The Little Kingdom on the Hill: a Novel

"Corrupt California homeowner associations are the stuff of which lawsuits and websites are made. Often, associations are the graveyards for homeowners' dreams. You may live in one, if you do, you'll want to read how a used car salesman inherited a home in the Austin Hills Homeowners Association and drove it toward catastrophe. Lincoln Bosworth cares nothing for the exquisite rural beauty of Austin Hills. His single-minded goal is accumulating a following of sycophants to hold control of the association's board of directors. Exploiting giant gaps in homeowner law, and aided by unethical lawyers, Bosworth abuses board power, openly defies the restrictions of the governing documents and gains control over two million dollars of assessment money. He will spend as he pleases and what seems to please him most is to reward friends for their loyalty. He drives those who oppose him from the association. Not content to purge from within, he plans a massive gate to exclude those 'who don't belong' Braving the wrath of Bosworth, the members finally manage to elect one of their own to the board. Randy Peterson now serves on the board with a passion for justice, and his criticisms and revelations are a threat. For Bosworth, however, Randy is just one more obstacle to be handled. Then, on a hot August afternoon, one of the board's decisions results in a tragic accident that claims four lives. Bosworth launches a propaganda campaign and Randy becomes a real threat as he aligns with law enforcement and reveals the corruption of the board. A sheriff's detective figures one of Bosworth's board members was involved in the accident. Was it really an accident, or was it manslaughter? Whatever it was, it leads to coldblooded murder. A link between the accident and the murder is too thin for prosecution and the investigation appears to stall. The newspapers call the murder a perfect crime and why not? In Franklin County, half of all