Customer Reviews
I need to get out more - By: Joseph Haschka, 20 Oct 2008 
HOLLYWOOD CROWS is Joseph Wambaugh's sequel to Hollywood Station, both darkly humorous novels featuring the cops of the LAPD's Hollywood Division. Mind you, I drive through the district & cross Hollywood Boulevard twice a day to & from the 9 to 5. I never think of the place as glamorous or gritty, but only as a potential traffic snarl, especially when the Kodak Theater is prepping for an event such as the Academy Awards. So, when Wambaugh's characters include the whack jobs & petty crooks that hang around Grauman's Chinese, I guiltily think that I need to get out more to sample the native culture. (I have been to the Hollywood Farmers' Market held at Ivar & Selma; it's pretty cool, & I'm surprised Wambaugh hasn't included that weekly Sunday event for local color.)
Both books essentially revolve around the beat's uniformed cops. HOLLYWOOD CROWS brings front & center the officers of the division's Community Relations Office (CRO, or "Crows") who, with their anti-crime brothers & sistersin blue, react to the area's underbelly of violence, weirdness, & general antisocial tendencies. Specifically, the Crows confront "quality of life issues: chronic-noise complaints, graffiti, homeless encampments, abandoned shopping carts, unauthorized yard sales, & aggressive panhandlers."
As I remember, HOLLYWOOD STATION was a series of vignettes starring several of the author's fictional heroes as they "serve & protect", i.e. keep the lid on,in the face of assorted provocations. HOLLYWOOD CROWS is that too, but it also includes a substantial subplot involving a CRO officer with an Achilles heel & the deviously plotting, estranged wife of the owner of a local nudie bar. Perhaps because this subplot interrupted the flow of the rest of the book, I wasn't enamored of the whole as much as I was with the first of the two. Four stars, therefore. Perhaps I'm just getting bored with a concept that's already showing staleness around the edges. Perhaps I should go walk Hollywood Boulevard & window shop the trashy lingerie emporiums; the wife's birthday is coming up.
Continued excellence... - By: S. BELL, 30 Aug 2008 
Whilst not an instant classic, this latest novel is mesmerising reading. Beautifully described characters operatingin the high octane environment of L.A. utterly grip the reader. The characterisation is wonderful, the humour subtle & there is no doubt that the reality of modern policing, US-style, is overlaid & interwovenin this tale. It leaves the reader wanting more. Recommended to fans of Michael Connelly & Jack Kerleyin particular.
L.A. Law and Disorder - By: Amanda Richards, 24 Jul 2008 
Having read this novel, my Wambaugh total is now up to - well - one, to be exact. It's about LA Cops & LA people, & provides a little peek into the sordid underbelly (apologies, but I always wanted to get an opportunity to say that) of life on the Hollywood streets.
The story isn't about the famous sign or the stars on the pavement, & it's not about black birds or old women, & to be quite honest, the plot isn't really that goodin the first place, but the black humor & the low morality level is what keeps the reader turning the pages.
On the side of law & order (chung-chung!) we meet Matthew McConaughey-type surfer cops Flotsam & Jetsam, who have a knack for finding trouble & a lot of true grit (from the beach). There's veteran Bix Ramstead, a loving family man coasting towards retirement, & then there's potentially famous actor Nate Weiss biding his time before being discovered. There's a trio of strong female officers named Cat, Ronnie & Gert, & a few others including the officious & clueless Sergeant Treakle, but you can read about them for yourself.
On the civilian side, there's a weaselly little cokehead named Leonard, a strip club owner named Ali Aziz, his ravishingly beautiful wife (and ex-employee) Margot, & a Mexican pharmacist who's willing to turn the other cheek for a treat & a trick. You'll also find out what goes on behind the scenes with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman & all the other characters on the strip.
Naturally, some of them come into contact while Wambaugh turns his all-too-human characters into the terribly obvious story-line, & although he blows most of the suspense by straight-out telling you most of the details, there are one or two little twists he keeps until the right time. He also hits pretty hard at police procedure & bureaucracyin the light of the need to maintain an untarnished image after the Rampart affair.
I'm gathering that he's written better books, & although I don't think this is one of them, it has enough juicy stuff to make you look.
Amanda Richards
Classic as ever - By: Benjamin Curtis, 07 Jun 2008 There is no reason why I should be drawn to tales of Hollywood vice, but I find this work utterly addictive, enlightening, & rewarding. He's also the only author that can make me laugh outloud, despite the human tragedy infusing the book. I really hope there are morein this series, this one is a classic.
Excellent reading - By: D. A. Harris, 25 May 2008 This is a followup to Wambaugh's "Hollywood Station" & follows essentially the same formula (and some of the same characters) highlighting the bizarre, touching & horrifying experiences of a group of LA police trying to keep law & orderin Hollywood. Clearly based on true accounts, these anecdotes are fascinatingin themselves, but there is also a well worked out plot holding the book together.
It doesn't end neatly - but that fits the overall mood.
Easily as good as the earlier volume: I hope there'll be more
