The Barbary Coast Incidents

Rating:
Summary: San Francisco Thriller
Review: As a long-time Bay Area resident I found this fast-paced novel a genuine delight. Set in late 1990s San Francisco, it has an intricate plot which keeps the reader off-balance. The colorful cast of characters breathes life into the old waterfront. The dialogue is sharp and terse. An action-filled thriller which never loses its balance or wit. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Waterlogged Fiction
Review: The best thing about this novel is the setting, the San Francisco waterfront before Pac Bell Park. It gets off to a good start - danger, colorful characters, good dialogue, an emerging mystery, but it turns sluggish and finally just plain silly. The pacing went to pot when the author starts introducing too many complications which utilmately demand resolution - the more loose thread to tie up, the more contrieved the story becomes. It coulda, shoulda been a better book, but it just got too cluttered and couldn't support the weight of a bloated plot.

Rating:
Summary: Waterlogged Fiction
Review: The best thing about this novel is the setting, the San Francisco waterfront before Pac Bell Park. It gets off to a good start - danger, colorful characters, good dialogue, an emerging mystery, but it turns sluggish and finally just plain silly. The pacing went to pot when the author starts introducing too many complications which utilmately demand resolution - the more loose thread to tie up, the more contrieved the story becomes. It coulda, shoulda been a better book, but it just got too cluttered and couldn't support the weight of a bloated plot.

Rating:
Summary: Dickens in San Francisco
Review: This is the kind of novel Charles Dickens might write if he were living in today's San Francisco. The Barbary Coast Incidents is filled with colorful characters, unexpected plot twists, memorable dialogue and dark humor that would make Dickens smile. A delightful balancing act between a Victorian novel and a fast-paced modern thriller. Most people will read this in one or two sittings and will be asking for more.