Thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley, I received a copy of the Chapter Summary of Bad City, by Los Angeles Times Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Paul Pringle. Subtitled “Peril And Power In The City of Angels,” this nonfiction true crime thriller is a stunning expose of corruption in both city governments and academic institutions, featuring USC (known as University of Spoiled Children when I was growing up in Southern California).

Paul Pringle happened to get a tip about a potentially juicy story involving the Dean of the USC Medical School, Dr. Carmen Puliafito. The doc was present when a 911 call came in from a Pasadena hotel where he had been partying with his much younger drug addict girlfriend, whose dissolute lifestyle was funded by Puliafito, including her apartment, car, travel, and a boatload of drugs, including heroin and crystal meth (not to mention to bags of Xanax he would smuggle in to her in bags of Skittles when he visited her at the various pricy rehab facilities along the California Coast). Despite the presence of emergency personnel and police, the scandal was not reported and the University President seemed to want to do anything to cover it up.

The scandal was huge, and turned out to involve not only one of the most prestigious institutions in the state (as well as one of the largest employers in the region) — it spread into the newsroom itself. The book tells the tragic story of the young woman, the creepy and corrupt doctor (who was falling fast after a lifetime career filled with recognition and honors), and the struggling newspaper industry. It is extremely well written, and will be enjoyed by fans of true crime, journalism, higher education, and the impact of technology on culture. Five stars. BTW, I wasn’t sure what a “Chapter Sampler” was — turns out it is the first couple of chapters. They were so good, I immediately bought the full book so I could keep reading. Money well spent!