Hollywood Moon: A Novel

Description

There's a saying at Hollywood Station that the full moon brings out the beast--rather than the best--in the precinct's citizens. One moonlit night, veteran officers Dana Vaughn and "Hollywood" Nate Weiss get a call about a prowler who's been brutally attacking women. Meanwhile, a pair of cops with the surfer sobriquets Flotsam and Jetsam are on the lookout for a smooth-talking player in dreads and a crazy-eyed, tattooed biker. But something bigger, more high-tech, and much more deadly is about to go down. After a dizzying series of twists, turns, and chases, the cops discover that they've stumbled upon a complex web of crime where even the criminals aren't sure who's conning whom. And for some of the men and women in blue, public duty will exact the heaviest of tolls.

---

Customer Reviews

I feel like I am sharing a shop with old friends - tear jerker of an ending
I just finished my long over due read of Hollywood Moon. I can say I have read every book in this series and every book by the author. Wambaugh's stories helped push me into the world of police work where I spent a dozen years here in California push a patrol car and as a federal agent. I stopped watching cop shows long ago but not reading Wambaugh. In short this is a book with a powerful ending; one that had me near tears. As always the great work of the surfer guys, the ladies, Nate and other great personalities was great to "witness" in yes this work of fiction. But having witnessed similar and came away knowing life is always stranger that any fiction writers imagination I know these stories may even be tame and surely a bit of truth.

My only complaint with this novel was the focus. I opened the pages to read about LAPD not how crooks rip people off. I felt to much focus was on the crooks and not enough devoted to knowing our heroes better. I found myself paging over the long parts on the crooks. Next time more time in the "shop" and less with the crooks please.

Overall a good enjoyable and in the end tough read (because of ending). I can only hope another novel is in the works with our mid-watch team.

2010-08-27 (California, USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

---

Slightly Different POV for Author
What made Wambaugh famous is the byplay and banter between his LAPD cops. This book is slightly different in that it is more crime driven than most of his works. The cops and inside observations are still there but in this one the central crime that runs through the book is really at center stage. I'm really happy Wambaugh is back and writing regularly again and look forward to more of his books.

2010-08-11 (Virginia) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

---

Really I'd Give 3.5 Stars

This review is for the unabridged audio version which I actually won in a giveaway.

I listened to Hollywood Moon while on a road trip to California. It literally made the miles fly by. For me that is saying something. Some books on CD can literally pull you into their story so you almost forget where you are. Hollywood Moon was like that for me.

I had not read nor listened to the two previous books in this series, but I didn't feel lost at all. The story showed moments in the patrol life of the police at Hollywood Station, but also focused on the seedier side with the criminals, street hustlers and drug addicts. At times things were serious and others just humorous. Wambaugh's characters were all very well done and surprisingly sympathetic. I found myself with a torn loyalty with Dewey Gleason who was living his dreams as an actor by using his talents to portray several different characters he used for his various scams. It was hard not to sympathize with the guy considering his partner was his wife and his biggest critic. The police portrayed were as varied as all human beings are. There were some you could just love and some you tolerated, and really that is absolutely the way the world is. Nothing was sugarcoated nor too graphic.

Finally, the audio book was read by Christian Rummel who did a great job with distinguishing between the character's voices and bringing them to life. My only complaint was the surfer cops sounded like the ninja turtles, but then again, that is really probably one of the only ways to perform their dialogue.

All in all this book was well done, and it truly made me want to check out the rest of the series. I hope that it continues. I am also glad that I have found an author that is new to me as Joseph Wambaugh has a lot of great books under his belt.

2010-07-18 | Kelly (Prescott, AZ) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 3

---

Some of Wambaugh's best work -- ever.
This is the third of the author's "Hollywood Station" series, and it's the best yet. In fact, this hilarious, touching, blood-chilling, and dramatic gathering of multiple narrative threads is proof that Wambaugh has still got what it takes to be telling street cop stories. All the characters we've come to know from the earlier two books are here: Hollywood Nate Weiss, SAG-card-carrying Patrolman-2, and Flotsam and Jetsam, the surfing cops whose beach jive sometimes makes them almost unintelligible to their colleagues, and Dana Graham, one of the best cops in Hollywood Division whom everyone knows is going to make one helluva sergeant. Wambaugh follows his well-established pattern of alternating amazingly weird encounters with Hollywood's citizens (the patrol team coming back with the strangest story after a full-moon shift gets a large pizza, on the watch commander) with multiple plotlines seen from the POV of working criminals. In this case, that means Dewey Gleason, failed actor and mid-level con man and identity thief, who spends his days managing teams of low-level hirelings who work scams based on the information gathered by Dewey's vampiric and nicotine-addicted wife, Eunice. The details of how all this works are fascinating -- and are also enough to make you want to shut down your bank account, cut up your credit cards, and never do business online again. Meanwhile, there's young Malcolm "Clark Jones" Rojas, warehouse worker and budding sexual psychopath, whom the reader knows is going to get completely out of hand before the story is finished. And the final, climactic scene will have you by the throat. The best part of Wambaugh's work, as always, is that (unlike in most cop novels) the protagonists aren't detectives solving major crimes. They're just street cops trying to get through another watch without getting shot, backing up (or trying not to strangle) their partners, and worrying about alimony checks and the federal consent decree against the LAPD. Most of these folks will still be uniform when they retire after twenty or thirty years, and that's mostly the way they want it.

2010-07-04 (Gonzales, Louisiana) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---

Another Classic Cop and Crime Tale from LaLa!
Nancy in Seattle, WA : This book has it all from sleazeball criminals to surfer dudes yearning to bowl with midgets to the relationships that develop between law enforcement partners. The badge has been too much of a target in the Pacific Northwest recently and reading about the death of a great but fictional officer was very moving.

2010-06-04 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

---

Hollywood Station

Product Details

• ISBN13: 9780446401241
• Notes: BUY WITH Self-confidence, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and overhaul to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• Mould: New

Description

A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Joseph Wambaugh invented the modern police procedural thriller. Now in his long-awaited return to the LAPD, he deploys his bone-deep understanding of cops' lives--and a lethal sense of humor--in a stunning new novel.

For a cop, a night on the job means killing time and trying not to get killed. If you're in Hollywood Division, it also means dealing with some of the most desperate criminals anywhere. Now the violent robbery of a Hollywood jewelry store quickly connects to a Russian nightclub and an undercover operation gone wrong, and the sergeant they call the Oracle and his squad of quirky cops have to make sense of it all. From an officer who dreams of stardom, to a single mother packing a breast pump, to partners who'd rather be surfing, they'll take you on a raucous ride through a gritty city where no one is safe. Especially not the cops.

---

Customer Reviews

Wambaugh is back on the beat
I must admit this doesn't rank among Wambaugh's best novels, but even middling Wambaugh trumps most other writer's best. While Hollywood Station doesn't have the sheer manic energy of The Choirboys, it does introduce us to an appealing cast of believable cops and oddly sympathetic criminals. The plot meanders at times, but the book is rich in the kind of details that only a former cop could provide. And he's one of the few who knows how to weave in humor with melodrama.

2010-08-09 (Philadelphia, PA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

---

Hollywood's cops & criminals have never been funnier!
Joseph Wambaugh craft an ensemble cast of cops and robbers (or rather, various criminals) that offer a new and interesting take on the police procedural. It was almost always funny stuff. There was drama and even romance. The humor was evident throughout with my only beef being the over the top Eastern European accents and verbiage from these characters. It was a little too corny and less real. The realism is everywhere else as you can tell that the author was LAPD. Overall, really good stuff.

2010-08-02 (Small Town, OH) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

---

old school police procedural
What a fun novel. I thought I had read Wambaugh somewhere in the past. I have been seeing his name for years and the titles of his books have become so familiar... Happily, I have not read this author and now have a good 20 or so stories to catch up on.

Hollywood Station is a small bit of dialog oriented perfection. If you have read McBain and his 87th precinct novels, Wambaugh will seem to be very familiar. As a writer its obvious with this book at least that Wambaugh studied those McBain books with a microscope and fashioned a template of strict adherence to his mentor.

Like McBain, Wambaugh focuses on two sets of police partners. One set pairs an old timer (been there done that kind of guy) with a young female. The other focuses on a couple of younger cops who are happy go lucky and brazen in their attitudes. Lastly, like McBain again, Wambaugh brings in a pair of villains, here a couple of meth addicts.

This is a simple story. The protagonists cross paths with each other and more peripheral characters. What makes this a great read, (again like McBain) is the dialog. Its darn near perfect. Wambaugh manages to flesh out all of his characters well beyond your average novel through conversation alone. McBain is a god in this department, and I think Wambaugh manages to match or better McBain.

The story is nothing insane, its all about relationships... friendship. Well worth reading. I cant give it 5 stars because it is such a blatant chip off the shoulder of McBain, but nevertheless, this is totally worth checking out. THANKS WAMBAUGH!!!

2010-07-14 | akitonmyers (Palo Alto CA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

---

Another classic tale of crime and the LAPD.
Nancy in Seattle, WA : The cops and crooks are back in force. No one writes a procedural as well as Wambaugh. The dialogue, characters and craziness are all there.

2010-05-27 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---

reviewers got it right
The previous reviews are right on. This is the first of three so far in the Hollywood series. The characters are great, good guys and bad. Classic Wambaugh with a definite McBain influence and maybe a tribute to good ol' Phil Esterhouse, ("Let's be careful out there,") in the Oracle. Buy all three books and read them in order. You'll be waiting with the rest of us for the next one!

2010-05-25 (Brooker Florida) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---

The Choirboys

Product Details

• Notes: BUY WITH Courage, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and armed forces to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• ISBN13: 9780385341608
• Get: New

Description

Partners in the Los Angeles Police Department, they’re haunted by terrifying dark secrets of the nightwatch–shared predawn drink and sex sessions they call choir practice. Each wears his cynicism like a bulletproof jockstrap–each has his horror story, his bad dream, his night shriek. He is afraid of his friends–he is afraid of himself.

---

Customer Reviews

TOUGH, GRITTY, AUTHENTIC - AUDIO EDITION


As I write this THE CHOIRBOYS has become an icon, the predecessor of and model for so many police focused books to follow. Have no idea how many remember the way Joseph Wambaugh, a former LAPD detective sergeant, burst upon the literary scene first with The New Centurions, a story that shocked, thrilled, and shortly followed it with THE CHOIRBOYS, another eyebrow raising tale infused with authenticity.

Many of you may have read the book or seen the film based upon the book, but it's an entirely new experience to hear it read by award winning voice performer Oliver Wyman. He's taken home five Audie awards and almost a dozen Earphone awards from AudioFile magazine, all richly deserved.

Wyman's well trained voice perfectly reflects the tough grittiness exhibited by the characters, especially in the scenes when they get together in the wee small hours for drinking and womanizing. He speaks with the voices of those 1970s Los Angeles cops and their supervisors giving them life once again.

This is vintage Wambaugh, the bestselling author at the height of his powers, and Wyman giving THE CHOIRBOYS the delivery a groundbreaking novel deserves.

Enjoy!

- Gail Cooke

2010-08-27 (TX, USA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

---

Cops Behaving Badly
By day, ten men patrol tough city streets as members of the Los Angeles Police Department. By night, they retire to a park outside their precinct for what they call "choir practice", which consists of massive drinking, occasional sex with police "groupies", and blocking out all the bile that collects in the front of their minds.

"The Choirboys" is perhaps Joseph Wambaugh's best known and highest regarded novel, and quite the sensation when published in 1975 for its arch take on police life and its mixture of black comedy and social comment. Reviews here compare it to "Catch-22"; I see stronger parallels to two films that came out at the end of the prior decade: "MASH" and "The Wild Bunch". Like the doctors in "MASH", the Choirboys goof around in an effort to keep sane in their war zone; like the Wild Bunch, they are ultimately doomed by the choices they make.

Wambaugh is always readable, and "The Choirboys" presents a lot of insight about how police officers think. "Informants are people to be bribed, threatened, cajoled, but above all protected," he writes. "It was not uncommon for a policeman to guard the identity of a good snitch even from a partner he rode with nightly." His effort to present an unvarnished picture is often jarring, with a lot of language that might not find its way past a major publishing house if written today.

The shock value wears out after a few chapters of repetition; about the same time the novel's key problem comes into focus: This isn't so much a story as it is a slice-of-life narrative, filtering police life through ten different perspectives. In other Wambaugh novels, I enjoy the detours his narrative takes. Alas, for the first six-sevenths of "The Choirboys", the detours ARE the narrative. This wouldn't be as much of a problem if the characters were more interesting or sympathetic. There's a token black guy, a token nasty bull, and some others, all of whom have their moments; none of whom make compelling company.

Reviews that talk about the "hilarity" of "The Choirboys" are misleading; humor is present but always clouded with despair. A strong overtone of nihilism hangs over the novel, with one character processing the loss of his Catholic-school innocence (echoed in the novel's title). "All my life, all my religious training in Dominican schools was built on an explicit belief in evil," says the cop, Baxter Slate. "But there is none. Man hasn't the dignity for evil."

This might be a better theme had Wambaugh explored it in a more subtle way, instead of having Slate quote various Classic philosophers or throwing another random dead body at us whenever he's looking to break up another long lull. The seediness of the novel is established rather well, especially in a chapter about the Choirboys going on vice detail which is the best in the book. But the whiplash nature of all that happens to the characters makes for a limited emotional pull on the reader. If life is such a sewer, why is it worth caring who lives and dies?

I think Wambaugh had some things he wanted to get out of his system, and "The Choirboys" might have helped with that. He has since demonstrated himself to be a master of morally-complex stories, both fictional and factual. "The Choirboys" has zing, but it doesn't make you care the way you need to in order to make its harsh journey worthwhile.

2010-01-15 (Norwalk, CT USA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 3

---

hide the women and children
I never thought a book would challenge "Lonesome Dove," and "The Stand," for being the two best books ever. But this book is right behind them, and might pass "The Stand," when I read it again. 10 wild and crazy guys, before Steve Martin made the phrase famous--along with the women who take the guys' minds off the brutal life of a cop in '70s L.A. This book is exciting beyond belief. The 10 cops have a wide variety of personalities--from one real bully who gives all cops a bad name, to several likable sorts, to two guys who you can hardly believe made it in the ranks of the police, they are so wimpy. The two women who get the most exposure remind me of two I knew in my twenties--whenever that was. What a read--what a ride. Enjoy.

2009-12-30 | donald t wardlow (goose creek, sc usa) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

---

The Choirboys: An Authentic 1975 Predawn Nightmare!
In 1975, a Los Angeles Police Department officer-turned-novelist named Joseph Wambaugh wrote the controversial novel "The Choirboys". Still a hot book, Wambaugh wrote this almost 40 years ago! What was happening in 1975? Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, the city of Saigon on April 30th was surrendered to the North Vietnamese and all remaining Americans were evacuated, thus ending America's role in the Vietnam War. 10,000 Days of Thunder: A History of the Vietnam WarThe U.S. "Apollo" and the Soviet "Soyuz" spacecrafts took off for their historic July 15th link up in space. Gerald Ford experienced two unsuccessful assassination attempts on his life, one by ex Charles Manson gang member Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme. Muhammed Ali defeated Joe Frazier in the "Thriller in Manilla", The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings in New Orleans to win the Super Bowl, and the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Boston Red Sox in 7 games to capture baseball's "fall classic", and Joseph Wambaugh penned "The Choirboys"

The Choirboys was a tragicomedy that parodied the effects of urban police work on young officers, which Wambaugh exaggerated through the exploits of his characters, a group of Los Angeles police officers in the Wilshire Division of the L.A.P.D.Shoot to Kill: Cops Who Have Used Deadly Force Wambaugh used a group of ten patrol officers as his main characters that held end-of-shift "get together's" which Wambaugh euphemistically coined "choir practice".Moon Is Always Full It was sarcastically called "choir practice" to disguise the true nature of these meetings from their superior officers, which involved heavy drinking, complaints about their superior officers, war stories, and group sex with a pair of raunchy, overweight "police groupie" barmaids.Cop to Call Girl

Wambaugh had these "choir practices" held in MacArthur Park, overviewing downtown Los Angeles. Although a novel, MacArthur Park (named after General Douglas MacArthur) is a real park located at 2230 West 6th St., in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Bad Cop, Bad Cop: A Badge, a Gun and No Mercy Aside from Wambaugh's novel, MacArthur Park was featured as the setting in two movies, e.g. "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", and "Training Day". Sardonically disillusioned, at these "choir practices", each of Wambaugh's officers expresses differently that many of the fellow officers they work with are not unlike the suspects they arrest, and the absurd regulations of the L.A.P.D. are oppressively enforced on them while their commanders (who usually acquire their positions through nepotism, favoritism and are without basic police work skills) indulge themselves hypocritically. Boot: An L.A.P.D. Officer's Rookie Year

I do not want to be a "plot spoiler", but I will mention that the theme of police officer suicide provides all the way to the end of this novel a grim undercurrent to the black humor and is suggestive of a subconscious motivation for all "The Choirboy's" activities. The author, Joseph A. Wambaugh, born January 22, 1937, was originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was the son of a police officer, and joined the U.S. Marines at age 17. He works this into "The Choirboys" early, as he starts off with "The Secret of The Cave", which is a description of two future police officers experiences while they were trapped in a cave near Khe Sanh, South Vietnam in 1967. This little vignette at the beginning of "The Choirboys" has later disastrous consequences at the conclusion of this book, as the reader will find out. One of Wambaugh's characters, officer Sam Niles, due to the aforementioned Vietnam experience, developed severe claustrophobia, which later became a key factor in what Wambaugh called the "MacArthur Park shooting".

Wambaugh married at 18, received a B.A. and M.A. degree from California State University in Los Angeles, and then joined the L.A.P.D in 1960. Rising from the rank of patrolman to detective sergeant, he served until 1974. Because he was amongst their ranks, Wambaugh had a unique perspective on police work which greatly assisted him in his first novel, "The New Centurions", published in 1971 to critical acclaim and popular success. Wambaugh actually remarked while working, "I would have guys in handcuffs asking me for autographs". Both "The New Centurions" and his second book, "The Blue Knight" were novels written while he was actively employed in law enforcement. The New Centurions Quitting police work and turning to full time writing, "The Choirboys" was also the start of a new approach. The Blue Knight Where in his first two books, Wambaugh portrayed conventional and heroic fictional policemen as the basis for his characters, starting with "The Choirboys", he began to use dark humor and outrageous incidents to emphasize the psychological peril inherent in modern urban police work.

Furthermore, in "The Choirboys", Wambaugh used names of many characters by often unflattering nicknames rather than given names e.g. Herbert "Spermwhale Whalen, "Father" Willie Wright and Henry "Roscoe" Rules. It is no coincidence that Wambaugh left the L.A.P.D. while writing "The Choirboys" as the reader will discover that in this book he became sharply critical of the command structure of the L.A.P.D. and individuals within it, and later, of city government as well. It is interesting to note that in 1977, "The Choirboys" was made into a film starring Louis Gossett, Jr. and James Woods. The Choirboys [VHS]However, the movie lost the focus that Wambaugh so eloquently set forth in his novel. Wambaugh's book had "The Choirboys", i.e. the five sets of L.A.P.D partners which, while on night watch, were joined together by the pressures of the job. Wambaugh showed that this patrol squad was composed of men of varying temperaments and they chose to spend their pre-dawn hours decompressing from the job in relaxing drink and sex sessions they deemed "choir practice" in MacArthur Park. Wambaugh's thrust was that these men were endangered ultimately not by the violence of their jobs but by their choice of off-duty entertainment. However, in the film, the entire ending was changed by the producer. Ostensibly to make it more interesting, the film showed Wambaugh's characters as a bunch of drunken debauchers, while the book had "The Choirboys" as sympathetic characters. Ultimately the film was unsuccessful and critically panned.Hollywood Station Wambaugh himself refused to have his name associated with the film, as considered it to be an extremely poor interpretation of his novel. For this reason, he is uncredited as it's creator. In 1995, "The Choirboys" was selected by the "Mystery Writers of America" as #93 of "The Top 100 Crime Novels of all Time". But Wambaugh didn't stop there. He has written a total of 19 nonfiction accounts of crime and detection and novels, with his most recent contribution to the literary field of "Hollywood Station" (2006 novel), "Hollywood Crows" (2008 novel) and finally, as of this writing, "Hollywood Moon" (2009 novel). However, "The Choirboys" will give you everything-crime, humor, sarcasm, violence, sex, gore, war and much more! A great book!

2009-12-24 | a historian specializing in the Vietnam War (Pembroke Pines,Florida) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

---

Author's Best
This was written when Wambaugh was just breaking on to the scene and was white hot. Decades after reading this book I can still recall some scenes. Interesting, in his newest "Hollywood Crows" the author has a present day cop make a throw away line about the place where 60'-70's LAPD cops used to hang out with beer and badge bunnies. Those days are gone forever but if you want to see an author at the top of his game buy this book.

2008-06-21 (Virginia) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

---

Hollywood Hills: A Novel

Description

The legendary Hollywood Hills are home to wealth, fame, and power--passing through the neighborhood, it's hard not to get a little greedy.

LAPD veteran "Hollywood Nate" Weiss could take or leave the opulence, but he wouldn't say no to onscreen fame. He may get his shot when he catches the appreciative eye of B-list director Rudy Ressler, and his troublemaking fiancée, Leona Brueger, the older-but-still-foxy widow of a processed-meat tycoon. Nate tries to elude her crafty seductions, but consents to keep an eye on their estate in the Hollywood Hills while they're away.

Also minding the mansion is Raleigh Dibble, a hapless ex-con trying to put the past behind him. Raleigh is all too happy to be set up for the job--as butler-cum-watchdog--by Nigel Wickland, Leona's impeccably dressed art dealer. What Raleigh doesn't realize is that under the natty clothes and posh accent, Nigel has a nefarious plan: two paintings hanging on the mansion's walls will guarantee them more money than they've ever seen.

Everyone's dreams are just within reach--the only problem is, this is Hollywood. A circle of teenage burglars that the media has dubbed The Bling Ring has taken to pillaging the homes of Hollywood celebutants like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, and when a pair of drug-addled young copycats stumbles upon Nigel's heist, that's just the beginning of the disaster to come. Soon Hollywood Nate, surfer cops Flotsam and Jetsam, and the rest of the team at Hollywood Station have a deadly situation on their hands.

Hollywood Hills is a raucous and dangerous roller coaster ride that showcases Joseph Wambaugh in vintage form.

---

Hollywood Crows: A Novel

Product Details

• Train: New
• Notes: BUY WITH Conviction, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and serve to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• ISBN13: 9780446505826

Description

Seduction, black-market booze, burglary, and murder-not your ordinary fare for a division of peacekeeping officers, but Hollywood isn't your ordinary town. When a couple of LAPD cops find themselves caught up with a certain femme fatale, they're in for trouble. Meet Margot Aziz, the beautiful, soon-to-be-ex wife of Ali Aziz, proprietor of a Sunset Boulevard strip club. Ali has his diamond-studded fingers in multiple shady business deals-and he wants his lovely wife dead. Enter Hollywood Nate Weiss, a cop hungry for stardom and looking for love. Nate works alongside a squad of L.A.'s finest, including a duo of suntanned surfer cops, two tenacious women officers, and a wily veteran. As they all discover, Hollywood always deceives you, and love always comes packing heat.

---

Customer Reviews

Great book
Another great Joseph Wambaugh book. Received early and in great shape. Totally satisfied...........

2010-07-05 | "Cop Man" (Mississippi, USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---

A cop's life in LaLa Land.
Nancy, in Seattle, WA : Wambaugh still has the chops to write police stories. Sometimes the story is crazy or convoluted or warped or silly. Sometimes, it is just heartbreakingly sad. I will be reading these stories for a long time.

2010-06-03 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---

Wambaugh isn't packing it in yet
The gang from _Hollywood Station_ are back, with the emphasis this time on the officers of the Community Relations Office -- the "CROWS" -- whose beat is "quality of life issues." They're the ones who handle chronic noise complaints, unauthorized yard sales, aggressive panhandlers, graffiti, homeless encampments, and other matters of annoyance to the public which tend to make the people in the patrol cars consider them not real cops -- just "teddy bears in blue." On the other hand, they seldom have to shoot anyone or get shot at themselves. "Hollywood Nate" Weiss has wangled himself a spot in the CROWS, which leads him to become acquainted with Margo Aziz, gorgeous and completely coldblooded ex-dancer who is recently divorced from strip club entrepreneur Ali Aziz. Since they married without a pre-nup, Margo is getting half of Ali's assets -- which, of course, he hates. Ali also wants back his five-year-old son, Nicky, which Margo is determined will never happen. Meanwhile, the surfer-cops, Flotsam and Jetsam, have become aware of Leonard Stilwell, incompetent burglar and crackhead, who also has a past professional relationship with Ali Aziz. And to try to describe the plot any further would only confuse you. Suffice to say, it's prime Wambaugh, focusing on a large number of events and characters on both sides of the law and gradually drawing all the strands together, leavening the whole thing with outrageous anecdotes and sketches. There are tragic plotlines, too, especially involving Bix Ramstead, twenty-year cop and Good Guy, who becomes an essential part of Margo's plans to assure her own future.

2010-06-01 (Gonzales, Louisiana) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

---

Hollywood Crows
Big fan of Joseph Wambaugh, and I love his latest series on the cops from Hollywood Station. Day in the life of a cop atmosphere with one central story boiling throughout. There's alot going on as usual in the loony town of LA, with all types of characters providing laughs, idiocy and brutality. Even the cops at HS are twisted in their own way...keep em coming....PS-I miss The Oracle....

2010-05-11 (phila, pa United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

---

Weak for Wambaugh
I have been reading Wambaugh since the 1970s and believe I have read everything he's written. Hollywood Crows is his worst book, but that doesn't mean it's bad. Wambaugh at his worst is still better than most books of this genre.

2010-04-18 (Maryland) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

---

Fire Lover

Description

On an October evening in South Pasadena, a horrifying wave of flame swept through a large home improvement center, snuffing out the lives of four innocent people, including a two-year-old boy. Firefighters rushed to the scene, even as a pair of equally suspicious fires broke out in two nearby stores. Silently watching the raging inferno in the midst of the heat, smoke, and chaos was a man respected as one of California's foremost arson investigators, a captain in the Glendale Fire Department ...

From Joseph Wambaugh, the critically acclaimed,nationally bestselling author of The Onion Field, comes the astonishing true story of a nightmarish obsession -- and the hunt for a brilliant psychopath who lived a double life filled with professional tributes and terrifying secrets.

---

Customer Reviews

I did not buy this and I have no idea why I have it on my review list.
I did not buy this and I have no idea why I have it on my review list.

2010-06-01 | JO (South USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---

Very interesting book
As a Fire Investigator/Fire fighter I really enjoyed this book. Very interesting from a criminal justice point of view also. The book was in great shape and arrived w/o any problems.

2010-02-10 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---

Not so hot!!!!!
The first half of this book is riveting. It tells of an arson expert who sets his own fires. The book tells where and how he did it. He was always the first one on the fire scene and knew exactly where the fire originated. I have a high respect for Joseph Wambaugh, and am so sorry that this book didn't do anything for me. The second half of the book is just so boring with legal turmoil, and finally a conviction. But now I do know how to set an arson fire and not be caught Woo hoo!!!!!!! Save your time and money. It's just not that good.

2009-11-11 | Bill (Silver Spring, MD) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 2

---

Great first half...but the second half is painfully bad
I loved this book...until I got into the second half of it.

The first part of the story is very well written. It sucks you in & keeps the pages turning...even though I kinda figured out "who did it" fairly early.

The second half of the book...focusing on the investigation & prosecution...is painfully bad. It's repetitive, plodding, clumsy...and just plain hard to read.

2009-11-01 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

---

Excellent Read!
I bought this book after hearing the story on the news. The material is greatly detailed and holds your interest page-by-page. Anyone interested in horror, true-crime, or serial arsonists should definitely read "Fire Lover."

2009-06-22 | Lady Jane (Northeastern Pennsylvania) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---