Customer Reviews

The Great California Game: A Lovejoy Mystery

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Although the title sets the buyer's attention on California, the book largely takes place in New York where Lovejoy is stuck trying to earn money to get home. As with many of Gash's later Lovejoy books, the pace is often frantic, but he does not sacrifice character--both of Lovejoy and the folks he meets. Lovejoy's irreverence finds a home among Americans, but there's a lighter touch than usual--Gash is often more merciful towards Americans than to any other group. I've read all of the Lovejoys and found this one of the more memorable ones, though not necesarily one of the best for plot or for development of Lovejoy's philosophy of life. But it is a bit more surreal than usual in presenting Lovejoy's circumstances, and rather sentimental, while also introducing us to the usual wide array of shady characters.

This book stopped my love of the Lovejoy series in its tracks. There is little of the Lovejoy we know and love in this awful novel. There are no interesting characters that we can get into at all.

This novel should have followed Jade Woman (been the next published after Jade Woman). For whatever reason, The Last Gambado followed it, which chronologically takes place after this atrocity.

The last Gambado is a good book. This will spoil Lovejoy for you. It seems to me Gash wrote a dull book about a different character with this one.

In this book we have Lovejoy orchestrating one of his because there was no Tinker Dill in it. But the great thing about a Lovejoy book is the characters that you do meet. Gash's imagination enables him to come up with some really wonderful ones. The best two in this book are Magda and her great fiddles in the US of A. There are a lot of characters in this book, but there aren't any of the older ones that we know and love from East Anglia. I felt the book lacked somethingson (?) Zole. Lovejoy always seems to be a "Champion of Lost Causes" and these two certainly fit that category, but it turns out that they become his greatest allies. That and a New York Underworld leader called Busman. We see more wonderful cons played out by Lovejoy and his motley crue of recruits. And we see and hear more antique information. This book has a very surprising ending though that is played out in Los Angeles. I absolutely love this series, and can't wait for the next one. Will Lovejoy still be on the run in America, or will he escape to somewhere else? Wherever it is, he'll be sure to come up against some real nasty people (as well as some real gems).

I'm a huge Lovejoy fan, but Jonathan Gash should stay on his side of the pond! California Game is just not worth the effort and also not worthy to be called a Lovejoy mystery alongside all the other great Lovejoys.

My excitement at having Lovejoy come to the States FINALLY was dampened when I realized that the author had depicted all Americans as either ultra-rich druggies, black pimps, black prostitutes, Mafia dons, tough guy killers--oh, I could go on and on. This story is woven so very tightly that I had trouble trying to untangle it! Not Jonathan Gash's best. Lovejoy seems enraptured with the "beauty" of this large country, yet all we really see through his eyes are the back streets, the alleys, the sewers. I'm disappointed, because our friends across the pond will see us and our country that way, too.