Author.. Nelson Demille..Characters.. Frank Bellarosa, John Sutter, Susan Sutter, Anna, George, Ethel, William Stanhope,Location.. Lattingtown, Long Island, New York..( Stanhope hall and Alhambra)Genre.. Family drama...PLOT.. John Sutter,.. a wall street lawyer,cheerleader of law and order, loving family man.. lives a calm , incident free life at Stanhope Hall, Lattingtown, New York. Married to Susan, daughter William Stanhope, a millionaire in Long Island. As a person John Sutter is law abiding, honest and simple in nature. His calm life turns upside down with the arrival of Italian Mafia don and barbarian Frank Bellarosa as his new neighbor at Alhambra, a spanish style mansion next to John Sutter's house. Frank Bellarosa is a uniquely American celebrity, a gangster, exists in a place aptly called underworld. He is one of the four existing crime families in America. Frank's association with Sutter's family causes embarrassment and gossips among John's friends, disappointment and disapproval to his kins. Frank's movements and his house (Alhambra) were closely watched by FBI officer, Mancuso, because U.S.Attorney Alphonse Ferragamso is framing Frank for the murder of Colombian drug king. Actually, not just framing him but setting him to be murdered by colombians or Bellarosa's own people to keep the peace with Colombians. Mancuso asks John to stay away from Frank. Meanwhile John's beautiful wife Susan, develops a liking for Frank because of his charm outspoken and brave attitude. Susan, in spite of John's disapproval, becomes a regular visitor to Alhambra. Late night Parties thrown by Frank to Sutter family becomes a cover for Susan to visit Alhambra and increase her obsession towards Frank, under the nose of John. Frank slowly draws Sutter and Susan into his violent world. John, once a law abiding and respected person, had no other go, except to represent Frank as his attorney, in the Colombian drug lord murder case.By becoming Frank's attorney,John Sutter becomes center of attraction of local and National media people, has to stay away from home for the sake of his family.John becomes shadow of Frank, has to accompany Frank with his sidekicks to all underworld hideouts with his wife Susan. What happens to John and his wife Susan, being a neighbor, friend well wisher and attorny, to mafia Frank Bellarosa forms the rest of the captivating, gripping plot.My comment.. Told from John Sutter's hilarious point of view in first person singular, laced with sexual passion and suspense...this novel is Nelson DeMille's Captivating story of Friendship and seduction, love and betrayal..!!!
Not the usual type of book that I pick up, but it was well liked by some of my family so i thought i would give it a shot. It was an original story; sarcastic, page turning and really funny. It was a refreshing book and well written. I enjoyed reading it and suggest for anyone looking for a beach or airplane read.Tons of funny/thought-provoking snippits, a couple here: "Good pubs, like churches, are great equalizers of social distinctions; more so, perhaps, because when you approach the rail in a pub, you do so with the full knowledge that talking is not only permitted but often required." p. 59"Indeed we all try and raise our children as if our past experiences were important to their future, " p. 153"The conversation turned to children, as it always does with parents, whether they be kings and queens, or thieves and whores. Parenting is the great equalizer, or more optimistically, a common human bond." p. 207"i could see that most of the fifty or so foundations had been dug and poured and though many of the trees had been sparred, the land was irrevocably altered, suffused with water and gas pipes and cesspools and crisscrossed with power lines and paved with black top and concrete. Another few hundred acres had gone from rural to suburban, from pristine to scarred" p. 621"And there was a time, you know, not so long ago, as recently as my own childhood in fact, when everyone believed in the future and eagerly awaited it or rushed to meet it. But now nearly everyone I know or used to know is trying to slow the speed of the world as the future starts to look more and more like someplace you don't want to be." p. 626
What do You think about The Gold Coast (2009)?
As a new member of GoodReads, I'm just going back and retrofitting reviews for books that have impacted me over the years, whether good or bad. Gold Coast is in the former category. This was my first exposure to DeMille 15 or so years ago and more than his witty characters, I was blown away by his ability to embed social commentary on something like the Gold Coast way of life. It made me sad for a place I'd never even been. This book and Summerville are two that stand out that way for me.Unfortunately, some of his later works lost much of that, but I will review those individually.
—Kenneth Humphrey
I’m being too generous with this rating but I tend to over-rate everything and only slam books that I think are dishonest. This book is just good, clean fun. Demille mentions in the new introduction to the book that The Gold Coast has been compared to Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe. I would never make that comparison and it doesn’t deserve it. Gold Coast only explains two worlds of New York society and both of them are stinking rich. His only brush with the proletariat is the old couple who work on his estate; not exactly a slice of American lifeThe narrator is constantly congratulating himself on his wonderful sense of humor but Demille doesn’t really have a great sense of humor and neither do his characters but there is no crime in that—just stop telling bad jokes that we’ve all heard before, please. And stop throwing around “capisce”s as if this is enough to give the novel an Italian flavor. The novel is plotted rather well and I had fun reading it, this time was my second. The first time was back when it was published and I was amazed at how little I remembered of the story. I’ve read a couple other of his books which I wouldn’t recommend.
—Leftbanker
John Sutter is a lawyer living off of his wife's family fortune on the Gold Coast of Long Island. These people and their friends are snobs. John is a pompous ass who is going through a mid life crisis. He needs an adventure, a challenge. And lucky for him, this challenge moves in right next door in the form of the boss of the NY mafia. The two become aquaintances, friends, business partners, lawyer/client, rivals... The relationship between these two men, as well as their wives is sleazy, but predictable. None of the characters are likeable or relatable. This book could have used a better editor, as it was at least 200 pages too long. The story itself was dull and uneventful. I kept waiting for something to happen, and nothing really did. I've enjoyed reading Nelson DeMille in the past, but this was a big let-down. He portrays Long Island and Long Islanders well, but beyond that, the book was lacking.
—Jessica
