Marilyn Stasio
You know the streets are safe when Joseph Wambaugh is on the job. Harbor Nocturne is the latest in the author's great (on the way to immortal) police procedurals about the cops at Hollywood Station who take the dangerous shift that begins at sunset.
—The New York Times Book Review
Publishers Weekly
MWA Grand Master Wambaugh ventures into L.A.’s San Pedro district in his highly entertaining fifth novel to feature his Hollywood Station crew (after 2010’s Hollywood Hills). Surfer cops “Flotsam and Jetsam” get their first “intelligence-gathering mission” to ferret out the “money guys” behind a ring of erotic massage parlors, whose human trafficking operation may have resulted in the deaths of 13 Asian immigrants smuggled in a container at San Pedro’s shipping yards. Jetsam’s amputated foot is their entry to a wealthy Russian with an infatuation with amputees. Meanwhile, a Romeo and Juliet love burgeons between Dinko Babich, a Croatian longshoreman, and Lita Medina Flores, a Mexican dancer whose roommate’s sister was among the container’s victims. Razor-edged dialogue punctuates the vignette-filled plot. Realistic criminals are well matched by Wambaugh’s equally authentic police, including “Hollywood Nate” Weiss and a lazy cop nicknamed Unicorn, in this darkly comic, gritty look at life on the streets. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
Harbor Nocturne is proof positive that the master hasn’t lost his touch. This highly entertaining book, possibly his best fiction since The Choirboys, has it all.”
—Mystery Scene Magazine
Sound Commentary
Another do-not-miss novel from a living legend of contemporary crime fiction.”
—BookPage
Mystery Scene Magazine
The sideshow acts Wambaugh presents mix legal justice and rough justice, laughter and tears, so inventively that it ’s hard to tell until the very end who’ ll come out on top.”
—Kirkus Reviews
BookPage
Once more reveals the secret that the best crime novels are not about how cops work on cases but how cases work on cops.”
—Michael Connelly
Los Angeles Times
Narrator R.C. Bray does an outstanding job of voicing the numerous foreign accents, jumping with skill and ease between men and women and among multiple nationalities. Overall, a perfect mix of material and narrator—grab it!”
—Library Journal
Booklist
Bray’s narration is excellent as he portrays a myriad of colorful characters, vivid descriptions, and accents that include Croatian, Korean, Russian, and Spanish. And his amazing comedic ability brings to life to the witty dialog.”
—Sound Commentary
“Razor-edged dialogue punctuates the vignette-filled plot. Realistic criminals are well matched by Wambaugh’s equally authentic police.”
—Publishers Weekly [starred review]
Los Angeles Times - Michael Connelly
Once more reveals the secret that the best crime novels are not about how cops work on cases but how cases work on cops.”
—Michael Connelly
Library Journal - Audio
This installment in Wambaugh's "Hollywood Station" series portrays the horrors of human trafficking and the smuggling across U.S. borders of young women from around the globe for exploitation in the sex industry. Croat longshoreman Dinko Babich's world turns upside down when he shelters Lita Medina, a Mexican illegal who dances topless in a local dive. Lita witnesses another dancer getting into their employer's car the day before the girl's corpse is found in a dumpster, making Lita a marked woman. The foreign-born or first-generation Americans whose parents came to America to plant roots and raise families collide with those here for a quick—illegal—buck and quicker exit when the law approaches. There also are numerous asides about the routine madness encountered daily by big-city police. Wambaugh is not a twist-and-turns writer; his character-driven plots are easy to follow, making them perfect audio fodder. VERDICT Narrator R.C. Bray does an outstanding job of voicing the numerous foreign accents, jumping with skill and ease between men and women and among multiple nationalities. Overall, a perfect mix of material and narrator—grab it! ["The legendary Wambaugh's newest is chock-full of his trademark cop talk and offbeat side vignettes. His ability to weave a complex story together out of seemingly disparate elements lightens up some of the grittiness of big city police work," read the review of the Mysterious Pr: Grove/Atlantic hc, LJ 2/1/12—Ed.]—Mike Rogers, Library Journal
Library Journal
Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Wambaugh introduces readers to another Los Angeles neighborhood, the port of San Pedro. But never fear, favorite characters such as surfer cops Jetsam and Flotsam (Hollywood Hills) make their appearance, as does most of the LAPD Hollywood Station crew. A human trafficking ring catches their attention when 13 dead Asians are found inside a shipping container. Terrified by the news, two of the young women already enslaved in the sex trade try to flee. However, freedom is not an option, and those runaways will be hunted down. On a lighter note, a secondary plot gives Jetsam a cameo role in a creative sting operation involving illegal elective amputations. VERDICT The legendary Wambaugh's newest is chock-full of his trademark cop talk and offbeat side vignettes. His ability to weave a complex story together out of seemingly disparate elements lightens up some of the grittiness of big city police work.
