
Black Tunnel White Magic
A Murder, a Detective's Obsession, and '90s Los Angeles at the Brink
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $35.09
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jim Meskimen
-
Michael Connelly
Detective Rick Jackson, a decorated LAPD detective and a key inspiration in the development of Harry Bosch, delivers a shocking and immersive look into the one case he could never let go.
In June 1990, Ronald Baker, a straight-A UCLA student, was found repeatedly stabbed to death in a tunnel near Spahn Ranch, where Charles Manson and his followers once lived. Shortly thereafter, Detective Rick Jackson and his partner, Frank Garcia, were assigned the case. Yet the facts made no sense. Who would have a motive to kill Ron Baker in such a grisly manner? Was the proximity to the Manson ranch related to the murder? And what about the pentagram pendant Ron wore around his neck?
Jackson and Garcia soon focused their investigation on Baker’s two male roommates, one Black, and one white. What emerges is at once a story of confounding betrayal and cold-hearted intentions, as well as a larger portrait of an embattled Los Angeles, a city in the grip of the Satanic Panic and grappling with questions of racial injustice and police brutality in the wake of Rodney King.
In straightforward, matter-of-fact prose, Rick Jackson, the now-retired police detective who helped inspire Michael Connelly’s beloved Harry Bosch, along with co-writer, Matthew McGough, take us through the events as he and his partner experienced them, piecing together the truth with each emerging clue. Black Tunnel White Magic is the true story of a murder in cold blood, deception and betrayal, and a city at the brink, set forth by the only man who could tell it.
©2025 Rick Jackson and Matthew McGough (P)2025 Mulholland BooksListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"A great true-crime story and a great cop memoir—about how they do it and, above all, why they do it."—Lee Child
"In the crowded field of true crime this book stands out. Skilled journalist Matthew McGough teams up with legendary LAPD homicide Detective Rick Jackson to create a page-turning narrative. Jackson investigated this compelling case and provides the kind of insight and inside-knowledge that could only come from a detective who was there for every twist and turn of the case. Black Tunnel White Magic is a terrific read!"
—Miles Corwin
People who viewed this also viewed...


















Excellent book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
How he was able to weave the background of the time period into the story helping the reader understand circumstances
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Overrated
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Oh well, at least I got to review the various details—a plus for my daydreaming habit!!!
A very long book but enjoyable. An honest cop!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Captivating
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Plot was good
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
True crime must listen!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Riveting story, a must read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Details, details
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Unbelievable!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.