The Little Kingdom on the Hill
A Novel
by
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Austin Hills is a picturesque rural homeowners association in Franklin County, California. Miles of roads wind through ten thousand acres of land on a tree studded plateau. The association has golf course, no community center, and no fences or boundary markers let you know when you enter or leave its boundaries. The board of directors that runs things has but a single duty: maintain the roads.
In spite of the simplicity and clarity of the Governing Documents, a self-serving group of board members gained traction over an apathetic majority that steadfastly refused to “get involved”. Helped along by some curious election rules and unethical lawyers, Langston Bosworth came to rule Austin Hills like a monarch. Cronyism, selective enforcement, and abuse of authority became standard conduct.
Those in control pushed their personal goals, and as they grew bolder and their projects became more outrageous and funds were diverted. Vigilante groups took action at night to dissuade those who dared to object. Bosworth justified it all with the Hitlerian assertion that those in power were “preserving a way of life” and acting in the “best interest of the association”.Gradually awakening, dissident homeowners finally 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.
With the loss of four lives on the roads of Austin Hills and a murder, the association comes under a revealing scrutiny from which there is no escape.
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About the Book
“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 murders go unsolved. Will this be one?”
About the Author
L. J. Hudack lives in California. He has degrees from the University of California at Berkeley and Arizona State University, as well as a PhD from USC. His education, however, comes from experience. He persists in an unsupportable belief that there is a fundamental difference between right and wrong and between truth and bullshit. His quest to find evidence that law has some remote correlation with justice continues unrewarded. His other works include The Albatross Journey and The Thirteenth Juror.