Hollywood Moon (Hollywood Station Series #3)

A Fun Read

The story takes awhile to develop but it is entertaining nonetheless. Throughout the book there are several small little vignettes of LA police officers (Hollywood Nate, Dana, Flotsam, Jetsam, etc. are some of their names) responding to different calls. Each one of these little tales helps to paint a picture of the various personalities of each police officer. As the reader gets deeper into the book, you realize that there are two recurring plotlines in some of these tales the first involving a con man (Dewey) who is running various schemes with his wife (Eunice) and two of his main runners (Creole and Jerzy), the second involves a troubled teen (Malcom) who has a problem with his mother and his anger.

As the book unfolds, Malcom starts to get drawn into Dewey's schemes and Creole and Jerzy attempt to get the better of Dewey. We learn that Dewey is actually under the thumb of Eunice who may be "smarter" than them all. An overall fun book but not for those that are into tense police drama.

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

This is an amusing Hollywood Station police procedural

Working the night shift, LAPD Hollywood Station midwatch cops Flotsam and Jetsam walk the Grauman's Chinese Theatre and other Boulevard stops discussing the midget love life of "Hollywood" Nate Weiss and surfing under a full moon. At the same the two dudes are chatting and walking, Nate and his senior partner Dana Vaughn investigate a call that some young punk is assaulting women.

Meanwhile low tech artists Dewey Gleason and his wife Eunice are working an identity thief scam that uses runners Creole and Jerzy as well as angry violent teen Malcolm Rojas. However, loyalty amongst felons proves nonexistent when Dewey's runners plot to con him. None of those involved in the Dewy scheme including him quite understand that the brains of the operation is not him, but his dominating spouse. Soon the four cops will find seemingly separate cases converge on one clever female who makes EEO law appear to protect the wrong gender.

This is an amusing Hollywood Station police procedural that starts off with readers gaining a deep look at the four cops and to a lesser degree the criminals pulling off an identity theft ploy. The story line is fun to follow and often hilarious especially when the surfer dude cops discuss life in the vernacular of riding the waves. Fans of the series will enjoy Joseph Wambauch's cautionary tale that warns how easy to steal an identity is; while reader, the police and the low life criminal support surf the streets at Eunice's beck and call.

Harriet Klausner

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Absolutely Awful and I like Author

Though Wambaugh has written several enjoyable novels. This one is atrocious. It was the last book I had at home to read at the time. So if I didn't presevere, I was out of luck. Nonetheless, I threw it against the wall and watched the test pattern on TV.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Title did not seem to really match the actual book.

Did not care for all the stupid names the author has labeled the many and varied characters in this book. Was very hard to keep the characters straight because of the ridiculous names used in describing the different policemen and women. Quit reading the book at the halfway mark because the story was not getting any better, and if it hasn't by then, it is not ever going to get any better. I normally like Wambaugh's style of writing but definitely not in this sad tale.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Full Moon Brings Them Out

I have following the authors Ed McBain (Evan Hunter), Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais for a long time, but even longer still is the prolific author - Joseph Wambaugh- who started it all back in 1971 (!) w/ The New Centurions, and his writing keeps getting better and better (how does he do that?). Hollywood Moon is a part of series: Hollywood Station (LAPD Division). Hollywood Crows. Wambaugh is the master at weaving in multiple stories lines and characters - and are they ever "characters"! You have to imagine that whole context of Hollywood could (especially on a full moon night - thus the title) supply enough stories for a lifetime with enough curb creatures and wacky tourists and low-lifes and wanna-bes to fill up a large football stadium. Wambaugh creates a rollicking ride of misfits and heroes all tangled up in the sweet spot of street life. There is both edgy humor and up-in-your-grill drama. Favorite parts: lizard in the flashlight, Rottweiler that fetches batons, and please get Johnny Depp to play the sleazy R.T. Dibney - and you got yourself a movie.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

a entertaining read

In Joseph Wambaugh's latest book in the Hollywood series, the plot gets tense. Dewey Gleason, a crook who spends his time stealing credit information and re-selling stolen goods, is good at alternating his disguises-until he hires Tristan and Jerzy who ultimately see him for what he is and consider blackmailing that later turns into kidnapping. However, the true mastermind of Dewey's dirty credit ventures is his much-hated, nicotine-addicted wife Eunice, who runs multiple computer operations right from their apartment.

The story gets further complicated when Dewey hires nineteen-year-old Malcolm Rojas, who secretly attacks women, as one of his "runners," and his wife Eunice ends up falling for him. At times comic and at times tragic, "Hollywood Moon" takes the readers right into the underbelly of L.A., where anything odd is blamed on the glamorous location.

Much of the book stays with the view-points of the cops-an actor-hopeful police officer known as "Hollywood" Nate and his mature older partner Dana Vaugn, surfer cops Jetsam and Flotsam, Aaron Sloane who's secretly in love with sassy partner Sheila Montez, and officer Mindy Ling stuck with a new womanizing partner who nobody works to work with.

Aside from the main plot, Wambaugh, a former LAPD cop and sergeant himself, describes the L.A. scene very well and frequently mixes in entertaining police episodes-an over-weight murderer slipping from the roof and falling smack down on a rookie cop, a dubious late-night party involving a Barbie doll, a woman at a Laundromat who refuses to put on her clothes, and etc.

I was occasionally reminded of the Police Academy movie franchise where a group of cops constantly gets into comic misadventures, sometimes missing the more serious crimes going on around them, though eventually managing to save the day.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Police tale is as accurate as it is unique

As a current law enforcement officer, I found this book as entertaining and enlightening as it is close to what I've come to expect on the streets. Look to this tale for the dry humor between partners, breaks of adrenaline-rushing excitement, and sociological buildup of factors for a criminal to do his dirty work that is seen in cities across the United States today. I'll be sure to read the next in series ASAP.

Great read and entertaining

This book is even better than the first two in the Hollywood series. Good story, good humor and emotionally moving, that will let you realize that cops are human beings, that are as vulnerable as everyone else. Slow building climax, that will keep you reading to the end.

Sooooo Joseph where are you in these dark but whacky cops?

This story line throws curves like Hollywood Hills streets! Solid man! sandy

Really I'd Give this a 3.5

This review is for the unabridged audio version which I actually won in a giveaway.

I listened to Hollywood Moon while on a road trip to California. It literally made the miles fly by. For me that is saying something. Some books on CD can literally pull you into their story so you almost forget where you are. Hollywood Moon was like that for me.

I had not read nor listened to the two previous books in this series, but I didn't feel lost at all. The story showed moments in the patrol life of the police at Hollywood Station, but also focused on the seedier side with the criminals, street hustlers and drug addicts. At times things were serious and others just humorous. Wambaugh's characters were all very well done and surprisingly sympathetic. I found myself with a torn loyalty with Dewey Gleason who was living his dreams as an actor by using his talents to portray several different characters he used for his various scams. It was hard not to sympathize with the guy considering his partner was his wife and his biggest critic. The police portrayed were as varied as all human beings are. There were some you could just love and some you tolerated, and really that is absolutely the way the world is. Nothing was sugarcoated nor too graphic.

Finally, the audio book was read by Christian Rummel who did a great job with distinguishing between the character's voices and bringing them to life. My only complaint was the surfer cops sounded like the ninja turtles, but then again, that is really probably one of the only ways to perform their dialogue.

All in all this book was well done, and it truly made me want to check out the rest of the series. I hope that it continues. I am also glad that I have found an author that is new to me as Joseph Wambaugh has a lot of great books under his belt.

Gripping police drama.

Let's meet the men and women of the LAPD's Hollywood Division. The police, new and old, reflect the reality of urban police patrol. Overworked and underappreciated, they bond with each other to form the backbone of grass roots police prevention in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. They protect and defend the general public from the daily threat of crime.
Joseph Wambaugh's novel affords us entry into the day to day life of a patrol cop. Dealing with all issues from public drunkenness to accidental infant death are routine. They are the first line of defense.
I was very impressed by the ease in which the author engaged us in a policeman's world. Not glamorous but very true to life, it shows the struggle these cops face daily. They deal with many problems routinely. They also sometimes can provide a crucial direct link in the investigative process.
This is thefirst novel I've read by Mr. Wambaugh. I look forward to more.

Good Read

I just started to read Wambaugh again after forgetting how I used to enjoy his writing. This book makes me wonder why I waited so long.

Great story telling

This is a great book from Wambaugh. Easy to read and very, very enjoyable.
Highly recommended to all those wishing a smile on their faces when they know they really shouldn't be smiling.

Best cop story yet

I have read every fiction work by Joseph Wambaugh and couple of his non-fiction works. I like to say that Hollywood Moon is his best novel yet. His characters in this story were more personable and the humor was great. The anecdotes were fresh and intriguing. I look forward to more stories by Wambaugh.

Characters A Bunch

This is the first, but not the last book Ive read from former California cop Joseph Wambaugh. I mainly knew him from his involvement in TV cop shows such as "Bumper", "Police Story" and "Hill Street Blues". "Hollywood Moon" is a very easy read. Colorful characters such as Dewey Gleason, Eunice, "Hollywood Nate" Flotsam, and Jetsam, plus the other cast ensure an ejoyable time. Time for this reader to pick on earlier works of Wambaugh.

Joseph Wambaugh - Hollywood Moon

I've been a fan of Joseph Wambaugh for about 30 years, since I read his first novel "Then Onion Fields".
This is a light reading and enjoyable reading.

"Hollywood Moon" is the third and by far the best of the "Hollywood Station" series.

It has taken me a while to warm up to this new series from Wambaugh. "Hollywood Moon" is the third and by far the best of the "Hollywood Station" series. I loved Wambaugh and his characters all the way back to college and 1973's "The Onion Field" thru "The Golden Orange" onto the Harry Bright series even into the very weak "Floaters." But over this arc, plot and character were getting weaker and thinner. I believe Wambaugh would agree with me because he retired in the 90's. But for those of us who are looking for late career redemption, here is proof positive of the power of pulling back, adjusting, rejuvenating and coming back with a vengeance.

No one is better ... even my hero Michael Connelly ... in giving authentic insight to the idiosyncracies and heroism of the squad room. The nobility, quirks and human-ness of those that put their life on the line every shift is very compelling. I think Wambaugh has captured and ridden the wave of our post-911 regard for first responders.

Two threads which seem so appropriate for the New Year are: Wambaugh's resurgence as a craftsman and the interwoven nature of our individual failings and strengths as played out by the cops of this cacophonous precinct, known as Hollywood Station.

I love detective stories!

If you like reading detactive stories , I highly recommend. It can't get anymore authentic , when the author is a retired detective. You know the fats are going to be there. He knows how to weave a story and build characters who keep your interest until the last page.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

He is up to speed again.

Wambaugh mastered his style of writing in his first novel and has maintained it to this date. It seems each story is different enough to make you want to read each of his new novels. "Hollywood Moon" is no exception. Buy it..you'll like it.

Good read

Narrative style is somewhat offbeat but if you stick with it, it is an interesting story of police life. Somewhat gritty.