A review of Harbor Nocturne, by Joseph Wambaugh. @@@@ (4 out of 5).A story that revolves around human trafficking and prostitution — and the unsavory people who profit from it. But much less a novel of suspense than character study of the LAPD, as embodied in the “coppers” of Hollywood Station.
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Estimated reading time: 2 minutes Chalk up another successful novel in Joseph Wambaugh’s continuing saga of the fascinating “coppers” in the country’s most colorful police precinct, the guys and gals of Hollywood Station. In an earlier post I reviewed the three previous...
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Joseph Wambaugh, who is pushing 75 as I write, has been acclaimed as a writer of both novels and nonfiction about police and crime in Los Angeles for nearly 40 years. While still at work as a detective sergeant in 1971, his first novel, The New Centurions, was published. It was nearly that long...
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Since at least the 1930s, the Hollywood-based film industry has been capturing the world’s imagination. Films such as Gone with the Wind and Citizen Kane represent America in general and California in particular as surely as any legion of diplomats. And writers have noticed....
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Estimated reading time: 7 minutes Chief Inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov is out of favor. He had tried to blackmail a senior KGB official in hopes of obtaining exit visas for himself and his Jewish wife. Given widespread antisemitism, they hoped to emigrate to the United States. At the time,...
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Every major city has been the setting for numerous mysteries and thrillers. Amazon lists more than 10,000 for New York, 8,000 for Chicago, and 3,000 for Los Angeles. But there’s nothing mysterious about this. Crime is more visible, if not more common on a per capita basis, in cities. And the...
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She may be Denmark’s favorite author, but the latest entry in her series of detective novels is disappointing. The Midnight Witness is a police procedural, and like so many other stories in that category, the cast is large. Other authors such as Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, and Joseph...
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Estimated reading time: 4 minutes Since 1841, when Edgar Allen Poe published “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” the field of mystery and suspense fiction has grown to staggering proportions. Amazon lists more than 700,000 titles in the mystery category alone and over 1,000,000 thrillers....
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After writing 29 other thrillers, including 20 in the venerable Harry Bosch series and five of the Lincoln Lawyer novels, Michael Connelly has introduced a new lead character. Is this the beginning of a new series? We’ll have to see. But Renee Ballard is certainly interesting enough....
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Unless you’re a devoted fan of the genre, you may be unaware of the sheer number of mystery and thriller series. I stumble across a new one about every month or two. Over the past ten years, I’ve read (or at least started reading) more than 100 such series. Over four dozen of them...
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Science Fiction Monday includes my latest SF book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.
The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.
Science Fiction Monday includes my latest SF book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.
The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.