A Killing in Cannabis

By: Scott Eden

Narrated by: Garrett Brown

“A deeply reported literary nonfiction masterpiece.”—Wright Thompson

A shocking murder at the nexus of Silicon Valley, California surf culture, and the cannabis gold rush exposes the dark side of the legal weed business in this revelatory work of investigative journalism.

Santa Cruz is one of the country’s surf meccas and a favored getaway of the Silicon Valley elite. For decades, marijuana has been cultivated, consumed, and trafficked in these mountains, one of the most important regions in the country for the crop. It’s where Ken Kesey threw his wild parties, where back-to-the-land types came to live off the grid, and where Tushar Atre, Silicon Valley entrepreneur, was found brutally murdered.

Charismatic, ambitious, arrogant, and rich, Atre was the leader among a clutch of tech execs and venture capitalists with a voracious appetite for risk, work, and money, riding waves at dawn and then putting in fourteen-hour days. When he met Rachael Lynch, a maverick cannabis grower and mover of product, he had a vision of how their lives could come together in business and in love. Atre sought to disrupt the newly legal cannabis trade by funding a start-up with black-market capital. This illegal pursuit would entangle him with an array of colorful and dangerous characters, many of whom had compelling reason to want him dead.

Award-winning journalist Scott Eden’s panoramic investigation exposes the symbiotic relationship between the legal weed world and its shadowy, black-market counterpart. It is a story of love, greed, and betrayal, set in a world where visionaries, hippies, masters of the universe, and stone-cold killers are all stakeholders, eager to exploit the power of the plant.

©2026 Scott Eden (P)2026 Spiegel & Grau by Spotify Audiobooks

Intrigue and suspense in my backyard

Oh wow, this one hits close to home. Somehow I missed this story when it happened,but back in the holy water days….sheesh. These chads… very well written story with asides to explain to the uninitiated what was going on in the California cannabis scene as we exited the Wild West and ventured into legalization. The story starts out slow but it really picks up as the cast of characters increases. Halfway through I just couldn’t stop listening.

Impressive, complex, enthralling and accurate.

Fascinating story of relationships, drive, ethics, and hardship. Know that it is heavy on the inside workings of the cannabis industry. I happen to be on the jury of the last defendant’s trial and can vouch for the accuracy. This book answered so many questions that were excluded from or not relevant to the court case. Well done!

Great Tale!

This is a fascinating story well researched, well told, and and well narrated. A very enjoyable listen.