California Girl: A Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "I DROVE PAST the old SunBlesst packinghouse today..." (more)
Key Phrases: yellow cottage, tan eyes, crate labels, Janelle Vonn, Cory Bonnett, Roger Stoltz (more...)

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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1ST edition (September 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060562366
• ISBN-13: 978-0060562366
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #672,074 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 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)

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.

18 of 22 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

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece!, December 19, 2004

By	nobizinfla "nobizinfla" (Windermere, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

A Plus for T. Jefferson Parker's incredible "California Girl."

Stylish and engaging, it transports you back to 1968 in Orange County (and up to present day)...again mixing real life characters (Dick Nixon, Tim Leary, Charles Manson) with a fictional cast of vividly sketched characters.

The three Becker brothers (a cop, a crime reporter and a minister) have an intense commitment to finding the truth about a decapitated friend from their teenage years.

Their search for the facts leads to compromise, concessions and exposure of the brothers' secrets.

It is a subtle, sophisticated, cerebral novel with justice the overruling topic...no matter how long it may take.

A well-crafted look back at a period of time that fashioned a generation told in a most intriguing manner.

As good as any book I have read this year.