{"product_id":"the-setup-a-true-story-of-dirty-cops-soccer-moms-and-reality-tv-paperback","title":"The Setup: A True Story of Dirty Cops, Soccer Moms, and Reality TV - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003ePete Crooks\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe pitch went like this\u003c\/b\u003e: Chris Butler, a retired cop, ran a private investigator firm in Concord, California. His business had a fascinating angle--his firm was staffed entirely by soccer moms. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn fact, Butler employed PI Super Moms: attractive, organized, smart, and trained in investigative techniques, self-defense, and weaponry. \u003ci\u003eThis American Life\u003c\/i\u003e host Ira Glass described them as \"MILF: Charlie's Angels.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen this story came across Pete Crooks's desk when he was working at \u003ci\u003eDiablo\u003c\/i\u003e magazine in 2010, he was instantly hooked. He'd heard a little bit about Butler and his super moms in the news; they'd been featured in \u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e magazine and on \u003ci\u003eDr. Phil\u003c\/i\u003e. What Butler's publicist was offering was too tantalizing to pass up: an opportunity to ride along with Butler and a few of his sexy PIs as they prepared to start filming a reality TV show. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut after the ride-along--and after he started receiving mysterious emails from one of Butler's employees--Crooks started to realize something didn't seem right. After doing a little digging, he discovered the \"sting\" he'd seen only had one real victim...him. The PI bust had been a setup. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCrooks wasn't a hardboiled crime reporter. He did lifestyle pieces for a regional magazine. The more he learned about Butler's operation, the more he realized he was in far over his head. But swallowing his fears, he decided he was going to write an expose on Butler and his entire organization. He soon found himself deep in the underbelly of fake sting operations, wannabe celebrities, police corruption, drug-dealing, reality television, double-crossing employees, and more twists and turns than a dozen crime thrillers.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePete Crooks\u003c\/b\u003e is a Bay Area-based journalist, and the author of the seminal investigative story about one of the Bay Area's most sensational crime and corruption stories in recent history. For the past 14 years, Crooks has been one of the editors of \u003ci\u003eDiablo\u003c\/i\u003e magazine, and was on assignment for the magazine when he broke the incredible crime scandal detailed in \u003ci\u003eThe Setup: A True Story of Soccer Moms, Dirty Cops, and Reality TV\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCrooks's reporting on this stranger than fiction story about reality show wannabes, duplicitous soccer moms, and a conspiracy involving corrupt cops and a sociopath private investigator received national acclaim, inspiring episodes of the award-winning radio program \u003ci\u003eThis American Life\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003e48 Hours\u003c\/i\u003e on CBS news, for which Crooks served as an official consultant.\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e August 05, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48502045442269,"sku":"9781637748169","price":32.34,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/9867\/8237\/files\/kee-X_EuSO9781637748169.webp?v=1788501043","url":"https:\/\/handfulofbooks.com\/products\/the-setup-a-true-story-of-dirty-cops-soccer-moms-and-reality-tv-paperback","provider":"Handful of Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}