Kevin R. Andrade shines a light on the Westside, reminiscing about what Venice and Culver City felt like in his latest mystery book, In for a Dime. Visiting its younger years capturing restaurants and local institutions that have changed and stayed the same over the last decade.
Memories from early adulthood now inspire his mystery novel letting him write about real places during his time living on the Westside. “I want readers to recognize the joint love I have for Los Angeles, and the Westside especially,” Andrade said.
In for a Dime follows a disgraced investigative reporter who owns a bar in Culver City with his two best friends: one an ex-NYPD detective and the other an ex-con. Andrade also adds, “They also have Private Investigator licenses, and they get hired to find a missing insurance adjuster, along with $ 2 million missing from an insurance firm.”
The novel is the second installment, following the first book, Ten to the 405, in a planned 10-book series. Setting the series in the early 2010s lets him revisit the Los Angeles he remembers, though he sees the Westside the same way, even as a crime writer, telling us, “Nostalgia is a powerful force within me.”
For Andrade, writing about Venice and Culver City is more than a mystery setting; he is revisiting the neighborhood he once called home, and the restaurants he frequented are now new franchises.
He stated, “Venice back in the day, there were a lot of great places I loved to go hang out at,” recalling that he lived eight doors down from the restaurant in Venice called Baja Cantina.
A few places illustrate the Westside’s transformation from the early 2000’s, until now. When Andrade first arrived in Los Angeles, the street was home to establishments such as Hal’s, Primivito, and The Roosterfish. Over the years, many of these Venice businesses have remained closed. He often recalls Hal’s as a hub where writers, actors, and working professionals still had to pay rent and bartend on the side.
Although Andrade now lives in Manhattan Beach, he still returns to the Westside, where he finds inspiration. “I love that time marches forward; there are always new places and new institutions on the Westside now,” says Andrade.
Rather than inventing entirely fictional neighborhoods, Andrade incorporates real locations into his stories. Andrade has also lived in Boston, New York, and Mexico City, stating that “Los Angeles is such a unique place; it’s not just a big city; everything has their own culture.”
Although his mystery takes place in 2012, Andrade hopes to bring his characters closer to the present day, envisioning future installments that could incorporate major events such as COVID-19. But for now, his fiction stays in the time period he remembers, with its neighborhood restaurants and familiar streets.
Despite the changes that have reshaped Venice and Culver City, Andrade’s affection for the Westside remains consistent for his readers. When asked about why he writes, he says, “It’s a love letter to the city of Los Angeles.”
