Wambaugh, Joseph Books

Hollywood Station

Joseph Wambaugh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 101 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The King is Back! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I cannot add much to the five star reviews other than to say that I grew up on Waumbaugh's novels (and on the Waumbaugh inspired "Police Story") and it is good to see him return to his LAPD roots with such a bang. Come on Joe, crank it up. Even your worst is better than most.

Editorial Review:

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.

Floaters

Joseph Wambaugh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Who else but Joseph Wambaugh could write "a joy, a hoot, a riot of a book" that is also acclaimed as "one of this season's best crime novels"? That's how
The New York Times Book Review and Time, respectively, described his last novel, Finnegan's Week. Nobody writes a faster, funnier, more satisfying tale of cops and criminals, the high life and lowlifes that Wambaugh--and Floaters is his sharpest yet.

Mick Fortney and his partner Leeds manage to cruise above the standard police stress-pools of coffee and Pepto-Bismol--they're water cops in the "Club Harbor Unit," manning a patrol boat on San Diego's Mission Bay. A typically rough day's detail consists of scoping out body-sculpted beauties on pleasure craft, rescuing boating bozos who've run aground, jeering at lifeguards, and hauling in the occasional floater who comes to the surface.

But now their days are anything but typical, because the America's Cup international sailing regattas have come to town and suddenly San Diego is swarming with yacht crazies of every nationality, the cuppies who want to love them, and the looky-look tourists, racing spies, scam artists, and hookers who all want their piece of the action. It's the outstanding body and jaunty smile--full of mischief, full of hell--of one cuppie, a particularly fiery redhead named Blaze, that gets Leeds and Fortney's attention. First Leeds drowns in frustratingly unrequited boozy love from afar. Then, with her increasingly odd behavior, Blaze tweaks every one of their cop instincts, alerting them that something's not quite right on the waterfront.

Indeed, Blaze will soon lead Detective Anne Zorn and Mick Fortney along a bizarre criminal trail that would be hilarious if it didn't wind up just as nasty as it gets, with a pair of murders right on the eve of the biggest sailing race of all.

Filled with all of Joseph Wambaugh's trademark skills--laugh-out-loud writing, crackling dialogue, outrageous excitement, and, of course, plenty of raunchy
veteran cops who leap off the page--Floaters is Wambaugh at the very to of his form.

The Delta Star

Joseph Wambaugh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

One of Wambaugh's best. 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 20 people found this review helpful.

This is Joseph Wambaugh at his best, humorous, suspenseful, and sympathetic to his police characters while not shying away from their faults, foibles, and flaws. In one of his better mysteries, the cops of Rampart Station try to solve the connections between a Nobel Prize, a Russian submarine, a useless credit card, a dead hooker and a similarly deceased sleazy private eye.

Detective Mario Villalobos tries to solve the murder of a young hooker named "Missy Moonbeam" by day while spending his nights drowning his sorrows with a typical Wambaugh cast of police and groupie characters at Leery's Saloon. Larger than life characters such as "The Bad Czech", "Jane Wayne", Ludwig the police dog, and the "Gooned Out Vice Cop" all make appearances. The thing is Wambaugh makes you actually care about these people and their situations. It is obvious that the former policeman turned author still understands and feels a great empathy and affection for the men and women who police our "mean streets".

Villalobos is one of his better drawn characters. A burned out man who drinks too much, he still possesses some great police instincts, and he is not so far gone as some of the suicidal main characters of Wambaugh's darker novels, such THE SECRETS OF HARRY BRIGHT or THE GLITTER DOME. A mixture of serendipitous luck and good police work lead to a surprising twist of a conclusion, but as with most of Wambaugh's best books, the journey and the whacky cast of characters one encounters along the way is actually more important than the destination itself.

Highly recommended. Five plus stars.

The Golden Orange

Joseph Wambaugh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

When forty-year-old cop Winnie Farlowe lost his  shield, he lost the only protection he had. Ever  since, he's been fighting a bad back, fighting the  bottle, fighting his conscience. But now he's in  for a special fight. Never before has he come up  against anyone like Tess Binder. She's a  stunningly beautiful, sexually spirited three-time  divorcee from Newport Beach--capital of California's  Golden Orange, where wallets are fat, bikinis are  skimpy, and cosmetic surgery is one sure way to a  billionaire's bank account. Nearly a year ago Tess  Binder's father washed up on the beach with a bullet  in his ear. The coroner called it suicide, but to  Tess it means the fear of her own fate. And  Winnie Farlowe is a man willing to follow wherever she  leads--straight into the juicy pulp of the Golden  Orange, a world where money is everything, but  nothing adds up . . . where death and chicanery  flourish amidst ranches, mansions, and yachting  parties. In his long-awaited new novel, best-selling  author Joseph Wambaugh combines harrowing suspense,  scathing humor, and a moving portrait of a man on  the brink of  self-destruction.

The Choirboys

Joseph Wambaugh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The choirboys 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I read The Choirboys when I was a teenager back in the mid-seventies and found it very enjoyable. After casual discussions with former police officers about their personal experiences while on duty, Mr. Wambaugh's book still holds up after thirty-five years. Highly recommended to anyone that wants to get a feel of what it's like to be in law enforcement and working the streets. The experiences and emotions they go through are not something solely representative of living in Los Angeles.

Fun read 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A wild romp through the lives of some LAPD cops. Great characters. Funny. A bit dated but this adds to the charm. Mabe the best book of it's type ever written.

Editorial Review:

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.

Fugitive Nights

Joseph Wambaugh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Compelling, fun read deserves better rating. 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Lynn Cutter wants only to drink away the days in gorgeous Palm Springs while waiting on the possible arrival of his hoped for disability pension check. When smart, tough, sexy ex-cop turned P.I. Breda Burrows enlists his assistance for a case that she's working on, he agrees to help, against his better judgment. At first the case seems simple enough, socialite Rhonda Devon wants to know why her older husband has been to a sperm bank without her knowledge. Breda figures she can do surveillance on hubby while Lynn uses his police badge to ask some questions and open some doors for her. However, when Devon's husband is spotted meeting a mysterious man who's previously attacked a cop at an airport, then the focus of their case becomes as much about this mysterious "fugitive" as it is about wandering husbands and spousal secrets. Enter a young cop who is way too gung ho for his and everyone else's good, and you have the makings of a typical Wambaugh at his best story. Humor, laced with deadly violence, a mystery that's not exactly what it seems, and characters that grow on you in spite of (or perhaps because of) their faults and foibles.

All of Wambaugh's works tend to be both tragic and funny at the same time, and this one is no exception. However I would rate it as one of his better comic mysteries, using comedy in the old Greek sense of the opposite of tragedy. To tell more would spoil the ending of the book, but I would actually place this book with his less tragic works, such as FINNEGAN'S WEEK, or THE DELTA STAR, and less so with his more tragic tales, like THE SECRETS OF HARRY BRIGHT. Since I'm one of those who enjoys Wambaugh when he's not as much in the dark side of life, this is one of my favorites. Experienced Wambaugh readers should know what I'm talking about here, but I would easily recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery, be they long time Wambaugh fans or not. A five-star rating for suspense, a compelling story, sympathetic characters, and a fun read.

Editorial Review:

Private investigator Breda Burrows, a sultry, tough-as-nails lady, convinces ex-cop Lynn Cutter to guide her through the netherworld of Palm Springs, the pleasure--and, it seems, murder--capital of the world. Reprint. NYT.

Finnegan's Week

Joseph Wambaugh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Well done 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wambaugh has a flair for scriptwriting equal to Quinton Tarantino at his best. He's brutal, sly, topical, sharp, intense and outrageous all at the same time. This novel can be a bit silly at times, but never does it become stale. "Finnegan's Week" should appeal to readers of a wide variety of tastes, and I'm surprised that Wambaugh doesn't have a larger following than he has. His plots weave in and out, and he always finds a unique way to bring it all together at the end. His razor-sharp wit sets him apart from the rest of the thriller writers out there. A great, fun read with a superior style.

Reads more like Elmore Leonard than the old Wambaugh. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Much, much more fun than previous work. My wife and I both laughed out loud while reading Finnegan's Week. It's larger than life, but believable all the way. In our opinion, this is Wambaugh's best novel.

Editorial Review:

Seeking two truckers hauling a drum of lethal chemicals, San Diego detective Finbar Finnegan joins forces with two strong-willed female cops to investigate a deadly toxic waste scam. Reprint. NYT. PW.

The Glitter Dome

Joseph Wambaugh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Great insight into the life of cops with a mystery 4 out of 5 stars.
10 of 13 people found this review helpful.

It's easy to tell in reading this book that Joseph Wambaugh and that's what makes this book so enjoyable. Underlying in this book is a mystery story, but primarily this is a book about the lives of different cops within a precinct. There is a lot of wit in the way Wambaugh tells it all, but the reality of the characters themselves and their surroundings is uncanny. This is not one of those police stories where all the cops are either studs with big guns and can shoot at will, or where every cop is a seedy individual. You can imagine these cops being at a downtown precinct in any city. The mystery itself unfolds as seemingly unrelated events that happen to different cops come together. The way these stories come together into one is amusing and realistic as well. Don't pass on this book. I had it for a long time before I read it, and I wish I hadn't taken so long in doing so.

WOW, but no cigar. 1 out of 5 stars.
3 of 17 people found this review helpful.

It is obvious that Wambaugh can write. It is also obvious that Wambaugh is well qualified to write about cops. But even when the cops he writes about are supposed to be the heroes of the novel they still tend to be raunchy. And this is one of his more graphic novels. God help us all.

The Black Marble

Joseph Wambaugh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Joseph Wambaugh's best 5 out of 5 stars.
17 of 18 people found this review helpful.

"The Black Marble" is not only the author's best, but quite possibly the best of the entire genre. Wambaugh's trademark dark humor, authentic Los Angeles setting, and genuinely likable characters propel this fast-paced tale about the LAPD and a dog-napping scheme gone woefully wrong. A.A. Valnikov, a slovenly, boozy, but tender-souled Slavic veteran, is determined to rescue the doggie in distress. His new partner, Natalie Zimmerman, is determined to get him fired from the Force and out of her life... until she comes to know him and the nightmares which torment him. This book is as terrific today as it was twenty years ago, even if now a trifle "dated". It's often poignant, sometimes tragic, frequently hilarious, and ultimately heart-warming. Read it; it will leave you feeling good and wishing you could really meet the characters!

Editorial Review:

He is a damned good cop -- a burned-out homicide detective wrapped around a Smith & Wesson .38 and a vodka bottle. She is his partner -- twice divorced, nursing a grudge against men, obsessed by the awful temptation of love.

Joseph Wambaugh

The tough ex-cop who writes the hard-hitting best sellers -- a master storyteller whose characters are as powerful and as passionate as his plots.

The Secrets of Harry Bright

Joseph Wambaugh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A Thriller to end them all 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Joseph Wambaugh is a writer who skillfully combines humor and horror in undeniably authentic style. This is a story of human wreckage carrying on because there is nothing else left for them to do. I first read it when going through "12th year burnout" in my own law enforcement career. Like many of these authentic characters no doubt often did, I laughed the laugh of the damned and cried bitter tears. The story evokes that kind of emotion. When I saw a picture once of Joseph Wambaugh on a boat his book sales helped buy I felt warm and good...despite a career which ended with him an LAPD sergeant, he escaped the destruction so many of us in that business experience. Now my wife and I have rediscovered each other and when we're riding on our motor bike I feel like Wambaugh on his boat. If you've spent any time on the Mojave desrt you'll also love the vivid descriptions of the locales used in the book. Great cop stories! Five Stars--John W. Cassell

One Of Waumbaugh's Best 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I first read this about this book in a feature article in Los Angles Magazine in 1984. I later read this book while spending the weekend at the Marriott Rancho Las Plamas Resort in Rancho, Mirage, Ca. near where this book takes place.

The book focuses on a San Diego Police Officer who looses his son in the PSA jet crash in San Diego and escapes to a desrt town to escape San Diego and to still be near his ex wife who lives in Rancho Mirage in an exclusive Country Club.

The Main Character of this novel "Black Sid" gets an all expense paid vaction to Palm Springs to investigate a murder of a Millionares son. Black Sid like Harry Bright and the millionare all have lost their son.

The plot is very captivating and well worth the reading. Just be careful, it may inspire you enough to go to the Coachella Valley area and fall in love with the desert and buy a home in Rancho Mirage like I did!