The Darkest Glare: A True Story of Murder, Blackmail, and Real Estate Greed in 1979 Los Angeles

Chip Jacobs

Mar 2021 · Highbridge Audio · Narrated by Joel Richards

About this audiobook

Late-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. After 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. The hapless criminals required a 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.

Ratings and reviews

Well this story was totally crazy! Especially since all that happened in it was real, though pretty long ago! The author did a good job of adding all the details (though he did mention in the afterword that he did change some names and descriptions to protect those who had been affected by that crazy year) while still making it a very interesting read. It is amazing what lengths a person like Howard will go to when he thinks he has been wronged (not to mention his prior history of what he did to people who got on his bad side). Howard was definitely a poison that hurt many people when he set his revenge/murder plans into action. I would most definitely not want a guy like him after me! I must admit though, it was kind of funny to read about the foiled attempts at killing Richard. And I really felt sorry for Jerry, who was duped/blackmailed by both Richard and Howard and how that changed the rest of his life.

About the author

Chip Jacobs is an award-winning author and journalist. His novel Arroyo, about Pasadena, California's mysterious Colorado Street Bridge, was a Los Angeles Times bestseller and a CrimeReads most anticipated book of 2019. His other books include Strange As It Seems, Smogtown, and The People's Republic of Chemicals.

Joel Richards was the kid who did crazy things just to have a good story to tell afterward. On deciding to make his affection his profession, he received a BFA in acting and a BA in English from the University of Utah. He has narrated over 150 audiobooks and continues to tell his original stories to live audiences.