IN MY FATHER'S NAME: A Family, A Town, A Murder

By Mark Arax

On January 2, 1972, Mark Arax's childhood came to a sudden and explosive end when his father was shot to death at his nightclub in Fresno, California - a sensational murder that was never solved. Mark, only 15 at the time, was left with a corrosive legacy of rumors about the death of his father, the son of an Armenian immigrant. Had his father led a double life? And was he killed because of his dealings with the underworld?

Two decades later, Mark Arax uprooted his family and returned to Fresno under an assumed name, determined to put the past to rest. And while Arax learns that his father was murdered just before he made a startling disclosure, he also discovers secrets buried deeper than he imagined: in the heartbreak and violence of the Armenian old country, and in the shroud of silence that cloaks a corrupt town. Riveting, poignant, and intensely personal, Arax's journey runs deeper than a search for the truth - it is a quest for peace.

Simon & Schuster (hardcover: 1996) Gallery Books (paperback: 1997)