A cinematic, razor-sharp novel following a backlot fixer’s daring investigation into the suspicious death of a closeted Black actor within the glamorous world of Hollywood, from the bestselling author of My Government Means to Kill Me Xavier C. Barlow, one of Hollywood’s young Black stars taking the industry by storm in the late 1950s, is Skyline Studios’s ambitious attempt to rival Sidney Poitier's burgeoning success. His arrival into the industry is calculated, his charm is magnetic, and his seductive screen presence appeals to both audiences and celebrities across generations. But years later, after Xavier dies at the height of his fame, Aaron Touissant—Skyline’s designated backlot fixer who helps the studio’s stars stay as deep in the closet as humanly possible—is finally ready to expose the powerful culprits responsible for his untimely death. Written as part-confessional, part-cris de coeur from Aaron's panoramic lens, There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood is a searing portrait of the movie industry as a manicured minefield and a compelling journey into the queer history of Los Angeles.

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Rasheed grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is the eldest of three children. He showed an early interest in reading poetry and fiction. Nikki Giovanni and Kurt Vonnegut were among his favorite writers. It was years before Rasheed had the courage to consider himself a writer.

While attending a Jesuit high school, Rasheed realized that he was definitely a homosexual, and he immediately aimed to become a practicing homosexual. No mean feat in Indiana in the mid-1990’s. Rasheed once spent several hours sitting in a coffee shop because he’d heard rumors that gay people frequented the coffee shop. His loitering was fruitless.