The Gentlemen’s Hour by Don Winslow (Simon & Schuster,
2011) is the second book about Boone Daniels. Boone is a former police
detective turned private investigator and part of a close group of early
morning surfers who begin each day at their favorite part of the San Diego
beach before they go to their workplaces. Changes have come to the San Diego
surfing scene, as all up and down the beach newcomers are arriving to take
advantage of San Diego’s beautiful geography and a vocal group of residents is
determined to drive the intruders away, destroying the sense of idyllic
community that Boone loves.
A surfing legend is killed in a confrontation with some of
these resident ruffians, and the perennially broke Boone is pulled into helping
with the accused killer’s defense. His friends are aghast and turn against him,
while he begins to question the statements of the witnesses who say they saw
the incident. The defendant is singularly unlikeable and uncooperative, leaving
Boone nothing to go on but his instinct that the attack did not go down as
described.
Fast-moving, well-written, logical wrap-up to the plot
threads which have some nicely intricate twists. Underneath the
straight-forward detective story is a plaintive lament about the inexorability
of change that will resonate with almost everyone.
Anyone unfamiliar with surfing will find an unofficial
introduction to the sport woven in among the investigation of crime. Lots of surfing buzzwords. I tended to skim
over some of it but it was not unduly intrusive to the main story and water
sports fans will love it.
This story reminds me of the Rockford Files, including the
not particularly suitable love interest. Kirkus starred review, Booklist starred
review.
- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition (August 2, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1439183392
- ISBN-13: 978-1439183397
Aubrey Hamilton © 2017
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian
who works on Federal IT projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
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