March 28, 2011
Wambaugh once again delves into the life of his quirky LAPD officer, "Hollywood Nate," and the surfer dudes, officers Flotsam and Jetsam. It would be enough to merely follow these cops on their patrol as they encounter all the odd, comic, and at times tragic characters that "Hollyweird" has to offer, but Wambaugh ties in smart complications: two drugged-out kids who quite by chance become involved in a perpetually troubled art theft attempted by a pretentious art dealer and the ex-con turned house man that he enlists as his partner in crime. Christian Rummel offers a well-thought-out, nicely rendered performance, shifting in tone from the wry and humorous to the pragmatic and heartbreaking. His characterizations are simple and effective, never overreaching in execution but still giving each character a distinctive and individual voice. Fans of Wambaugh will not be disappointed. A Little, Brown hardcover.
October 25, 2010
The LAPD's Hollywood Station deals with some of the strangest lawbreakers anywhere, as shown in MWA Grand Master Wambaugh's amusing fourth novel to feature Hollywood Nate Weiss, surfer cops Flotsam and Jetsam, and the rest of the series' colorful police crew (after Hollywood Moon). In the main plot line, the paths of a pair of drug-addled thieves—high school dropout Jonas Claymore and his down-on-her-luck housemate, Megan Burke—converge and collide with those of snooty art dealer Nigel Wickland and sleazy part-time butler Raleigh L. Dibble with results both absurd and tragic. Meanwhile, Wambaugh diverts with smaller episodes about such odd Hollywood denizens as the Wedgie Bandit and the Goths, a couple whose dress and house channels the Addams family. Veteran police officer Della Ravelle's sage mentoring of young officer Britney Small lends some gravity to this deliciously convoluted caper.