- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) (May 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0151002843
- ISBN-13: 978-0151002849
- Product Dimensions: 23.5 x 15.9 x 2.9 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,336,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
"The narrative is fast-paced and mesmerizing, as Lopez employs a combination of cynical, world-weary humor, a taut, riveting plot line and gritty but heartfelt character writing to push the story along. The climax is captivating, but what makes this effort truly memorable is the compassion with which LaRosa handles his moral quandary and Lopez's sure-handed command." - Publisher's Weekly; "Richard Ford with a sense of humor" - Kirkus Reviews
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
Once a big shot cop in Philadelphia, Albert LaRosa's dreams were shattered by the events of one dark night. 25 years later, stuck as a sheriff in his small New Jersey hometown, things might finally be turning around when he is offered a high-paid job as chief of secuirity at the new casino. But as death threats, bombings and murder become everyday fare in the increasingly fragile world of Harbor Light, and his own family might be mixed up in the game, Albert realises that you can get to your future only by way of your past. ""A delightful, very funny read"" - Booklist
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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2 reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Insomnia
8 Nov 2003
Format:Paperback
He always loved the jazzed up feeling when he walked into a casino. This story of the New Jersey seashore is a keeper. Steve Lopez does a good job catching the way local people speak.
In a sense Albert LaRosa grew up in the display window of his father's hardware store. Sheriff Albert LaRosa receives an offer to participate in a casino venture. He tells his long time girl friend who dislikes the proposal. It seems that Sheriff LaRosa sought employment in his old hometown following two years on the Philadelphia police force and a tragic event.
Now the inland island in the vicinity of Atlantic City has three explosions in three nights and the loss of life in one of the incidents constituting murder. Albert expects to leave office in about two weeks, but first he has to solve the mystery of the explosions and other unexplained occurrences. Things reach such a sorry pitch that Albert is faced with the prospect of arresting his own father.
A house is bulldozed to remove it from the path of a road construction project. Albert's friend's diner is slated for removal next. Later he awakes to sounds of gunfire and a fire in his own house. He and a neighbor extinguish the fire.
Albert finds himself engulfed in a crime wave. He tries to identify the perpetrator. Even the FBI is involved. Belatedly he ascertains he needs to protect someone as close to him as a son.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Damaged Hero, weak mystery
22 July 2002
Format:Hardcover
Sheriff Albert LaRosa is serving out his time, unable to deal with a family violence case gone terribly wrong, his father's emotional desire to hang onto the family store, or his girlfriend's wish for something different. When developer Oscar Price offers LaRosa a position as head of security in his to-be-built casino, with a huge increase in salary, LaRosa sees it as a way to solve all of his problems. Unfortunately for him, his girlfriend thinks he's sold out and his father quickly becomes suspected of sabotaging the proposed development.
LaRosa turns to drink for a solution but finds this only a partial out. He tries to balance his own desires with those of his family and his girlfriend but cannot reconcile the dramatically different positions.
Author Steve Lopez delivers an intriguingly damaged character in Albert LaRosa. Unfortunately for the novel, none of the other characters possess even a fraction of LaRosa's depth playing out the roles of evil and corrupt developer, heroic shopkeeper, resentful youth, or whatever role Lopez seems to need. As solving the mystery of the bombings becomes secondary to the urge to protect LaRosa's loved ones, even LaRosa begins to lose his appeal.
Lopez writes compellingly about the New Jersey shore, the superficial appeal of Atlantic City, and the corrupting influence of money. For me, at least, the fascinating description of this nasty world did not compensate for unsympathetic characters and superficial mystery.
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