It's 1940. Canadian journalist Mike Ward, fresh off assignments in Paris, London, Moscow, and Berlin, thinks he's seen it all: the rise of charismatic dictators, the fall of governments, political intrigues too bizarre to believe.Yet despite his tenure in fascist Europe, nothing could have prepared him for his latest posting: Hollywood, where the glitz and glamour of the silver screen mingles with the grit and grime of the criminal underworld. Ward's latest assignment, to cover the "suicide" of a studio executive, is bound to drag him deeper into the shadows of America's bright lights.Set during a time of upheaval in the capital of cinema, and populated by a who's who of colourful historical personalities from both the film and criminal worlds, City of Fallen Angels — the latest from Arthur Ellis Award-winner Howard Engel — is a classic period whodunit with a Canadian twist.