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California Girl
A Novel
by T. Jefferson Parker


8.3

based on 13 reviews
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based on 3 votes
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Parker's 12th book is a crime novel and family saga set in Southern California during the 1960s.

William Morrow, 384 pages
10/01/2004
$24.95

ISBN: 0060562366

Fiction
General Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers

All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...

Chicago Sun-Times David S. Montgomery

Parker has produced a masterpiece filled with intriguing, multi-dimensional characters, an enthralling, sweeping plot and some of the finest writing you'll ever read, inside the genre or out.

Chicago Tribune Dick Adler

"California Girl"... has serious claims on being the Great O.C. novel, one (like "Main Street" and "East of Eden") that stamps and validates a time and place. [17 Oct. 2004, C3]

Entertainment Weekly Chris Nashawaty

Parker's drum-tight prose and richly layered characters borrow a bit from Raymond Chandler's hard-boiled L.A. noirs as well as the more psychologically lurid novels of Dennis Lehane, but California Girl easily earns Parker his own spot on the shelf between those two masters.

Kirkus Reviews

Love, lust, murder, betrayal, suffering, and redemption all parade by as a brilliant tale-spinner (Cold Pursuit, 2003, etc.) once again has his way with us.

Library Journal Rebecca House Stankowski

Drenched in lust, love, betrayal, and unfulfilled promise, California Girl features masterly plotting, smart prose, and memorable characters. [15 Oct. 2004, p. 55]

The Economist

T. Jefferson Parker has written some fine crime novels. Read any list of the top tier of U.S. titles, and you'll find Silent Joe or Cold Pursuit or both. But California Girl is in a class by itself. [13 Nov. 2004, D18]

The New York Times Janet Maslin

A crime story with a strong sense of place and a wide character spectrum can dig deeper than "California Girl" does: Dennis Lehane's Boston and George Pelecanos's Washington come to mind. But "California Girl," while sunnier and lighter, has its own brand of gravitas and its own vivid geography.

Wall Street Journal Tom Nolan

"California Girl" is an unforgettable book.

Los Angeles Times Dick Lochte

Anyone seeking to while away a few hours of this holiday season with something a bit more substantial than a solidly plotted whodunit need look no further than this cleverly conceived, smartly executed, utterly satisfying novel. [26 Dec. 2004, R2]

Publishers Weekly

Readers should think mainstream novel rather than thriller and prepare to wait patiently for the rewards offered by this intricately plotted tale.

San Francisco Chronicle David Lazarus

Nick and Andy -- the investigators -- receive the most attention and carry much of the book's emotional baggage. Their commitment to finding the truth, and the compromises they are forced to make, are what give "California Girl" its surprising depth.

Washington Post Dennis Drabelle

I'm a fan of Parker's, and especially of his early novel Laguna Heat, but this is a flat performance. By parceling out the point of view among the three surviving brothers, he seems to have unwittingly deprived his story of an emotional center. California Girl is left with all the elements of a thriller but the thrills.

Booklist Connie Fletcher

Parker devotees will stick with him, but this one won't attract new fans. [15 Sept. 2004, p. 180]

The average user rating for this book is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Paul H gave it a7:
Solid but not a masterpiece

Jules B gave it an8:
Parker engages us in family parallels and into a miasma of life where there is no escape from evil, corruption and criminality. Small lies, small coverups, and guilt that lasts a lifetime are examined, stirred and served out in agonizing but gripping detail by this mystery master. His device of shifting focus to each of the brothers in turn, however, has benefit and loss. It enriches the depth and originality while, at the same time, dissipates the story's dramatic energy until it hovers in lingering moments of thinning interest.

Maria J gave it a10:
Great Book. UnBiEiLiEvEaBlE

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California Girl A Novel by T. Jefferson Parker

California Girl
A Novel
by T. Jefferson Parker