“A fun and fast read that reveals a darker slice of L.A. life that most have never heard about. Every character feels real, every situation loaded with telling detail and tension. You're surprised by how much you care about each character.”

–Scott Frank, screenwriter of Minority Report, Out of Sight, and The Queen’s Gambit

“Like Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Boulevard begins with a murder. Most American novelists would stop there, but Bill Guttentag doesn’t flinch from anything. We know dreams die in Hollywood, but what happens then? Boulevard is a rare thing–a thriller that matters, that reveals, that makes us reexamine who we are.”

–David Vann, author of A Mile Down and Legend of a Suicide

“Boulevard is a fast-paced story with prose as jumpy and gritty as its characters. The novel is a stark look at the darker side of Hollywood streets, littered with broken glass and desperately real characters with a slim shot at very human dreams. Guttentag's keen eye for detail, brutal honesty, and unflinching vision make him an essential voice of our time.” 

-Keith Scribner, author of The Good Life

“Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Guttentag unleashes considerable rage against L.A. in this heartfelt mystery set on the seedy side of the City of Angels...The introduction of an undercover cop provides welcome juice, and the plots collide in a way so surprising that, well, it would make a good movie.” 

–Daniel Kraus, Booklist Online

“While the kids may be violent or oblivious to turning tricks, there’s a certain humanity here, a kinship and kindness that raises them above L.A.’s thin selection of characters. Throw in a detective with a runaway son of his own, a partner whose marriage is slipping away–in addition to orbiting pimps, self-important lawyers and small-time freaks aplenty–and you have a tale that gets major points for freshness and ambition. It’s engrossing, original, and comes with the Official True Crime Report Seal of Freshness.”

–Village Voice

“A moving crime novel. Guttentag shows deft touch with detail as he chronicles an existence marked by moments of sheer panic. The action builds to a hopeful and satisfying conclusion.”

–Publishers Weekly

“At some point, most writers feel the tug to stretch beyond what they've previously written. That must be especially true of genre writers. Bill Guttentag's debut novel, "Boulevard," is billed as a literary crime novel, with "literary" suggesting that Guttentag wants to rouse his reader to care not only about solving the crime, but also about his characters. Guttentag succeeds, because one of his main characters is highly sympathetic. . .  Through Jimmy's perspective, the reader is exposed to a wider landscape of grittiness: the wannabe actresses working in sex clubs, the pimps and addicted gamblers. And the subculture of street kids brings in more pimps, johns, drug addicts. For long sections of the novel, the murder slips into the background, but that doesn't mean the tension drags. . . Guttentag manages to bring all the story lines together in a conclusion that leaves you morally conflicted, yet surprisingly satisfied.”

–San Francisco Chronicle