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Pacific Beat
Ex-cop Jim Weir thought he'd seen it all during his years on the force. That is until he saw the body of his sister Annie, brutally used by a monster in human form, then carelessly discarded. He'd never seen such grief ravage the face of his friend and brother-in-law Ray Cruz, a good cop on the Newport Beach Police Department. When Weir learns that the only witness swore the killer made his escape in a Newport Beach squad car, his disbelief turns to confusion and outrage. Now the anguished Weir is on the killer's trail, looking for answers among his former colleagues, but he's going up against a solid wall of silent blue. And just out of sight, a fractured shadow of a man watches Jim's progress with twisted amusement as he waits for his time to come.
423 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
122 people are currently reading
227 people want to read
About the author
T. Jefferson Parker
99 books852 followersT. Jefferson Parker is the bestselling author of 26 crime novels, including Edgar Award-winners SILENT JOE and CALIFORNIA GIRL. Parker's next work is coming-of-age thriller, A THOUSAND STEPS, set for January of 2022. He lives with his family in a small town in north San Diego County, and enjoys fishing, hiking and beachcombing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
January 11, 2009
When I started T. Jefferson Parker's Pacific Beat, I knew what I was going to get: a tightly written story with believable characters with whom I can always find something to identify, a convoluted plot so carefully wrought and deftly foreshadowed that my forehead will be sore from slapping when I get done reading (you know, those moments when you realize, "jeez, I should have known that, I should have seen that coming"), and an environment so real that, if you should happen to visit it one day, as I did, you'll get deja vu. I knew what I was going to get because Laguna Heat had bowled me over with those qualities, and Little Saigon had confirmed that they were most likely going to be regular features of Parker's writing.
For reasons I can't explain, I never got my hands on another Parker book until California Girl. He had written nine more novels by then, and I hadn't been following reviews, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Novelists experiment with styles, forms, genres; sometimes they get "slick" (superficial, no depth); and sometimes . . . well, sometimes their accurate sense of what is important perseveres, and they gain skill as story-tellers and as wordsmiths. And that is what I discovered with CG: the plot had gotten gnarlier, full of strange twists, but never was it unbelievable and the characters were still true--and they were people you could recognize from your own experience, identify with to some degree--the place still real. What had changed was the writing itself: more precise word choices, sentence structure that changed with the pace of the story and gave it a rhythm appropriate to he mood of the moment. I remember wanting to savor the book but being compelled through it, deliberately delaying my reading, but wanting desperately to get to the end and know the outcome.
And so I went back and picked up Parker's third novel, Pacific Beat. It was a new story, different characters, a little different focus on place, a different plot--yet the feeling was like being reunited with an old friend. I had never met ex-cop Jim Weir, or his mother, sister or best friend, Ray. Yet after a few pages I felt as though I had always known them and I became as eager as Jim was to find the killer of his sister, his best friend's wife. In the process of solving that crime, we encounter trust and betrayal, love and betrayal, love and fulfillment, ambition and corruption, greed and self-sacrifice, but what we care about most is the growth of the main character, his progress as a human being because--take away the elements of the thriller--he is a lot like us.
I like the vicarious experience of solving problems in a place and culture not so different from my own that I can't identify, surviving tense and thrilling situations, and meeting and getting to care about new people both good and bad, escaping my problems by sharing theirs, so you can bet I'm going to read the rest of Parker's work.
Any of Parker's novels I read would be perfect for a long flight, a train ride, long hours fishing from a boat, a blizzard to ride out with 30 mph winds blasting snow against the window panes, hiding behind a text book during a boring lecture. . .
For reasons I can't explain, I never got my hands on another Parker book until California Girl. He had written nine more novels by then, and I hadn't been following reviews, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Novelists experiment with styles, forms, genres; sometimes they get "slick" (superficial, no depth); and sometimes . . . well, sometimes their accurate sense of what is important perseveres, and they gain skill as story-tellers and as wordsmiths. And that is what I discovered with CG: the plot had gotten gnarlier, full of strange twists, but never was it unbelievable and the characters were still true--and they were people you could recognize from your own experience, identify with to some degree--the place still real. What had changed was the writing itself: more precise word choices, sentence structure that changed with the pace of the story and gave it a rhythm appropriate to he mood of the moment. I remember wanting to savor the book but being compelled through it, deliberately delaying my reading, but wanting desperately to get to the end and know the outcome.
And so I went back and picked up Parker's third novel, Pacific Beat. It was a new story, different characters, a little different focus on place, a different plot--yet the feeling was like being reunited with an old friend. I had never met ex-cop Jim Weir, or his mother, sister or best friend, Ray. Yet after a few pages I felt as though I had always known them and I became as eager as Jim was to find the killer of his sister, his best friend's wife. In the process of solving that crime, we encounter trust and betrayal, love and betrayal, love and fulfillment, ambition and corruption, greed and self-sacrifice, but what we care about most is the growth of the main character, his progress as a human being because--take away the elements of the thriller--he is a lot like us.
I like the vicarious experience of solving problems in a place and culture not so different from my own that I can't identify, surviving tense and thrilling situations, and meeting and getting to care about new people both good and bad, escaping my problems by sharing theirs, so you can bet I'm going to read the rest of Parker's work.
Any of Parker's novels I read would be perfect for a long flight, a train ride, long hours fishing from a boat, a blizzard to ride out with 30 mph winds blasting snow against the window panes, hiding behind a text book during a boring lecture. . .
December 28, 2020
"[...] the lopping shears moved into his field of vision, opened and shut like the mandibles of a great ant, and moved between his legs.
[He] summoned everything he had. It was a blind surge, a screaming release of fear that brought his torso up level with the floor and guided his hands for the neck of the man with the cutters."
T. Jefferson Parker's third novel Pacific Beat (1991) also happens to be the third book in my TJP Re-read project (it is the sixth novel by the author that I am reviewing here on Goodreads). It follows the weak Little Saigon - a classical case of the literary sophomore curse - and is indeed better than the predecessor, alas still very far from the stellar quality of California Girl or more formulaic yet still excellent Where Serpents Lie or The Fallen.
Jim Weir, an ex-sheriff's deputy, now a treasure hunter, returns home to Newport Beach from Mexico, where he was trying to locate a sunk pirate ship and where he got arrested by Mexican police on made-up drug charges. He lost his boat and got severely beaten, but he is coming back to a much worse disaster. His 39-year-old sister Ann had been killed and her body was found on the beach, brutally violated. Jim's brother is a detective on the Newport Beach police force and Jim is helping in the investigation.
The author masterfully sets up the plot and as the story progresses it does not lose much plausibility, although quite a lot is going on: an escapee from a mental asylum becomes one of the protagonists, and snippets from Ann's diary show she had a secret life that Jim had no idea about. There emerges an issue of ocean chemical pollution; we also read about machinations of city politics. We even have a sarcastic mention of a certain Donald J. Trump in connection with wealth and politics. The torture scene (see the epigraph) is well written so it manages to escape classification as gratuitous violence aimed at titillating the reader.
Mr. Parker's prose, absolutely brilliant at the beginning of the novel, remains in good standing throughout the entire book. As I mention in every review of Mr. Parker's work, his novels wonderfully convey the sense of place of Southern California, in particular of Orange County. However, in my view, the later part of the story that eventually leads to denouement is not very plausible. There is too much of the deus ex machina feeling to the plot twists. While it is not as bad as in Little Saigon it left me with a sense of disappointment.
Still, I recommend the novel for the good prose, solid main part of the plot, and well painted Orange County Pacific coast landscapes.
Three stars.
[He] summoned everything he had. It was a blind surge, a screaming release of fear that brought his torso up level with the floor and guided his hands for the neck of the man with the cutters."
T. Jefferson Parker's third novel Pacific Beat (1991) also happens to be the third book in my TJP Re-read project (it is the sixth novel by the author that I am reviewing here on Goodreads). It follows the weak Little Saigon - a classical case of the literary sophomore curse - and is indeed better than the predecessor, alas still very far from the stellar quality of California Girl or more formulaic yet still excellent Where Serpents Lie or The Fallen.
Jim Weir, an ex-sheriff's deputy, now a treasure hunter, returns home to Newport Beach from Mexico, where he was trying to locate a sunk pirate ship and where he got arrested by Mexican police on made-up drug charges. He lost his boat and got severely beaten, but he is coming back to a much worse disaster. His 39-year-old sister Ann had been killed and her body was found on the beach, brutally violated. Jim's brother is a detective on the Newport Beach police force and Jim is helping in the investigation.
The author masterfully sets up the plot and as the story progresses it does not lose much plausibility, although quite a lot is going on: an escapee from a mental asylum becomes one of the protagonists, and snippets from Ann's diary show she had a secret life that Jim had no idea about. There emerges an issue of ocean chemical pollution; we also read about machinations of city politics. We even have a sarcastic mention of a certain Donald J. Trump in connection with wealth and politics. The torture scene (see the epigraph) is well written so it manages to escape classification as gratuitous violence aimed at titillating the reader.
Mr. Parker's prose, absolutely brilliant at the beginning of the novel, remains in good standing throughout the entire book. As I mention in every review of Mr. Parker's work, his novels wonderfully convey the sense of place of Southern California, in particular of Orange County. However, in my view, the later part of the story that eventually leads to denouement is not very plausible. There is too much of the deus ex machina feeling to the plot twists. While it is not as bad as in Little Saigon it left me with a sense of disappointment.
Still, I recommend the novel for the good prose, solid main part of the plot, and well painted Orange County Pacific coast landscapes.
Three stars.
July 28, 2024
Audiobook....The slow bland reader made this, 2 stars, book 3 stars, story 4 stars.....interesting story, lots of characters, great ending..
May 26, 2008
Pacific Beat has former Sheriff's officer, Jim Weir, returning to Newport Beach from an imprisonment in Mexico. He learns his sister is pregnant, but then she is immediately murdered in a most gruesome manner. Jim and his best friend/brother-in-law, Raymond, set out to find who committed this atrocity.
For me, this was one of those books that was hard to put down at night. The characters and plot just pulled you in and made you part of the story.
Jim is a very complex character; he has strong ties to his family, but at the same time has a need for space and freedom. He would make decisions throughout the book that at first would surprise me, but the more I thought about them, they would ultimately make sense for his character. They wouldn't necessarily be the decisions you, as the reader, WANTED him to make, but they were the ones that were the most appropriate for Jim.
Virginia was an equally dynamic character and a lot of her complexity is explained at the conclusion of the novel.
The plot definitely kept me guessing...and hoping...right up to the end.
I got a kick out of the Goinses calling Jim, "Mr. Weird."
The only thing I really questioned in this book was the police departments willingness - encouragement even - for Jim to be involved in the investigation of the case. Yes, he has previous law enforcement experience, but you can get much more personally involved in a case than being the brother of the victim. I don't know if I'm just conditioned by a media touting the idea that people "close" to a crime can't be involved in the investigation or if this is really an unrealistic element of the plot.
Overall, I loved the book. It was my first time reading T. Jefferson Parker, and it definitely will not be the last.
For me, this was one of those books that was hard to put down at night. The characters and plot just pulled you in and made you part of the story.
Jim is a very complex character; he has strong ties to his family, but at the same time has a need for space and freedom. He would make decisions throughout the book that at first would surprise me, but the more I thought about them, they would ultimately make sense for his character. They wouldn't necessarily be the decisions you, as the reader, WANTED him to make, but they were the ones that were the most appropriate for Jim.
Virginia was an equally dynamic character and a lot of her complexity is explained at the conclusion of the novel.
The plot definitely kept me guessing...and hoping...right up to the end.
I got a kick out of the Goinses calling Jim, "Mr. Weird."
The only thing I really questioned in this book was the police departments willingness - encouragement even - for Jim to be involved in the investigation of the case. Yes, he has previous law enforcement experience, but you can get much more personally involved in a case than being the brother of the victim. I don't know if I'm just conditioned by a media touting the idea that people "close" to a crime can't be involved in the investigation or if this is really an unrealistic element of the plot.
Overall, I loved the book. It was my first time reading T. Jefferson Parker, and it definitely will not be the last.
May 27, 2015
A complicated mystery – lots of threads, but still kept me engaged. Jim Weir, a former law-enforcement officer, returns to his home in Newport Beach after treasure-hunting and imprisonment in Mexico. Shortly after, his 40-year-old sister Ann is brutally murdered. Naturally, Jim gets involved in the search for her killer, along with Ann’s police officer widower. Local politics and preservation vs development also play a big part. Parts of the narrative are told via Ann’s diaries, which actually read more like a novel than an actual diary might. Good thriller. Only real quibble, besides diaries, is that nearly every character was grumpy about giving witness reports to the police. One or two people might crab back to the police, but almost every witness had to have a statement dragged out of him/her. In audio, got kinda tiring. Other quibble is that the book was written before cell phones and computers were in wide use. Not the book’s fault, but there were times when such devices would have come in handy.
December 20, 2011
I liked the characters, and liked that I did not know what was going to happen. Now on to the next in line, which is Summer of Fear.
September 21, 2021
I am conflicted about this one. I generally have found Parker's novels to be well written, well plotted stories that really move along at a fast clip. Pacific Beat is a mix, a bit uneven, and presents me with a conundrum, however.
On the one hand, there are times when I was completely involved in the story, connecting to the characters, especially with the very sympathetic central character, Jim Wier, former Newport, CA Sheriff's detective who'd quit to hunt sunken treasure in Mexico and wound up in jail, his boat confiscated on trumped up charges, and finally released with nothing to show for his troubles. During these times, the plot involving the murder of Weir's sister, Ann, seemed clear and compelling. Along with her widowed husband, Ray, also a cop, but with Newport PD, these two men seek to avenge a loved one's death by uncovering what begins to develop as a much larger, more abstruse plot. But... therein lies the rub.
As Parker rolls out one red herring after another; one complication heaped upon a growing pile of complications, this reader began to lose momentum and focus. It was as if the author simply couldn't settle for a really straightforward mystery or police procedural, but just kept adding new characters to the mix in order to keep the murderer's identity in doubt. Up to a point, this complexity is desirable, and quite entertaining (at least for my reading preferences). But too much of even a good thing can become problematic, and here it certainly seemed to do just that. I wish Parker had left well enough alone and shortened this by fifty or so pages, cleaned up some of the needless extraneous complexities, and altogether omitted the preachy bits, of which there were far too many, ranging from toxic waste dumping, to corporate greed, to abortion and, well, you get the idea.
So, a rounded down score to 3.5 stars from a clearly talented writer. I will just have to take solace in having read some of his better books and cut him some slack on this one. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I could have.
On the one hand, there are times when I was completely involved in the story, connecting to the characters, especially with the very sympathetic central character, Jim Wier, former Newport, CA Sheriff's detective who'd quit to hunt sunken treasure in Mexico and wound up in jail, his boat confiscated on trumped up charges, and finally released with nothing to show for his troubles. During these times, the plot involving the murder of Weir's sister, Ann, seemed clear and compelling. Along with her widowed husband, Ray, also a cop, but with Newport PD, these two men seek to avenge a loved one's death by uncovering what begins to develop as a much larger, more abstruse plot. But... therein lies the rub.
As Parker rolls out one red herring after another; one complication heaped upon a growing pile of complications, this reader began to lose momentum and focus. It was as if the author simply couldn't settle for a really straightforward mystery or police procedural, but just kept adding new characters to the mix in order to keep the murderer's identity in doubt. Up to a point, this complexity is desirable, and quite entertaining (at least for my reading preferences). But too much of even a good thing can become problematic, and here it certainly seemed to do just that. I wish Parker had left well enough alone and shortened this by fifty or so pages, cleaned up some of the needless extraneous complexities, and altogether omitted the preachy bits, of which there were far too many, ranging from toxic waste dumping, to corporate greed, to abortion and, well, you get the idea.
So, a rounded down score to 3.5 stars from a clearly talented writer. I will just have to take solace in having read some of his better books and cut him some slack on this one. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I could have.
January 28, 2018
A noirish Newport Beach, California, police-procedural which tries for a cool, laid-back style but while strong on atmosphere and plot is short on substance. An ex-cop attempts to uncover the murderer of his pregnant sister, married to his best friend and former partner. The victim was a police-woman killed in her own home, perhaps by fellow officers, and corruption linked to unscrupulous developers dumping waste connects to a fairly predictable solution.
March 15, 2019
I figured it out almost immediately, both the murder, and who the kid was. I had problems with the way women were portrayed as well. This was not a win for me, glad it was KU. I'll give the author another try, hopefully it will be better.
Audio: three stars, it was basically fine, nothing amazing, but nothing bad either.
Audio: three stars, it was basically fine, nothing amazing, but nothing bad either.
December 16, 2019
Things people do.
Good story with multiple suspects, intricate plot twists, and a surprise ending that fails to explain why the six cops went after Wier. Was it on Dennisons orders? Overall a good read.
Good story with multiple suspects, intricate plot twists, and a surprise ending that fails to explain why the six cops went after Wier. Was it on Dennisons orders? Overall a good read.
November 3, 2021
Excellent crime/suspense novel taking place in Newport Beach, Ca. Murder, corrupt cops and politicians and an environmental battle make this book hard to put down. Interesting characters and a plot as twisted as San Francisco's Lombard Street. Highly recommended.
February 23, 2018
Great story
Complex, cliche free writing, no baloney. I forgive the bad editing, typos and missing punctuation. I really love T. Jefferson Parker.
Complex, cliche free writing, no baloney. I forgive the bad editing, typos and missing punctuation. I really love T. Jefferson Parker.
April 23, 2020
A difficult book to slide into; I had to force myself to continue reading. Parts of the ending seemed contrived.
April 27, 2020
It was a good plot with a lot of twists.
December 18, 2020
This was a very good read - Did not see the twists and ties coming.
January 9, 2021
Good light read
June 21, 2021
Read 2008
November 5, 2022
Hometown Boy Makes Good
Intricate writing & story. A must read for those in/ from Southern California.
Twists & turns. Thought provoking and complex.
Intricate writing & story. A must read for those in/ from Southern California.
Twists & turns. Thought provoking and complex.
December 16, 2023
I have mixed feelings about this. Some parts of the book were well written while others were not. The overall plot was interesting and but just not well executed.
October 23, 2024
Wow
A truly good piece of writing. I enjoyed this story very much. I predicted some of the ending but was surprised by part of it. I really enjoy this authors work.
A truly good piece of writing. I enjoyed this story very much. I predicted some of the ending but was surprised by part of it. I really enjoy this authors work.
October 10, 2025
Another fine offering by Jeff Parker. When I see his name on a book, I am confident that it will entertain, tease my anticipations of where the story will go, and leave me feeling satisfied at the end. ‘Nuff said. If you like crime thrillers and haven’t encountered Parker before, don’t hesitate. Take the plunge and enjoy!
August 13, 2016
I’ve become very fond of T. Jefferson Parker books and always look forward to dive into his atmospheric crime stories. Although I found Pacific Beat (1992) well-written and presenting us with moody and genuine characters, I still had a hard time embracing the whole reading experience. To my personal tastes, the plot moved way too slow. It felt like the story dragged on forever, and it all felt rather depressing. There are times that reading about deceit and cheating spouses depress me, or reading about mothers keeping secrets from family members, withholding important truths from their own children, I just don’t get it. Those lies and secrets were at the root of the tragedies in this book. Coming to the end of the story, those revelations saddened me deeply. As I said there was really a lot to take in. It was all very heartfelt, so kudos to the author for conveying all these confusing emotions.
In a nutshell this is the story of Jim Weir, an ex-cop who returns from Mexico, where he was originally on a diving treasure hunt but ended up inexplicably in a Mexican jail for several weeks. His home is Newport (CA), where his entire family has been living for centuries. The same night of his return, Jim’s beloved sister Ann is found murdered. Initially Jim is invited by the police into the investigation, but not for long. The entire Newport police department is pretty antagonistic (no high moral code there), and are run by an interim chief who’s more interested in the power and running for mayor than keeping his men in line. There are so many aspects that come into play here : the environment, local politics, urban development, ancestry, past mistakes, family relations. The list goes on.
Like I said, somewhat depressing. I thought these people were soulless at times, looking for something that was missing (and inviting trouble), when they could have just kept it simple and have a decent conversation with the person that mattered, and that they were hurting.
I thought to myself: Hey, lighten up people!
In a nutshell this is the story of Jim Weir, an ex-cop who returns from Mexico, where he was originally on a diving treasure hunt but ended up inexplicably in a Mexican jail for several weeks. His home is Newport (CA), where his entire family has been living for centuries. The same night of his return, Jim’s beloved sister Ann is found murdered. Initially Jim is invited by the police into the investigation, but not for long. The entire Newport police department is pretty antagonistic (no high moral code there), and are run by an interim chief who’s more interested in the power and running for mayor than keeping his men in line. There are so many aspects that come into play here : the environment, local politics, urban development, ancestry, past mistakes, family relations. The list goes on.
Like I said, somewhat depressing. I thought these people were soulless at times, looking for something that was missing (and inviting trouble), when they could have just kept it simple and have a decent conversation with the person that mattered, and that they were hurting.
I thought to myself: Hey, lighten up people!
December 24, 2014
I enjoyed this 1991 thriller by T. Jefferson Parker immensely. It is a complicated story regarding the "progress" coming to the city of Newport Beach, as well as the story of a complicated and dysfunctional family, as well as a murder mystery.
Jim Weir returns to the city where he once lived after being in the salvage business for a few years. During this time, his sister Ann is murdered. She was married to a sheriff's deputy, whon is also a friend of Jim's, Raymond Cruz, and the couple had been expecting their first child, although Ann was 39 years old at the time of her death. There are numerous plot twists and surprises in this book, so many that at times, I found myself holding my breath for the next new development.
It is a tragic and sad story, but also a story of forgiveness and redemption. I thought it was extremely well written and one of the best of Parker's novels.
Jim Weir returns to the city where he once lived after being in the salvage business for a few years. During this time, his sister Ann is murdered. She was married to a sheriff's deputy, whon is also a friend of Jim's, Raymond Cruz, and the couple had been expecting their first child, although Ann was 39 years old at the time of her death. There are numerous plot twists and surprises in this book, so many that at times, I found myself holding my breath for the next new development.
It is a tragic and sad story, but also a story of forgiveness and redemption. I thought it was extremely well written and one of the best of Parker's novels.
October 25, 2023
Jim Weir has just been released from a Mexican jail on trumped up drug charges. He immediately has to deal with the murder of his sister, Anne. As usual, T. Jefferson Parker keeps the action moving and the reader guessing who is responsible until nearly the end.
I don’t think it is my favorite. I find fault with Virginia’s character who was so concerned about her daughter having a baby out of wedlock, even though everyone in town knew about her husband’s dalliances. It was unconscionable and unrealistic for her to lie to her daughter about the fate of the baby…like adopted kids don’t find a way to their biological parents. Then, Virginia didn’t seem to even consider the fact that the two would find each other again. Silly people.
I don’t think it is my favorite. I find fault with Virginia’s character who was so concerned about her daughter having a baby out of wedlock, even though everyone in town knew about her husband’s dalliances. It was unconscionable and unrealistic for her to lie to her daughter about the fate of the baby…like adopted kids don’t find a way to their biological parents. Then, Virginia didn’t seem to even consider the fact that the two would find each other again. Silly people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2014
A good 4 and 1/2 stars. Parker knows how to write a mystery. A few oh my moments and about the time you think you know where he is going with the story, he changes everything.. Then it's a WOW moment..This was only the third book he'd written but felt more like a seasoned pro at the top of his game...We meet Jim Weir an ex-cop turned ocean treasure hunter and his friend/brother-in-law,Ray Cruz a cop with the Newport Beach police. Ray's wife, Jim's sister has gone missing...Parker takes us into the mystery that is Annie. The family secrets that should not have been. The betrayals that lead to heartache and finally to forgiveness that is wasted on some...a very moving book..
August 14, 2008
Another in the long line of crime novels, although it's not a series. Author Parker manages to change characters for each book, but the narrator or point of view (so far -- I've read 4 so far) is always a man. And so far all have taken place in Orange County; the author lives in Laguna Canyon. This one is sited in Newport Beach(Balboa also figures into it, Anita!), and one of the main characters is a Newport Beach police lieutenant, whose wife has been murdered. The narrator is his former detective partner, who helps in the search for the killer.
November 4, 2014
Wonderful mystery that centers around the death of a young woman that had a mysterious hidden life. When Ann's brother returns from his own adventures in Mexico he discovers that there has been a lot going on with his family and friends. The day after he returns his sister is killed and as he helps investigate he discovers that his sister was involved in a whole other life. It is a fast paced mystery that has many twists and turns. Also, just as a personal note, I really enjoy the setting of Southern California because I grew up in this era and these beaches.
October 8, 2015
I have found a new author to read! I first read California Girl and loved the story. Where have I been when these stories were first released!!!!
Ann Cruz, wife of a cop and sister of a cop, was found murdered on the beach. A local bum, the "only" witness, says a Newport Beach cop car left the scene after he witnessed the crime. So begins the search for Ann's killer.
Lessonlearned: We never know what we will do, nor do we know what those whom we love will do.
What I will do: read other T. Jefferson Parker books! I love mysteries, and he writes a really good story!
Ann Cruz, wife of a cop and sister of a cop, was found murdered on the beach. A local bum, the "only" witness, says a Newport Beach cop car left the scene after he witnessed the crime. So begins the search for Ann's killer.
Lessonlearned: We never know what we will do, nor do we know what those whom we love will do.
What I will do: read other T. Jefferson Parker books! I love mysteries, and he writes a really good story!
February 9, 2017
Good story and there were several twists that surprised me, but I thought the book was a little slow
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews