. Simpson trial, the Rodney King beating, and the Rampart corruption scandal. Could it be that the Rampart scandal -- in which dozens of officers were implicated in a conspiracy of robbery, brutality, drug dealing, and false imprisonment -- was only a smokescreen for a far more damaging debacle? Igniting a firestorm of controversy in the music industry and the Los Angeles media, the hardcover publication of LAbyrinth helped to prompt two lawsuits against the LAPD (one brought by the widow and mother of Notorious B.I.G., the other by Poole himself) that may finally bring this story completely out of the shadows. Entertainment Weekly insists that "no single source presents so complete or damning a record" of this "compelling" epic tale of L.A. noir. "[An] engrossing, damning tale of widespread unchecked corruption in one of the nation's largest police departments, one that deserves attention." -- Renee Graham, The Boston Globe " "A deftly told, immensely relevant, true-life potboiler from the streets of urban America." -- Kirkus Reviews " "LAbyrinth is a jeremiad, leveling everything in its path." -- R. J. Smith, Los Angeles Magazine "You don't have to know anything about any of this to love this book." -- Carolyn See, The Washington Post "You haven't got the goods on any of these notorious cases until you read this intricate show-biz true-crime thriller." -- Mike Tribby, Booklist "Sullivan's reportorial writing style accurately reflects the investigative work ... while building the drama within the truly labyrinthine political cover-ups." -- Publishers Weekly

Randall Sullivan was a contributing editor to Rolling Stone for over twenty years. He is the author of The Price of Experience, LAbyrinth, The Miracle Detective, and Untouchable. His work has been published in, among many other places, Esquire, Outside, Men’s Journal, Washington Post, and the Guardian. He lives in Oregon.