The Gold Coast

The Gold Coast is social satire at its best. The plot, deliciously foreshadowed at several points along the way, is so captivating that you won’t find yourself able to put the book down, the characters are very well drawn, and the dialogue is witty and hilarious. You’ll find yourself laughing out loud many times.The author himself, Nelson DeMille, describes it as “The Godfather meets The Great Gatsby on the Gold Coast.” And that about sums it up. John Sutter, a lawyer and the self-deprecating narrator of the story, lives a posh if somewhat boring life with his rather independent and fiery wife on her inherited estate on Long Island’s Gold Coast, where old WASP families have owned vast tracts of land since before the Roaring Twenties. But everything tilts out of balance when Frank Bellarosa, a notorious Mafia boss, moves into the mansion next door and befriends the couple. Soon enough their lives are inextricably linked and John, as well as his wife Susan, find themselves descending into more and more questionable circumstances, yet unable to break it off with Frank, who has charmed them both.What immediately came to my mind when I started reading, and indeed what DeMille himself compares his story to, is Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe. However, I actually like this one much better. I remember finding Bonfire utterly depressing, leaving you without many good thoughts about human nature, whereas The Gold Coast is a much more cheerful book. While it takes many stabs at the ridiculousness of upper class pretensions, like the distinction between new money and old and all the levels of hypocrisy, the main protagonist in this case is a likeable guy who you cannot help but admire for his actions and principles. And you also cannot help but like the Mafia don, even though you know he is dangerous and manipulative, because in some ways he is a much better and more loyal person than most of the snobbish upper-class society around him.If you’ve read other books by Nelson DeMille, don’t expect more of the same. This is a very different (and in my opinion much more masterful) book than his usual fare of mysteries and thrillers. The cover art might fool you, as it looks like just another one of the same sort, but it most decidedly is not. Nevertheless, it’s a great and fast-paced read, and one of the best I’ve read this year. I feel like immediately returning to the start and reading it all over again.

I liked John. He had a really good personality and was funny. Susan on the other hand was a little odd. Frank was pretty interesting. I enjoyed reading about his connections.

It is a long novel, but worth reading. An interesting story of doing the wrong thing right. The version I read had a great Introduction by the author in which he said that this is one of his most popular novels ( and he has written a lot of them ). This was the novel that my friends recommended as my first ( and they have read a lot of him ). I enjoyed it. I think of it as kind of like the new Gilded Age matches up with Tony Soprano.

The Gold Coast was my second Nelson De Mille novel, I had no expectations other than the generally interesting premise. The first half of the book is great, a lot of sharp dialogue and satirical observation from the protagonist. It really was hard to put down and kept me up late a couple of nights, which is very high praise! The second half changes pace after “things start to happen” but is still a very enjoyable read. I hadn’t read any reviews before reading, but many people rate this among their favorite books and the high praise is well deserved!

Having read the book over my summer vacation, and then reading these reviews, I can agree with those who gave this book one star and also (to a lesser extent) with those who gave the book five stars. It certainly isn't like DeMille's other books. If this is the only DeMille book you've read and you didn't like it, well then try "Plum Island".It's interesting that most of the reviewers (many whom have read other DeMille books) either disliked this book intensely or loved it. I can see it both ways (somewhat). It was rather interesting, let's say. I wanted my wife to read it, so I could "discuss it" with her. Did Susan or didn't she? What will John do next? Great literature? Compared to Gatsby? I doubt it.The "tale" of the book certainly kept me interested. Why would John and Susan Sutter start behaving in this way? Beats me. About the only thing I can think of is that "evil" can appear attractive to some persons and drag you into it's lair.But so much of the story is unconvincing. "Honor Thy Father" by Gay Talese, or Puzo's "The Godfather" are much better portrayals about the Mafia. It is extremely unrealistic that a Mafia Don would all of a sudden want a Tax Attorney with NO trial experience to represent him in Federal Criminal Court. It is very unrealistic that a Wall Street Tax attorney would be so helpless and cower at an IRS assessment. Hasn't he ever heard of an appeal? I would NOT want John Sutter as my attorney the way he is portrayed as a lawyer, and being a lawyer, I ought to know. What a wimp! He hardly ever works, hardly ever communicates with his wife (except when he/she is devising one of their sexual fantasies), and certainly seems to let others, including his wife, rule every aspect of his life.So I'll give the book three stars, if only because it was an easy vacation read that was at least "interesting". But a believable story or accurate portrayal of the Mafia or life as a lawyer? Don't think so.

Loved how the author kept my attention and couldn’t wait to keep reading to see what the lawyer would doNext.

It's about a lawyer who lives next door to a mafia don. And ends up mixed up with him. Good story , well written. I liked it.

This book was an absolute pleasure to read. It was funny, sexy, dramatic, exciting and quite gripping at various points as the tale unfolded. The story's main characters were expertly developed and their relationships with each other were so enjoyable to read about and kept you in suspense. John and Susan Sutter's relationship was such that you were on tenterhooks as to how they would react to each other as Frank's explosive impact upon their lives took effect. To my mind, this book was a love story that was also a thriller with a lot of intrigue added into the mix coupled with a few laugh out loud moments. A pleasure to read.

Bit slow and lengthy, but humour and sarcasm of John Sutter is spot on.. If you r looking for something different, go for it.. It will tickle your funny bone..!! Hope this helps.

although a bit dated this is still a great read

Typical genre.