California Girl: A Novel [Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

T. Jefferson Parker (Author), Patrick Lawlor (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2004

A different world then, a different world now…California in the 1960s, and the winds of change are raging. Orange groves uprooted for tract houses, people flooding into Orange County, and strange new ideas in the air about war, music, sex, and drugs, and new influences including Richard Nixon and Timothy Leary. But for the Becker brothers, the past is always present and it comes crashing back when the body of the lovely and mysterious Janelle Vonn is discovered in an abandoned orange packinghouse. The Beckers and Vonns have a history, beginning years ago in high school with a rumble between the brothers of each clan. But boys grow up. Now one Becker brother is a cop on his first homicide case. One’s a minister yearning to perform just one miracle. One is a reporter drunk with ambition. And all three are about to collide with the changing world of 1968 as each brother, in his own special way, tries to find Janelle’s killer. As the suspects multiply and secrets are exposed, the Becker brothers are all drawn further into the case, deeper into the past, and closer to the danger.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set on Parker's usual turf, this Orange County, Calif., saga is a family drama carefully wrapped around a mystery involving a murdered beauty queen. Back in 1954, the Becker brothers, David, Nick, Clay and Andy, win a fight with the wrong-side-of-the-tracks Vonn brothers at the Sunblesst orange packinghouse. After the rumble, the Vonns' little sisters, Lynette and Janelle, show up to throw rocks. Thus begins a lifelong association between three of the brothers and the two girls. In 1968, Janelle is back at the packinghouse, only now she's lying dead on the floor, her decapitated head several feet from her torso. Nick is with the county sheriff's department working his first case as lead detective. Brother Clay has been killed in Vietnam, Andy is a reporter on a local newspaper and David is a minister. Framing the occasionally glacial narrative with Nick's present-day reworking of the case, Parker (Cold Pursuit, etc.) introduces a wide variety of quirky period characters, from stoned-out hippies to Dick Nixon and his conservative cronies, one of whom might be Janelle's killer. Readers should think mainstream novel rather than thriller and prepare to wait patiently for the rewards offered by this intricately plotted tale.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Parker’s 12th novel is a gripping saga of three brothers and their relationship to one doomed and abused young woman over the course of a generation. Parker uses Janelle as a focal point for examining a diverse set of characters; in investigating her murder, for example, the Becker brothers dig deep within themselves. Yet perhaps the best character is ‘60s-era Southern California itself: its blue sky, ocean, drive-in churches, orange groves, tract homes, peace protests, and drugs, spotted with cameos by Richard Nixon, Timothy Leary, and other celebrities. California Girl, though technically a crime novel, is also a family saga and history, though it tries too hard at the latter. If sometimes too self-conscious or superficial in tone, the novel offers a not-so-innocent look at the tarnished California dream.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio (September 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590869702
• ISBN-13: 978-1590869703
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.2 x 2.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,820,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

T. Jefferson Parker is the bestselling author of numerous novels, including Storm Runners and The Fallen. Alongside Dick Francis and James Lee Burke, Parker is one of only three writers to be awarded the Edgar Award for Best Novel more than once. Parker lives with his family in Southern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Parker delivers yet again with this dynamic novel., November 9, 2004

By 

Jeremy Lynch "Mysterlynch" (St. Paul, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: California Girl: A Novel (Hardcover)

California Girl is about the Becker boys and follows them into early adulthood. One becomes a homicide detective, one a minister and one a reporter. The bulk of the novel is focused on the death of a young woman, whom the Becker men have known most of their life. Her death affects each of them in a different way.

I have to start by saying I am a fan of Parker's writing and have always been impressed by his work. Having said that, I think California Girl is an exciting step in a new direction. Less of a novel about catching the killer and more about the effects the murder has on the people around her. Like Lehane with Mystic River and Rozan with Absent Friends, Parker is stepping to the next level with a novel that is every bit a piece of literature as it is a crime novel.
It is work like this that helps remove any posible stigma that comes with the term "genre novel"

In April 2005, California Girl was awarded the Edgar award for best Novel of 2004, by the Mystery Writers of America.
It is Parker's second Best Novel Edgar, as Silent Joe also won.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great stuff!, October 1, 2004

By 

Reader/author (LA, California USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: California Girl: A Novel (Hardcover)

Mr. Parker has always been exceptional at characterization, but this book nails real atmosphere as well, and is at the top of my 2004 list, along with The Narrows by Michael Connelly, Memorial Day by Harry Shannon and that new Robert Crais. The 60's seem especially relevent these days (war and all) so the writing really make my skin ripple. Great stuff! Buy it, you won't be disappointed. As usual.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars California in the 60's, January 14, 2005

By 

S. Roddom "sally from oz" (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: California Girl: A Novel (Hardcover)

The 1950s and 60s were a chaotic time, in a world that was

undergoing tremendous social change, the youth of California were

not unaffected. The story is about the Becker brothers, Nick (now a

homicide detective), David (a Priest) and Andy (a journalist). The

three boys are mentally transported back to relive their childhood

when Nick is assigned, as his first case, the investigation of the

beheading murder of Janelle Vonn, the younger sister of the violent

Vonn brothers - arch-enemies from the boy's childhood. Andy

recognises that the story of the investigation could lead to his

break into big-time journalism so follows the case closely. Janelle

was abused by her brothers and Nick and Andy had helped her escape

to start a new life, her escape caused a violent encounter between

the two sets of brothers. David, Nick and Andy all investigate the

case from different angles, occasionally co-operating and sharing

their information. As secrets are revealed - careers, lives and

loves are threatened. Are the brothers able to solve the crime

before they become victims of it?

Parker is a very descriptive author, and has used powerful imagery

to portray an investigation that is totally guesswork and hunch

following, does not include computers and modern day forensic

techniques. The era is well researched and brought back memories

of events and fashions of the day. Parker even had well known `real'

characters flitting in and out of the story, such as Richard Nixon

was a friend of the Becker brother's parents. This is my first book

by this author and I found his portrayal of the different characters

to be meticulous, I felt that I knew them all personally by the end

of the book. The plot was good, the characterisation was good and

the writing was excellent.