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Harbor Nocturne Audiobook
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(3.04) - 269 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
When Dinko Babich, a young longshoreman, delivers Lita Medina, a young Mexican dancer, from San Pedro Harbor to a Hollywood nightclub, their lives are forever changed. An unexpectedly tender and moving love story develops among the cops and criminals who occupy the harbor, and soon Dinko and Lita are caught up in terror and peril through no fault of their own.
Some LAPD characters from Wambaugh’s acclaimed “Hollywood Station” series are here: the surfer cops “Flotsam and Jetsam,” aspiring actor “Hollywood Nate” Weiss, and young Britney Small, along with new members of the midwatch, all gamely coping with the wackiness of Hollywood. It’s a tale only Wambaugh could have told, with his trademark dark humor and unflinching eye for detail.
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"I just love Wambaugh's Hollywood Cops series, even the corny bits. Highly recommended as audio experiences, especially if you are driving around the same tacky SoCal streets as those he describes, which is the case with me, more or less. There is a great crime policier here, with all the requisite pleasures provided by a master storyteller like Wambaugh---especially setting, detailed police procedure, ethics and morality (or lack thereof), and a lovely cast of nasties. Layered on top like gooey frosting on a standard cake, is the clubhouse of crazies who comprise the central cast of Hollywood Division, including the surfer cops Flotsom and Jetsom, Hollywood Nate (the only copy, certainly the only Jewish cop with a SAG card), the Unicorn, Always Talking Tony, and many others. Wambaugh takes us along on mundane police calls involving domestic violence and, inevitably, trouble amongst the superheroes along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. These are not just comic relief--they often drive the story by providing a key clue. But they ARE comic in an entirely believeable and unforced way - the mantra here ("It's Fucking Hollywood"), like its iconic forebearer ("It's Chinatown, Jake") is a convenient reminder that in some jurisdictions, the volume is permanently turned up to eleven. In this episode, the field of play radiates outward from Hollywood sleaze bars and some scary ethnics (Serbs, Koreans, Russians) to the rarely explored appendage of LA known as San Pedro, home of the city's harbor. I learned a lot about its history and contemporary situation, along with a wonderful group of characters (Croat, Italian, Mexican). Wambaugh is a blast!"
— Nick (4 out of 5 stars)
Harbor Nocturne Listener Reviews
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" Just loved it, very moving and also very funny. He pokes at everyone and tells a great story. "
— Jay, 2/5/2014 -
" Summer reading fun. Wambaughs are cream of the crop because they are exact, based on personal experience; he's a master of the language; his cops and criminals dialogue are spot-on; and last he's got a funny side . . . excelling in the type of gallows humor that cops are famous for. "
— John, 2/5/2014 -
" Best one in the series. "
— Mike, 2/3/2014 -
" Like all of the other Hollywood Station novels, it's enjoyable and funny yet also melancholy. It's not quite as good as the others, however, because of 2 reasons. One, the most interesting cops from the other books aren't present much in the plot--like Nate Weiss--and the only reoccurring people are Flotsam and Jetsam, who, while funny, are rather simple-minded characters. The new cops aren't as interesting or well-drawn. And while Wambaugh gives a nice detailed description of San Pedro and the character of Dinko, the Mexican girl Lita is sort of bland. So, overall, not quite as good as the other novels, but still worth reading. "
— Ray, 1/22/2014 -
" Started off slow but got much better, especially the ending. "
— Paula, 1/17/2014 -
" Solid outing. Less of the Hollywood Station vignettes than in the past but a strong overarching plot. Good reader too. "
— Coki, 1/17/2014 -
" Pretty good, well paced, good read. But not much of the story involves the police, who are supposed to be the main characters. The story is about two childhood friends, now adults, not doing too well. Each gets involved in events which eventually overlap. "
— Al, 1/12/2014 -
" Hail, hail the gang's all here. Flotsam, Jetsam, Hollywood Nate. The main story doesn't do much and then goes into high gear at the end but the little stories, the side vignettes, are Wambaugh's specialty. They always make these books worthwhile. "
— Don, 1/11/2014 -
" This is another fine Wambaugh novel. It holds interest, especially after one gets past the racist comments. 8 of 10 stars "
— Tim, 12/22/2013 -
" Another Wambaugh triumph! Superb insight into the day to day life of LAPD officers played out against the backdrop of a ne'er-do-well ILWU dock worker whose encounter with a beautiful Hispanic immigrant "club dancer" whose presence transforms his life. Fascinating and touching. Highly recommended. "
— Dan, 12/12/2013 -
" It was entertaining, but not the greatest story. "
— Rod, 12/3/2013 -
" great book so so ending. the surfer dudes are cool. "
— Hrn1947, 3/5/2013 -
" This guy writes the best stories about police ever. I work in law-enforcement and i know. Harbor Nocturne brings back all the charachters from his Hollywood series. Just great!!!!! "
— Brian, 2/11/2013 -
" I thought this was better than Wambough's last novel. I enjoyed the story, the plot, even the love story woven into the book. Was sad to see the love story end the way it did, but that made the end that much better! Can't wait for the next Wambaugh book! "
— Eric, 12/16/2012 -
" Didn't finish the book. Not even close to the quality when Wambaugh was first starting out. "
— Jim, 11/4/2012 -
" I will read all the "Hollywood" books Joseph Wambaugh cares to write. Although this was not one of his strongest, it was still very enjoyable. All the side stories are terrific, and he's great at building his characters. "
— Alecia, 10/8/2012 -
" A little bit different than his previous Hollywood series books: less about the cops, more about the perps who thrive in Hollywood. Still great cast of characters and a good read. "
— Robert, 5/17/2012 -
" A gritty, fun read with the kind of dark humor that only an insider would be aware of. "
— Ann, 4/16/2012
About Joseph Wambaugh
Joseph Wambaugh, a former LAPD detective sergeant, is the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, including The Onion Field, The Blue Knight, The Blooding, The Choirboys, and other fiction and nonfiction works. He has won a number of awards, including the Edgar Award and the Rodolfo Walsh Prize for investigative journalism. He served in the US Marine Corps and later joined the Los Angeles Police Department. With regret he resigned from the LAPD in 1974 after fourteen years of service but continued with his writing. His first four books and his work on the Police Story television series in the 1970s set new standards for subsequent writers, and many acknowledge their debt to him. He lives with his wife in California.
About R. C. Bray
R. C. Bray is an award-winning audiobook narrator with over 180 titles to his credit. Besides winning five AudioFile Earphones Awards, he won the prestigious Audie Award in 2015 for Best Science Fiction Narration and has been an Audie Award finalist seven times. He has been a finalist for the Voice Arts Award, and in 2014, his narration earned a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award. He is also an accomplished producer and voice-over artist, and his voice can be heard in countless TV and radio commercials.