dcox83's review against another edition
2.0
There's a good novel in here somewhere, but it's 150 pages too long and succumbs to too many sequel cliches.
cnorbury's review against another edition
3.0
Another possibly great book tempered by the lack of editing for tightness and maintaining momentum. The concept is fantastic: a continuation of John & Susan Sutter's involvement with the Bellarosa family. This time, the vengeful son who wants revenge on Susan killing her father ten years earlier.
John Sutter, her husband, is the MC and a solid protagonist. But he's a bit too much like a few other DeMille MCs; most notably John Corey. Too much a wise-ass who sometimes gets in trouble with his mouth and stubbornness.
All that aside, the main drag was the middle section of the book, which dwelt endlessly with the drawn-out funeral of the long-time family servant. She was important only for the bombshell deathbed letter she dropped on John Sutter as the catalyst to the ending. Yet, the interactions during her days-long wake, funeral, and burial take up about 25% of the book. Much of that could have been condensed with no loss of information or intrigue. So shame on the editor for not doing a high quality job, the kind of quality needed to compliment a DeMille novel.
John Sutter, her husband, is the MC and a solid protagonist. But he's a bit too much like a few other DeMille MCs; most notably John Corey. Too much a wise-ass who sometimes gets in trouble with his mouth and stubbornness.
All that aside, the main drag was the middle section of the book, which dwelt endlessly with the drawn-out funeral of the long-time family servant. She was important only for the bombshell deathbed letter she dropped on John Sutter as the catalyst to the ending. Yet, the interactions during her days-long wake, funeral, and burial take up about 25% of the book. Much of that could have been condensed with no loss of information or intrigue. So shame on the editor for not doing a high quality job, the kind of quality needed to compliment a DeMille novel.
bek67's review against another edition
3.0
It took a little too long for this book to get going. I certainly enjoy the wit and sarcasm of the main character, but little happened until the very last part of the book. So a bit disappointing.
travvyt's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second book in the John Sutter series and is a good, although perhaps a little surprising, resolution to the story I thought. Nelson DeMille is one of my favorite authors and I always look forward to reading one of his books. The novel starts 10 years after the conclusion of the events of The Gold Coast and, as was the first book, is told entirely from the viewpoint of John Sutter. Sutter is intelligent, funny running to sarcastic, and a lot of fun as a narrator. He is, however, very similar to one of DeMille's other major characters - John Corey (maybe a little too similar?). Sutter is basically just Corey with less action - or maybe Corey with more money... My only other criticism is the speed at which things are reconciled/forgiven. I realize there's been 10 years between the two books - but it was ten years spent with little to no contact between major characters. Then the first time they see each other, all the events from the first book and the ten year intermission just fall away and we're immediately back in love and together. It's nice from a story point-of-view but just seemed a little to abrupt to me. Either way, I enjoyed this book a lot and would very much recommend it to others.
karpoozy's review against another edition
5.0
Much more enticing than the Gold Coast which is the prequel to this book
lisahelene's review against another edition
2.0
I usually love Nelson DeMille, but this book was so repetitive, I guess to catch people up who didn't read "The Gold Coast". Big disappointment.
anderson65's review against another edition
1.0
Lots and lots and lots of repetition. An unsatisfying read, this book is vulgar and bloated. I seldom forge through a book that I basically don't like and wish I had not done so with this one.
rrkravitz's review against another edition
Don't think I would have read it in hard copy, but thank goodness for audio books with this LONG commute I have.
carrolk3's review against another edition
2.0
Ho-hum - guess I just don't care enough about the super-rich and the Mafia of the Long Island/New York region. I have read a number of Nelson DeMille's books and I can certainly say he is inconsistent! There are several of them - Charm School, Up Country, and Night Fall - that I have really enjoyed but there are others that I have found a waste of time. This is one of the latter. The main characters are the elite of the "[b:Gold Coast|33813|The Gold Coast|Nelson DeMille|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168465640s/33813.jpg|1603282]" of the Long Island and the main character, John Sutton, and his wife (or ex- or soon to be)whom I found hard to relate to. John is a sarcastic jerk and his wife is a naive trust fund "baby". They both make some less than intelligent decisions with major consequences and the ending of the book is very bloody. It was a pretty fast read but not one I would recommend to others - in fact, I just donated the book to the library here in the RV park. Couldn't see taking it home (why add extra weight) or keeping it for someone else (couldn't think of someone to give it too). I will try DeMille again but will also keep in mind not all of his books are worth the time spent in reading them!