This is an outstanding book. At times, the author lapses into an essay on surfing, or surf history, or the history of Pacific Coast Highway and the growth of Southern California. However, those essays serve only to make the book better. There's a good mystery here, but the flavor of the book is the surf mentality-- the surf atttitude, the surfer codes, the surfer mythos-- and the story winds carefully around that culture, interfering with Boone Daniel's quest for that big wave, and showing that as much as the guys love surfing, there are some more important things in life. Almost a coming of age novel in some ways, reminding me of the classic surf film "Big Wednesday" with William Katt, Gary Busey, and Jan Michael Vincent during the 70's. The reader can feel the salt air of the beach communities. We can smell the tortillas and the burgers. Winslow takes the reader on an adventure with some wild characters that remind me of some of the characters you might encounter in something by Haissan or Leonard's books. Even the surfer characters (the Dawn patrol) each have their own attitudes and directions. Though they have the bond that comes from the surf culture, they have different lives and each go a different direction. This one is well written-- with enough historical stuff to be extra interesting, but so well balanced with the fiction that the reader isn't likely to wipe out. Really good stuff..One caveat to those who dislike strong language.. Surfers and gangsters tend to use vulgar, obscene and profane language, so it you are sensitive to that, this one may not be for you. My first book of Don Winslow and I don't regret it. Sure, there is a lot of surfer stuff and some of the characters seem to be too cool to walk straight forward. But with the help of only a few sentences the author manages very well to give accurate descriptions of the dramatis personae. That's a writing skill I really admire, as most writers are capable of painting a vivid picture for pages and pages – describing briefly but concisely is real craftsmanship. If I should name a flaw, I would say that the historical descriptions of the area around Pacific Beach sometimes seem to be a little bit artificial and out of context. I like it when an author tries to show the historical background, but here, it's a little bit too much, at least for a guy who doesn't live on the Pacific Coast. But as the crime itself is quite thrilling and Winslow's style is really skilled, I am sure I will try the second book of his surfer series.
What do You think about Pacific Private (2009)?
OK....a bit too cliche-ish re the surfer talk and language. I do enjoy the writing though.
—zmo1001
Decent detective novel; more interested in the reflection of So Cal life and culture
—galamh
Non cambierei nemmeno una preposizione in tutto il libro. Meraviglioso
—rainbowunicorn
Great characters. Interesting writing style.
—Marian
