The Dawn Patrol

This is a great thriller

Once Boone Daniels was a police officer for the SDPD, but when a young girl disappeared he refused to let his partner torture the suspect to learn if she still lived. His fellow officers turned their backs on him eventually forcing him to resign. Now he lives to ride the next wave while working as a private investigator to earn money to surf. He looks forward to the big waves expected to shortly arrive due to a storm, but lawyer Petra Hall needs him to work a paying case.------------- She hires him to find stripper Tammy Roddick who works for Dan Silver who torched one of his establishments. She gave a deposition before vanishing. Boone discovers she was staying in a hotel with another stripper who was thrown off the terrace to her death. There is no sign of Tammy, but Boone notices a child¿s toothbrush in the hotel room. Boone and Petra track her down and bring her to his apartment where she asks permission to make a phone call. Boone has a bad feeling that there is more than just an insurance scam and a dead stripper involved in this case and soon his life is on the line affirming his hypothesis.------------- This is a great thriller filled with eccentric characters who make up the DAWN PATROL, a group of fanatical surfers riding the waves before work. It is hard to determine who the villains are as they hide their transgressions behind nice personalities. There is also a lot of historical information pertaining to San Diego interwoven into the plot while the surfing scenes are vivid so mush readers will think there are at the Pacific. Still the bottom line is Don Winslow writes an engaging mystery that focuses on depravity.---------------- Harriet Klausner

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

What a joke!

If you're a real surfer, this will frustrate you!

Winslow did not research surfing well enough to write a good book involving the lives of surfers. He merely writes about them in the stereotypical way that everyone before him has. The terms and words he uses are out dated, and no surfer actually speaks the way he claims they do in this novel. He foolishly uses the term 'riptide' over and over again, when he really means 'rip current.' Where was the editor?

His knowledge of San Diego is ok, but again, his research falls short. The San Diego Surf Museum is in Oceanside, not Carlsbad. Mira Mesa is not in North County. You cannot launch a zodiac from Batiquitos Lagoon! Yikes.

The supposed sponsorship that Sunny is seeking is also a joke. Surfers do not receive sponsorships by riding only one huge wave and getting their picture taken. They get it by entering loads of contests (which he incorrectly calls tournaments!) and winning them.

This book is very misleading, but it is entertaining. Don't think this is how real surfers live and act though.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I really wouldn't recommend this book to the people I know.....I live in a senior highrise building and we are all over 65 years old.

This book is for a younger person to read, I didn't even finish the book, because it was just too boring. I can imagine the younger set of surfers would enjoy it though. Thank you. I like my mystery stories that I read and will continue ordering that type.

Love this book !!

This is my first book by this author and even though I'm not familiar with the surfer's lingo, I am enjoying this book tremendously. It is very humorous, exciting and suspenseful and I am looking forward to finishing it so I can start another by Mr. Winslow.

Don Winslow

After loving Savages, I took up the newest Satori, Then it was The Winter of Frankie Machine. Now I have read Dawn Patrol which didn't quite match up to his later books, but was still quite enjoyable. The sex slave trade of children, while a reality, did not ring so true as depicted here. Also, Boone Daniels seems to be just a little too much of a hero to retain credibility. But that's the world of fiction. I've got 3 more Winslow books waiting to be read.

Winslow has another winner

Excellent book! Excellent writing. I look forward to reading all of Don Winslow's books. He brings out the best in his characters, making them feel like we know them... even the worst ones we would not want to befriend.

A very nice book.

You've the professional reviews to give you the gist of the novel, I'll just say that I've read all of Winslow's books and this, not one of his best, is a fine novel that is entertaining and interesting. The characters are solid, the plot a bit ho-hum and the dialog is crisp. Well worth the money and the time.

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