A prequel for Savages, this novel gives us the back story of O, Ben and Chon including time shifting chapters illustrating events in Laguna Beach in the late 60s and early 70s. Winslow employs an unconventional style that reminded me of Ken Bruen although in this case not as successfully done. Not having read Savages, I look forward to reading it next. During the stresses of Christmas and year end, fast moving easy to read fiction set in Southern California is just the thing, as an ice storm blows in on southwestern Ontario. I had read ‘The Power of the Dog’ by Don Winslow a couple of years ago. I loved it but hadn’t read another of his books until now. Ten pages into ‘The Kings of Cool’, I couldn’t help but wonder why I had left it so long to return to this author. This book is a recently released prequel to ‘Savages’. The backdrop to the book is the Californian drug scene from the nineteen-sixties to two-thousand-and-five, and follows our three main characters, Chon and Ben, (partners in the marijuana business) and their childhood friend, a Californian beauty known as O. The book also follows their dysfunctional parents through a series of flashbacks, from the hippy idealism of the sixties, to the hardnosed reality of modern day organized crime and police corruption. This story moves along at a fast pace and is action packed, as Chon and Ben’s business grows and comes to the attention of an organized crime syndicate. It seems that they have bitten off more than they can chew when Ben refuses to pay protection to the above crime syndicate. The above plot may on the surface look predictable, but it isn’t. The interplay between the characters is brilliantly interwoven by the author, which he uses to create a number of twists and turns and in my view an unexpected ending.
Do You like book I Re Del Mondo (2012)?
überhaupt nicht mein Fall das Buch - absolut klischeehaft und somit ziemlich langweilig
—jharna
I really enjoy the writing style and pace of these books. Good fun.
—dandandan
More evidence Don Winslow is the current king of So-Cal noir.
—prerana
