Play Audiobook Sample
Hollywood Moon: A Novel Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.04) - 691 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
Bestseller Wambaugh's entertaining third Hollywood Station novel (after Hollywood Crows) provides lots of laughs and gasps from all of your favorite characters.
There's a saying at Hollywood station that the full moon brings out the beast -- rather than the best -- in the precinct's citizens. One moonlit night, LAPD veteran Dana Vaughn and "Hollywood" Nate Weiss, a struggling-actor-turned cop, get a call about a young man who's been attacking women. Meanwhile, two surfer cops known as Flotsam and Jetsam keep bumping into an odd, suspicious duo -- a smooth-talking player in dreads and a crazy-eyed, tattooed biker. No one suspects that all three dubious characters might be involved in something bigger, more high-tech, and much more illegal. After a dizzying series of twists, turns, and chases, the cops will find they've stumbled upon a complex web of crime where even the criminals can't be sure who's conning whom.
Wambaugh once again masterfully gets inside the hearts and minds of the cops whose jobs have them constantly on the brink of danger. By turns heart-wrenching, exhilarating, and laugh-out-loud funny, Hollywood Moon is his most thrilling and deeply affecting ride yet through the singular streets of LA.
Download and start listening now!
"Hollywood Moon is a fun fast paced novel based on the LA precinct located in Hollywood. I would say a little bit better than Hollywood Crows. Flotsam and Jetsam the two surfer Hollywood cops make a funny and serious return with Flotsam's fear of clowns and some other crazy antics. The storyline is based on a young latino male who is trying to get out from under his mothers control. As Malcolm the young latino is rebelling against his mother his anger towards her and other women of her age is mounting. The only relief he finds is at the expense of these older women and that is by attacking them. In the interim the author goes into detail about the lives and the superstitions that go on at Hollywood station. As Hollywood Nate an aspiring actor and his partner Dana Vaughn are the ones who are to locate Malcolm as his attacks are increasing in fury and damage. As Nate comes to grips with his acting career he also starts to develop an appreciation for Dana his older partner. Also a major part of the story is dedicated to Dewey and Eunice a couple of con artists. They hire local college kids and transients to help them steal information to get credit cards and then to buy merchandise with them. Eunice is the brains behind the scams and also one mean and nasty woman. She treats her husband Dewey like a dog by constantly comparing him to her ex-husband who is in jail. By now Dewey thinks Eunice has socked away almost a million dollars that he doesn't have access to. As Dewey becomes more paranoid two of the runners in his scams decide to turn the tables on him. Now the craziness really begins as everything comes to a crashing conclusion. Read this book you will enjoy it. The surfer dudes come to the rescue."
— Kevin (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“One of the things that sets Wambaugh’s cops and crooks apart from those in so many other mysteries and police procedurals is that he fixes both firmly in the same realistic social context…That constant is the spine that runs through Hollywood Moon, as it has through all Wambaugh’s LAPD novels. It’s what allows you to find the black humor genuinely funny and to experience these masterful novels as something more than entertainment.”
— Los Angeles Times -
“Entertaining…Spare and punchy prose fuels descriptions so on target that readers will feel they are riding shotgun, gazing out on Tinseltown’s tawdry landscape.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“It’s the larger-than-life miscreants who really take the biscuit. The usual collection of drag queens and murderous crackheads begins to seem almost quotidian against the cast of villains here…Both cops and criminals converse in a no-holds-barred, over-the-top fashion that is just lacerating enough to ring true…Idiosyncratic and highly individual fare.”
— Independent (London) -
“Where would the reader encounter such off-the-wall types except in a Wambaugh romp? And what other author could present cops, street people, and career criminals with such deadeye credibility? Or transpose slang up and out from the drug world into cop speak with absolutely perfect pitch? Only Wambaugh.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“At least fifteen characters hit the Los Angeles streets in this book, and because of Joseph Wambaugh’s colorful writing and Christian Rummel’s amazing narration, all are well differentiated and fun to follow…Wambaugh is at the top of his game…He takes the time to develop the characters while keeping the plot moving. Rummel never stubmles, shifting and deftly juggling the many identities. Under a Hollywood moon, it seems, anything can happen.”
— AudioFile -
“Christian Rummel, [Wambaugh’s] partner on the ride, translates the vivid prose into something resembling an audio play…Wambaugh sets a swift pace as he drives his cops and criminals toward each other and an inevitable collision, and Rummel has no trouble keeping up, adding his own spin around the novel’s hairpin turns.”
— Publishers Weekly (audio review) -
“A narrator’s dream…Rummel manages the reading with aplomb, considerable abandon, and seemingly obvious enjoyment. He knows when to narrate seriously, exaggerate, tone things down, and pump up the volume…Wambaugh fans are in for a treat.”
— Booklist (audio review)
Awards
-
A New York Times bestseller
Hollywood Moon Listener Reviews
-
" Am listening to this in my car, and enjoying it! I recently listened to Hollywood Station, which was also quite entertaining. Though these are works of fiction, they are set in around Hollywood, real places, streets, street life. "
— Rhonda, 2/19/2014 -
" Joseph Wambaugh's Hollywood Moon is a fast paced really funny Police procedural book that was a joy to read. Filled with hilarious anecdotes and tons of action it will make you want to read every book in the series . I have all of these and they never fail to both give me a giggle and keep me interested . "
— Loraine, 2/9/2014 -
" Good gritty police story. "
— Maria, 1/28/2014 -
" I really do like Wambaugh's books - while he doesn't craft the most endearing characters, his writing does give me a visualization of the situation(s) and moves pretty quickly. I was thinking that I didn't like that at the end of nearly every novel someone dies but . . . that's not always the case. However, while the sad events do happen, it seems to help Wambaugh keep it closer to 'real' and as he wraps up the 'fallout', it gives you a little glimmer that it'll be okay in the end. "
— Shannon, 1/25/2014 -
" I read a bunch of Wambaugh in the eighties and really liked his work. This is good as long as he stays close to the cops. When he gets more and more involved with the criminals, I care less and less. Sigh. "
— Sundry, 1/19/2014 -
" The only thing wrong with Wambaugh's "Hollywood" series is that I can't make them last more than a couple days. They're immensely clever, funny, tragic, engrossing... With most authors who have multiple story lines in one novel, you get hooked on one and rush through the others to get back to the one that interests you. But with "Hollywood Moon" (and the other "Hollywood" books), I got completely hooked on every story line. I LOVE these books! "
— Suzanne, 1/18/2014 -
" As of this writing, Joseph Wambaugh has produced four entries in his Hollywood series, and Hollywood Moon is my favorite so far (with Hollywood Nights a very close second). It is worth noting that I read these books out of order, and it didn't seem to matter a bit. If you like cop dramas that don't take themselves too seriously, this is for you. Also, Wambaugh is the exception that proves the rule that you can't write a car chase. My only regret is that I've run out of books in this series to read. "
— Stephanie, 1/14/2014 -
" A decent cop TV show in book form. "
— Steve, 1/13/2014 -
" Not his best effort, but still entertaining. Read the other Hollywood books first "
— Troy, 1/11/2014 -
" Wambaugh's police procedurals have an unmistakable ring of authenticity. What a great pleasure to spend some time riding around the Hollywood District in his "shop." It's the third in a series. "
— Bradley, 1/6/2014 -
" You'll never look at a Barbie doll the same again! "
— Rebecca, 1/3/2014 -
" It's Wambaugh, it's a police procedural, what more could one want? "
— Edward, 1/2/2014 -
" More tales from the cop shop. Part comedy, part tragedy, pretty interesting. Never knew there were surfer cops. "
— Dennis, 1/1/2014 -
" Just as good as the other novels in the Hollywood Station series. "
— Kent, 12/30/2013 -
" If Jackie Collins wrote cop novels this one would get a better ending, lol. "
— Frangipani, 12/21/2013 -
" Funny, face paced cop story that takes place in L.A. "
— Paula, 12/17/2013 -
" Mind candy but disappointing. The first Wambaugh book I ever read was The Onion Field and none of the others have lived up to it. "
— Lavanita, 12/1/2013 -
" At times hilarious, at others unnerving--gritty dialogue of street cops and low-lifes in the array of situations in which they intersect. "
— Vince, 12/1/2013 -
" Third novel about the street lives of the police officers of the Hollywood station. Another collection of anecdotes - some hilarious, some tragic. Planning on listening to the second one in the series, Hollywood Crows. "
— Rob, 11/9/2013 -
" Another good one to listen to. "
— Darlis, 9/8/2013 -
" Another installment in Wambaugh's series on on the LAPD men and women of Hollywood Station, and the creatures who give it such good stories. "
— Tom, 7/9/2013 -
" My first Joseph Wambaugh read. Not Impressed. Read like a "Dragnet" episode. Some like that style, but not my dup of tea. "
— Serbma, 6/19/2013 -
" A frequently hysterical and harrowing tangle of stories from Joseph Wambaugh, who is simply fantastic. Read this book. "
— Alejandro, 4/18/2013 -
" Typical Wambaugh police procedural story. Lots of police cynicism and dumb criminals. A little long and redundant, but well told. If you are a LA police fan and like humorous stories, you will enjoy it. This is the third of a Hollywood Station police stories. The characters are the same. "
— Robert, 2/15/2013 -
" Wambaugh's Hollywood police series is for his fans! Outrageously funny in parts, and not politically correct. "
— Lenore, 3/22/2012 -
" Second in the series that introduces an entire station of Wambaugh's creatively named cops. "
— Patti, 2/27/2012 -
" I liked it. Quick moving story, interesting characters, some humor plus action. I would read more. "
— Sandy, 12/7/2011 -
" His schtick is tired. "
— Larry, 6/11/2011 -
" Classic Wambaugh. Decent prose, decent dialogue, quirky characters. More of a slice-of-life-in-cops'-lives than a real mystery, esp. since the villains are so inept. Overall, an agreeable reading experience, but The Black Dahlia this ain't. "
— Ray, 5/31/2011 -
" Hollywood Nate Weiss and partner Dana Vaughn get a call aboaut a prowler who has been attackig women. The full moon has brought out the crazies. Flotam and Jetsam stumble onto a high tech web of crime. A thoroughly entertaining Wambaugh. "
— Basiaev, 5/23/2011 -
" It's Wambaugh, it's a police procedural, what more could one want? "
— Edward, 2/14/2011 -
" Another good installment in Wambaugh's series about the cops at LAPD's Hollywood Division. "
— Virginia, 2/9/2011 -
" Anything Joseph Wambaugh writes is a book I want to read. I just love him and all of his books. This is the third in a series that I've read in 2010. "
— Lauraley, 1/9/2011 -
" OK light reading but fun...I liked all the Hollywood books and this one especially. I hated what happened to Dana...and I love the esprit de corps as nutty as it is...Hey it's Hollywood. "
— Pam, 12/9/2010 -
" Good, not great, but good....Still like his early work the best.... "
— Eric, 12/1/2010 -
" Couldn't finish. The fake 'California/Hollywood' accents of the two cops in the first chapter would have been indicative of a beginning author... strange to find them here. "
— Diane, 10/25/2010 -
" Listening to --- least fave of the Hollywood Station series. Not the humor or randomness that I find fun about the books usually. "
— Coki, 10/24/2010 -
" The author is Joseph Wambaugh. How could I not like it? "
— Ajaxwriter, 10/10/2010 -
" Solid enough but the characters, while given good lines to say, aren't very well fleshed out. So the book feels more like a solid 2 hour pilot to a TV series rather than a fleshed out story. "
— Gentlemanvillain, 10/9/2010 -
" Another installment in Wambaugh's series on on the LAPD men and women of Hollywood Station, and the creatures who give it such good stories. "
— Tom, 9/13/2010 -
" Just as good as the other novels in the Hollywood Station series. "
— Kent, 9/8/2010
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 Christian Rummel
Christian Rummel has recorded many audiobooks in a variety of genres and won two AudioFile Earphones Awards. As an actor, he has worked with Theatre for a New Audience and Clubbed Thumb and also appeared in several episodes of Law & Order.