Point Loma author Richard Opper releases second crime novel of trilogy

Retired Point Loma attorney Richard G. Opper continues his saga of Mona Oakheart, a self-taught businesswoman, bar owner, and X-rated film producer, in “In Deep and Far Out,” the second book of a trilogy.

Opper’s first novel, “The Body in the Barrel,” along with its sequel, are both set in Point Loma. His second novel takes place both in Sunset Cliffs and Guam.

Opper and old friend David Madsen will be attending a dual book release and signing event for their respective new novels on Thursday, Sept. 26 from 7-9 p.m. at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore, 3555 Rosecrans St., Suite 107.

Opper’s fiction writing is a far cry from his real-life experience as an environmental attorney. “Most of my law work involved cities and redevelopment agencies focusing on taking contaminated property and finding ways to reuse it,” said Opper, who for years was involved in the cleanup of the footprint of Padres’ Petco Park in Downtown.

“That was my project and I got awards for it,” Opper said adding something was missing though. “I enjoyed my work, but I always wanted to be a writer,” he noted.

Then came his first stab at fiction, “The Body in the Barrel,” a 2022 crime novel set in 1973 San Diego, where a Harbor cop and a producer of X-rated films join forces to thwart death threats from the Chinese Tong and heat from San Diego’s conservative establishment.

“My first novel starts with a barrel banging against a tuna seiner and fishermen open the barrel and find there is a body in it that just leads to stuff,” said Opper adding “Local audiences loved it,” especially in Point Loma with its Portuguese fishing tradition.

Opper listed his favorite authors, which include Mark Twain and Charles Dickens, whom he noted “I’m trying to learn from.”

Of the crime novel trilogy he’s working on, Opper noted there “is an arc to this story” while pointing out his female protagonist was “inspired by a real woman who went into the sex world.” He added that the character in his second novel “ends up going to Guam to try and solve a problem and it changes her life.”

The Mona Oakheart series was meant to be a trilogy. “The story was bigger than I thought I could fit into a book,” noted Opper adding, “From the outset, it had a dramatic arc to it that evolved.”

Opper said Peninsulans reading his second novel will be familiar with a lot of local landmarks besides Sunset Cliffs, like churches and schools, including Point Loma Nazarene University.

“I have something in my book that is something like The Theosophical Society that was in Lomaland in Point Loma from 1900 to 1942,” Opper said.

There are increasingly more ways for aspiring writers to get their work published these days. Opper recommended a British website, reedsy.com, noting there is “tons of information” there to help a fledgling author find their bearings in the publishing world.

Opper is now living the dream as a writer. “I enjoy it,” he said concluding, “This is who I wanted to be.”

MYSTERIOUS GALAXY

Where: 3555 Rosecrans St., Suite 107

When: Thursday, Sept. 26, 7-9 p.m.

What: Celebrate the release of two new novels by San Diego authors: “In Deep and Far Out” by Richard G. Opper; and “Under A Secret Sky” by David Madsen.

Why: In the 1970s, Dave Madsen met Richard Opper, who was going to law school and managing a converted motel on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica where they all lived. As a young lawyer, Opper left California for Guam, where he ultimately became the attorney general for the territory. A decade later, Opper and his family moved to San Diego, where he practiced environmental law for more than 30 years before turning to his friend Madsen for help publishing his first novel, “The Body in the Barrel,” published in 2022, about Mona Oakheart and set in Point Loma.

“In Deep and Far Out,” is his second book in Opper’s Mona Oakheart trilogy. In Madsen’s novel, his male protagonist disappears and his wife and their precocious son set out to find him. Threatened, then pursued by friends-turned-enemies, the family’s search leads from their comfortable post-WWII suburban California life to a top-secret company town that invents a new way to win wars.