Former Mayoral Candidate Sets Detective Novel in Pasadena

A former Pasadena Weekly columnist and Pasadena mayoral candidate has set his new comic crime novel in the Pasadena and Altadena neighborhoods he knew while living in the city.

Aaron D. Proctor’s “Grieve’s First Investigation” follows Milo Grieve, a 24-year-old goth club regular who takes up a case despite having no investigative experience and little money. Set in 2005, the first book in the Milo Grieve series draws on places Proctor says he traveled through during his years in Pasadena.

The story opens early on a Monday morning in an apartment on North Hill Avenue, near the Altadena border. Grieve writes vacation rental listings for a company in West Altadena and spends Sunday nights at goth clubs.

Proctor lived in Pasadena from 2001 to 2008. He ran for mayor in 2007 and wrote a column for the Pasadena Weekly from 2007 to 2008. According to the book announcement, “Grieve’s First Investigation” is available in paperback and for Kindle.