The Gentleman's Hour by Don Winslow

Winslow had come up in some back and forth amongst the M @ MRB. Having read only 1 of his books (Savages - sort of ending its big screen run through the theaters), I picked out this 2009 title.

Boone Daniels, High Tide, Johnny Banzai, Hang Twelve, Cheerful, Dave the Love God.

Pacific Beach surfers in San Diego. The first out each day.

The Dawn Patrol.

Once The Dawn Patrol heads in, the late arrivals wander in. More middle age, richer, own their own businesses. They can sleep in. This next shift populates The Gentleman's Hour.

Boone is a legendary surfer. Crews up and down the San Dog know Boone. Drives a beat up cargo van because "any vehicle that can't carry a surfboard is a sculpture." But EVERYONE knows Kelly Kuhio, aka K2. Hawaiian, one of the first and certainly one of the greats. K2 wasn't just "a freaking legend, he was a freaking legend." Unpretentious surf guru to anyone who rides the long boards. K2 and The Dawn Patrol hang together, especially at the Sundowner where they have standing orders for anything from breakfast to beer. They used to be waited on by Sunny, but she's moved on to the pro circuit. Now they are served by Not Sunny.

A patron of The Gentleman's Hour approaches Boone about tailing his wife. Thinks she cheating on him. Boone, a former cop, earns his keep as a PI (after each daily session with The Dawn Patrol . . . priorities, you know). Boone needs the money (what PI doesn't?) and agrees.

The Rockpile Crew is a group of surf wannabes from just north of La Jolla (which is either Spanish for 'the jewel' or Native American for 'the hole'. You decide). The Rockpile is the cove they slither in and out of. They've been bar hopping around PB looking for trouble and get into a scuffle at the Sundowner, which happens to have a volunteer group of bouncers . . . The Dawn Patrol. After getting unceremoniously ushered out, the Rockpile scum wait. The first one out is K2 who gets jumped and one Corey Blasingame lands a 'superman punch' to K2 knocking him down and his head cracks the edge of a concrete step.

The freaking legend is dead. Not just the surfing community is screaming for justice. The entire beach community and everyone who lives west of the 5 is ready to explode. Blasingame deserves the needle is the cry.

Corey comes from money. His dad is a big time SD real estate developer and hires big time legal defense, the team of which includes Boone's latest hopeful, Petra. They want Boone to look into Corey's history, friends, school, job, anything that might help with his defense. This irks Johnny Banzai to no end - Johnny's a SDPD detective who caught the K2 case and got Corey's confession. Boone's involvement with the defense team seriously tests their friendship.

The 2 cases intersect with Mexican drug cartels, a shadowy gym of MMA/white supremacists, JB's partner, a sinkhole, and a web of real estate deals, payoffs, and buyouts involving a huge chunk of San Dog's licensing departments and city council.

Being an east coast (and midwest) type who spent a year in El Lay, books about the west coast are fascinating (partly why I like Connelly and Crais so much). And while I won't put Winslow up in the rarified air those two live, I will say that Winslow is a tres entertaining story teller. His looping back and forth between the surf, MMA, and cop cultures is seamless has the ring of authenticity of one who has not just observed it, but probably lived it (the liner bio says Winslow was once a private investigator and "consultant" - whatever that means).  I can't surf - never really tried - but you can bet I'll look back on on Boone and his Dawn Patrol crew in the not too distant future.

But first, Jack Reacher is A Wanted Man and he needs my help.

East Coast Don