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A Very Private High School (The Cop. The Activist series. Santa Monica.) Paperback – June 23, 2015

by Mar Preston (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 31 ratings
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Santa Monica, California, is home to the homeless, a city of haves and have nots, ripe for dirty politicians, psychopathic homeowners, car thieves, and celebrity troublemakers. A vicious carjacking maims a firefighter that Homicide Detective Dave Mason of the Santa Monica Police Department used to tomcat around with. Carjackers up the stakes when a hit-and-run linked to them leads Mason to an elite private high school where a boiling controversy is already erupting over financial shenanigans. A hit-and-run fatality of the school’s administrator leads Mason to take a very close look at student activities and fundraising practices at the very private school. What he finds ties together some seeming coincidences that make this story much bigger than the puzzling violent deaths. The investigation suggests the school's director likes bad boys and dark, hidden places. On sketchy evidence, Mason needs to convince the brass that funds from the embezzlement are filtering into an international theft operation. Everything changes when Ginger, the love of Mason’s life--and the school’s fundraiser-- disappears. Fourth in the Detective Dave Mason of the Santa Monica Police Department series
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  1. Book 4 of 5
    The Cop. The Activist series. Santa Monica.
  2. Print length
    446 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    June 23, 2015
  5. Dimensions
    5.25 x 1.12 x 8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0984495258
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0984495252
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mar Preston (June 23, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 446 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0984495258
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0984495252
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.11 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1.12 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 31 ratings

About the author

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Mar Preston

Mar Preston

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First of all, thank you to my readers. I write to enjoy living the life of characters I’d like to know. Or characters I’d like to be. Wouldn’t I like to be 29, 5 ft 10, and hot, hot, hot. Wouldn’t I like to chase bad guys down dark alleys and mouth off to a cop. Wouldn’t I like to be a homicide detective in a glitzy tourist city like Santa Monica. You betcha I would.

I write to tell stories I hope will entertain you. Some are gritty, but they are all leavened by a touch of snarky humor.

I’ve learned a thing or two after writing four unpublishable novels and then seven modestly successful crime fiction novels, plus the recent one,Nothing Ever Happens Here.

I wrote hundreds of thousands of words to teach myself how to write something people would want to read. It takes practice and learning the craft.

Then I put everything I’d heard, and learned through hard experience, into seven short eBooks on the craft of writing mysteries.

The companion volumes on the elements of crime fiction are available on Amazon and they’re cheap.

Writing Your First Mystery is a free download on my website. http://marpreston.com

The kindest thing you can do for any author is to leave a review.

_______________________________________________

To my dismay, I've become quite old, having lived hard 30 years in Los Angeles, another 20 in a village in the surrounding California mountains. A few years ago, I came home to Canada. specifically Ottawa, Ontario. It's been quite a jaunt - so far. I can just about stand the Canadian winters.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
31 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

JanLA
5.0 out of 5 stars I love Mar Preston’s books
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2015
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I love Mar Preston’s books! A Very Private High School is another in her Dave Mason series, set in Santa Monica and featuring Major Crimes detective Dave Mason, other characters in his department, girlfriend Ginger, and characters connected to the private high school of the book’s title. These stories have all the usual characters – the crime, the cops, and the criminal – as well as an array of suspects and supporting characters. The main character, Dave, is a large fit man in his mid-thirties, with quirks, a daughter, and a strong work ethic. I find his strength and readiness attractive and always want to see him find happiness with his girlfriend. Suspects are also developed throughout the stories.

A Very Private High School has some good action – murder, carjacking, and nabbing the bad guy – with the main action happening in the detective work by Mason and his partner, Delgado. It is a well written 442 pages of suspense, police procedure, and development of the characters, the beach culture of Santa Monica, the police department, and the world of private schools and non-profits. Preston brings skillful writing and a love of mystery and mayhem, style, and contemporary ideas, to her novels. As long as she writes them, I’ll keep reading them.
4 people found this helpful
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Diana M. Hockley
5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2015
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I was delighted when Google Alerts advised me that there was a new Dave Mason novel available, carefully crafted and presented by Mar Preston. The subject matter, a private high school, sounded intriguing, so I hastened to purchase the book.

I was not disappointed! The characters are well developed and their back stories blended well into the action. What was really quite fascinating was the attention to detail in the mannerisms of the detectives and perhaps to a lesser extent, the members of the staff of the school. Sights, sounds and smells are variables drummed into the aspiring author via workshops and there was no limit to the amount of these in this novel. The suspense was cracking, only letting up for the reader to catch - in this case, moi - breath and then relentlessly pulling me into the undertow of deceit, fraud and murder.

I particularly liked the ending of this novel and no, no spoilers!

Well done indeed.
5 people found this helpful
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HeyAnnisPoet
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed my first Dave Mason mystery
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2016
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This was my first Dave Mason mystery, but it won't be my last. While this book stands alone, I am eager to catch up on some of the previous adventures and learn more about Mason, Delgado, and Ginger. With excellent pacing, style, and detail -- and a sense of humor -- Mar Preston has crafted a fine story with believable characters and plots and sub-plots that mesh perfectly.
One person found this helpful
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Bee Be
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read.
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2016
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As always a great story written by Mar Preston. It feels like I'm catching up with old friends when I start reading. With the way Mar writes I am drawn into the mystery and can't put it down. I feel a little sad when I find out "who done it" because I know the story is going to end, but I cheer up when I start her next book.
One person found this helpful
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LA Noir
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2015
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This is the fourth book in the Detective Dave Mason series. Set in Santa Monica, a hit and run accident sets off the action and leads Mason to an exclusive private school. This is a great read, suspenseful, absorbing and hard to put down. Everything is very realistic and well-developed. I liked Dave Mason, a good solid character.
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Sandra Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars I absolutely love the Dave Mason series
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2015
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I absolutely love the Dave Mason series. I await the next installment because I worry about him. Ms. Preston has done a fabulous job of narrating a complicated story and I thoroughly enjoyed the read.
One person found this helpful
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Judy Guarnera
4.0 out of 5 stars Believable characters
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2017
Preston certainly knows police procedure and is adept at presenting her protagonist as a real person and a dedicated detective. Plenty of action and suspense with a little romance to add emotional depth. We've all met someone like the antagonist, who is a master at promoting herself and sneaking under your skin. Page turning gets compelling as the story begins to climax.
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edd
5.0 out of 5 stars well crafted...
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2015
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"... well crafted with excellent character development... the long hours of research that the author puts into her work is quite evident in this marvelous effort. this is a good book Mar...!!! "
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Top reviews from other countries

Paul S
4.0 out of 5 stars An engaging crime thriller in which the challenge is determining the why rather than the who dunnit.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 19, 2019
Verified Purchase
At first I found A Very Private High School a little difficult to follow. This is because we are introduced to quite a large number of characters early on in the story but we are not always given their full name (sometimes we are given just their first name or their last name). So I initially found this a little confusing, but once I had figured out who was who, I was soon well and truly hooked to the story.
Initially it appears that we are dealing with two different story lines, one involving car jacking and the other involving murder at a private high school in Santa Monica, California. There is also a romantic thread that runs through the story. However, as the story progresses the various threads converge and we find ourselves involved in a really gripping murder mystery.
While I did not find this a particularly quick read, I found the pace of the book picked up considerably as the climax approached. It is reasonably obvious early on in the book to determine who are the villains, but it is much harder to determine why they act the way they do. I quite enjoyed this aspect of the novel (i.e. determining the 'why doing it' rather than the 'who dunnit it').
This is the first novel I have read in the Detective Dave Mason series and the first novel written by Mar Preston. I do not feel I have missed anything by not having read any of the earlier books in the series and I will certainly consider reading other books that feature Detective Mason given how engaging I found this one.
So if you enjoy crime thrillers set in the USA, with plots that follow police investigations into a series of different crimes while also having a low key romantic thread running through the novel, then I think you would probably enjoy reading A Very Private High School.
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