Hollywood Crows

Hollywood Station Series #2

by Joseph Wambaugh

When LAPD cops Hollywood Nate and Bix Rumstead find themselves caught up with bombshell Margot Aziz, they think they're just having some fun. But in Hollywood, nothing is ever what it seems. To them, Margot is a harmless socialite, stuck in the middle of an ugly divorce from the nefarious nightclub-owner Ali Aziz. What Nate and Bix don't know is that Margot's no helpless the femme fatale is setting them both up. But Ms. Aziz isn't the only one with a deadly plan.In HOLLYWOOD CROWS, Wambaugh returns once again to the beat he knows best, taking readers on a tightly plotted and darkly funny ride-along through Los Angeles with a cast of flawed cops and eccentric lowlifes they won't soon forget. Complete with scams, cokeheads, petty (and some not so petty) crimes, HOLLYWOOD CROWS offers the very best of impeccable plotting, acerbic humor, and plenty of flawed but lovable characters.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Audiobook, Police, Procedural

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Joseph Aloysius Wambaugh Jr. was an American writer known for his fictional and nonfictional accounts of police work in the United States. Many of his novels are set in Los Angeles and its surroundings and feature Los Angeles police officers as protagonists. He won three Edgar Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. Before his writing career Wambaugh received an associate of arts degree from Chaffey College and joined the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in 1960. He served for 14 years, rising from patrolman to detective sergeant.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are a few humorous points, but I thought this would be better. 5 of 10 stars

[David Putnam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the language and syntax of this series, it puts you right on the street. I also like the authenticity of the police procedure. Wambaugh is the absolute best at capturing life on the street as a cop. The wrap up of the story arc seemed a tad off. Went on too long after the crisis.

d.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great humorous read! I about died laughing reading the part with F.X. Mulroney, the porn director and the accident!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wambaugh has developed a unique cast of characters and tweeks some interesting cop tales. I do miss the Oracle.

[Pseudonymous d'Elder · Rating 4 out of 5]

__________________________
Police Keep the Peace!

The following story will give you an idea what the novel is like. No spoilers, I promise.

A cop gets a squawk on his radio saying that a red Ford is careening erratically down Maple Street. By the time the officer gets to the scene, the car has crashed into a tree on the boulevard. The driver, an elderly black man, has passed out with his foot still on the accelerator and the spinning front tires have overheated from the friction and caught fire. As the officer is trying to pull the man out of the burning car, the ancient driver returns to consciousness and reaches for the glove box. [According to ex-cop Joseph Wambaugh, letting someone reach into their glove box without proper precautions being taken can get a cop killed.] The officer pulls out his chemical mace and sprays the inebriated man, and then pulls him out of the blazing vehicle.

It turns out that the driver had diabetes. He had become incoherent and confused due to extremely low blood sugar and was trying to reach a bag of hard candy in the glove box to restore his blood sugar. Back at the station, the driver’s wife, who was not in the car at the time of the accident, wanted to make an official complaint against the cop for macing her husband, but the old man refused to let her because he was, understandably, appreciative of being pulled out of the flaming car.

I misled you a little. The above story isn’t a scene from Hollywood Crows, it is a true life anecdote from the career of my nephew, who is a police officer in a mid-sized Midwestern city. It happened to him. I am telling you this story to you because it is a real life tale of a typical occurrence in the life of a cop, and Wambaugh’s Hollywood Division novels include many incidents based on the real life experiences of police officers. Wambaugh was a cop himself for over 15 years before becoming a full time writer and according to on-line information has interviewed hundreds of other police officers about their experiences.

The Hollywood novels are not about super cops tracking down super villains. They are about everyday uniformed police officers doing their jobs. If you think that sounds dull, I think you will find you are wrong. They are not compilations of anecdotes. There is a coherent story line in each novel, but the story lines of those novels are supported by realistic incidents written by someone who knows what he is talking about.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 You may think that cop stories told by a cop are going to be biased in favor of police officers, but for the most part, this is not true. There are good cops and bad cops in the book. There are callus cops, sarcastic cops, sensitive cops and funny cops. There are great cops and inept cops. There is humor throughout the series, mixed with serious issues affecting the people whom we charge with keeping the peace and keeping us safe. Well-Written and Recommended.

ADDENDUM:

Bad cops: When my nephew was a “boot,” his field training officer was a cop who became infamous throughout the United States for murdering his 2nd wife and disappearing his 3rd. If you live in the U.S. you no probably know whom I talking about.

Inept cops: In 1976, my brother-in-law, a cop in an Iowa city, responded to a request for backup by another police officer who had a run-in with several known street-gang members. A few months before this incident, I had gone on a ride-along with my brother-in-law during one of his shifts. During that ride he told me that his philosophy was never to pull out his gun except in a dangerous situation where deadly force might be needed, e.g., a robbery in progress. When he and several other officers responded to the call for backup, the unarmed gang members were refusing to cooperate. One of the cops decided to pull his gun to force compliance. A defiant gang member, knowing the cop couldn’t shoot him, grabbed the gun and the two wrestled for it. The gun went off and killed my brother-in-law who was a couple of car lengths away. He left behind a 2-year-old daughter and a 6 month old son.

Great cop. When my daughter was 4 years old, she stopped breathing due to epiglottitis, a disease that caused her throat to close. I had taken a CPR course but had forgotten an important element. A local cop arrived at our house before the 911 paramedics, and he saved my daughter’s life.

[Ryan Keane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll start off by saying the main thing that attracted me to this book is the setting. I love Los Angeles so much and I feel that this book captures the true ambience of Hollywood. It is sexy, action-packed and complex; much like the Californian city. Loads of places were referenced such as the Walk of Fame, Santa Monica and even Rudolph Valentino's grave!

Whilst some of the characters were entertaining and interesting such as Nate, Margot and Ronnie, some of them bored the hell out of me - e.g. Leonard, Ali. The characters that I did like grew on me straightaway.

In terms of the story, I didn't understand as to why what was supposed to be the main plot (Margot's relationships with Nate/Bix) felt like a sub-plot. It was barely referenced in the first 200 pages and other stories of the officers somehow became the main focus of the novel. At times, it was slightly confusing and off-putting but I managed to finish it within a week.

When the Margot storyline was described, I did find it interesting and it made me want to read on but some parts of the book were just a bit boring to be quite frank. I don't think I'll be reading the other books in the trilogy because the story didn't pull me in enough.

Perhaps I'm being too generous with my rating because I loved the LA setting and the Hollywood references but I guess this book had its moments. I wasn't too much of a fan of the graphic medical descriptions, (e.g. the bleeding penis - you'll find that out when/if you read it though.)

I don't usually read crimes because I gravitate more towards horror and adventure; novels with a bit more substance but if you love Los Angeles and/or Crime then I think Hollywood Crows may be right up your street.

P.S, my book cover is the orange version with the silhouetted skyscrapers. :)

[Emily Kestrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone in Hollywood is crazy. I know this, because I've just finished Joseph Wambaugh's Hollywood Crows (Little Brown and Company, 2008).

The novel centers around several police officers at the Hollywood Station, including members of the Community Relations Office (the CROs--Crows). The police are weird enough, including Flotsam and Jetsam, two surfers; "Hollywood" Nate Weiss, who dreams of becoming a movie star; "Doomsday" Dan Applewhite, near retirement and terrified of something messing it up; and the newbie Gilberto Ponce, who keeps trying to explain that, despite his name, he's not really Hispanic. Then there's "Chickenlips" Jason Treakle, their hated new supervisor, who has overcome "disadvantages of race and gender" -- being a white male -- to rise to his position.

This wacky ensemble spends their days dealing with tweakers, prostitutes, strippers, transvestites, journalists, bureaucrats, panhandlers, pickpockets, chronic complainers, and even less savory folk. No one, rich or poor, escapes Wambaugh's irreverent gaze, and there are many pot-shots at political correctness along the way--something that Wambaugh himself certainly can't be accused of.

Meanwhile, in a disjointed fashion, the story gets around to our "bad guys"--Margot and Ali Aziz, involved in an acrimonious divorce, and both willing to go to criminal means to get what they want. Ali is a strip club owner and Margot, a former employee, has an eye for cops.

I'm honestly not sure what I think of this novel. It did entertain me. A lot of the situations those cops encountered were crude and R-rated, but they were humorous. (I'm not going to describe it here, but the scenario with the obese drunken homeless guy sitting on the bloody "evidence" in the stairwell? It was sick and wrong...and funny.) And Flotsam and Jetsam's dialogue in surfer slang...also funny.

But the plot itself ticked me off. Too many characters had to act in a very stupid fashion to make it work. And the ending...arghh! I hated it. Really hated it.

Recommended for cynics with an irreverent sense of humor.

[Jay Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went back to this second in the "Hollywood Station" trilogy to see if I was being unfair in my earlier reading. Since I liked its successor from Joseph Wambaugh so much (see my review of "Hollywood Moon" last December 28th), I was wondering if I sold "Hollywood Crows" short. Nope.

The strong attraction to Wambaugh's tragic-comic characters from a precinct house was there. Perhaps not as fully realized as in "Moon" but certainly compelling. The big difference is that Wambaugh's weakness for plotting, though a distraction in "Moon" is very disconcerting in "Crows." His plot devise toolkit has always been to rely on a heavy component of suspension of belief, but in "Crows" it is almost blatantly a rip-off of the nursery school rhyme: The Little Ol' Lady Who Swallowed the Fly. You remember; it starts out in small steps -- "she swallowed the spider to catch the fly" - allowing you to move along with incremental suspensions of belief until she swallows a horse!

Like the Little Ol' Lady, Wambaugh's plot is forgiven because you are enjoying the characters so much. But finally like what happens to the Little Ol' Lady, the plot of "Hollywood Crows" dies, of course.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know if this is technically a series, but this is the second book Wambaugh has written about Hollywood Station. What I like about these books is that they’re not *really* about the situation... Margot and Ali Aziz are not the center of this book. The book is about the cops. There’s a few familiar faces — Hollywood Nate and the surfer dudes Flotsam and Jetsam come to mind — and some new ones. And much like real life, there’s not always a happy ending. A good read.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Kathleen Hagen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hollywood Crows, by Joseph Wambaugh. A-minus. Produced by Hachette Audio, narrated by Christian Rummel, downloaded from audible.com.

We’re back with Wambaugh working at Hollywood Station, the weirdest station you’ll ever find-with cops who are surfers who say “dude”, with cops who want to be actors and are always auditioning for something, and then with “normal” cops. Hollywood Crows are the Community Relations Officers, the ones that talk to neighbors about turning down the volume, not parking in the parking spaces of apartment owners, etc. The homicide and patrol officers don’t consider that they do real work, but we find them having to have immense patience, particularly when 30 percent of their callers are chronic repeat callers and are just lonely people who want some attention. In this book the central plot involves two cops, Hollywood Nate, and Bicks, who find themselves bowled over by Margot Aziz. They don’t know that she is hatching a plot to kill her ex-husband Ali Aziz and use whichever one of them will work for a fall guy. But Margot doesn’t know that Ali Aziz is planning to poison her. Again, we have a gripping book with Wambaugh’s wonderful storytelling and acerbic wit. The usual gallows humor that makes me laugh hysterically was there. Also there was the poignant moment of loss that some cops will experience. I’m eagerly awaiting the next book.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Wambaugh of old, back in his old haunts -- Hollywood Precint -- so if you liked Black Marble, Delta Star, Blue Knight and the rest of the early Wambaugh novels, you will like Hollywood Crows. wwl

[Leon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a pleasure to read my first book my Crime Fiction Grand Master Joseph Wambaugh. He set the stage for other great crime fiction authors like Connelly. Former LAPD detective Wambaugh tells a great story in Hollywood Crows. I will definitely read more of Wambaug's books. Special note: I picked up this book at a high end thrift shop in Palm Desert. Little did I know, until I opened the book to read weeks later, that it is signed by Joesph Wambaugh. Definitely a keeper.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wambaugh used to be one of my favorite authors. Then, something happened and his works just did not grab me. I picked this one up at a bargain sale and figured if it wasn't decent I would toss it.

I devoured it.

Wambaugh is at his best telling Cop stories. The wackier the stories and the sometimes macabre cop humor surrounding them the better they are. Wambaugh packs this one with quirky characters like those who populate his early works. Most of them are cops, but even some of the tweakers and homeless people offer us a chuckle of two.

Those are the best parts of the book. The "Crows" in the book are CRO or Community relations officers. These people deal with "quality of life" issues-- fielding complaints about homeless encampments, parking problems, public urination, etc. The Crows do very little real police work and primarily serve to placate the fury of enraged citizens.

Despite the humor generated by the cop stories, there is a great deal of pathos provided. There are a lot of sorrows encountered by police officers and Wambaugh knows and presents it well. What happens to some of the characters is nothing short of ironic. One of the coolest things is how Wambaugh shows an impending event-- the event is almost certain to kill a character off, but Wambaugh creates a series of events that keeps the reader guessing which character is going to be taking the big dust nap and brings the book to a strong conclusion.

It falls short of literary greatness, but it was an interesting read with lot of fun and always emotionally charged.

[Perry Whitford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ronnie Sinclair and Hollywood Nate Weiss join the Crows, the Community Relations Office who look after the 'sissy beat,' sedate quality-of-life complaints such as noisy neighbours, illegal parking, panhandlers, etc.

The surfer dude cops Flotsam and Jetsam are back, they still talk exactly like Bill and Ted. A typical shift might involve dealing with dragons, trannies, tweakers, and of course the Street Characters of Hollywood Boulevard, Batman, Spider-Man, Porky Pig, a crack-dealing Bugs Bunny.

The overarching plot involves a pair of rich and sleazy devorcees conspiring against each other, but the real fun is to be found in the numerous quirky vignettes of routine patrol. Wambaugh's one-liners would do Billy Wilder proud; a particularly messy blood-soaked crime scene gets reported in as "something that looks like a pizza topping without the crust."

Wambaugh loves to explain various police acronyms. The one acronym that pervades every page and needs no interpretation is PC. Working under a federal consent degree the officers of Hollywood Station always have to be wary of racial profiling, even when at the scene of a potential crime.

As one of them warns, "We're white, he's black. We better not do something hasty. I can't afford a suspension right now."

[Eric Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a veteran LAPD sergeant, Joseph Wambaugh has first-hand knowledge of the crazy stories and hair-raising misadventures of Hollywood police.

This book draws upon his encyclopedic intimacy with both the best and the worst on both sides of the law. Recurring characters are nicely fleshed out and relatable, each with his or her own cultural backgrounds, idiosyncrasies, morality and motives. Wambaugh is able to wear each personality to a remarkable degree, showing his deep understanding of human psychology.

As with previous novels, Hollywood Crows intersperses a main plotline with multiple surprising, funny, tragic or disgusting scenarios. This one slowly builds the plot, weaving together the complex threads of a dozen characters into a deeply satisfying conclusion.

An absolutely wonderful read, by a master of the genre.

[Hijacking Of · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second or third time I've read this book. I love Wambaugh's character development. He brings them alive on the page. His plot lines are somewhat convoluted, but the unique characters make up for that.

I just realized that his two patrol cops "Flotsam" and "Jetsam" names are never revealed. None the less, they are pivotal additions in all four of these books in the series "Hollywood Station"

Great reading experience.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly entertaining!

Ride along with Joseph Wambaugh’s cast of characters in the second installment of the Hollywood series as they solve crime in Tinseltown.

Haven’t read him in over a decade and had forgotten how great of an author he is.

Drawing on his time as a member of the LAPD, Wambaugh has written mostly fiction with the exception of The Onion Field(haven’t read) and The Choirboys(exceptional!)

Five out of Five 🚨!

[Bookmarks Magazine]

Hailed as "the master of the modern police story" (St. Petersburg Times), Wambaugh is renowned for his groundbreaking, gritty portrayals of police work in the City of Angels. Critics lamented that, unfortunately, copycat writers have flooded the market in recent years, consigning the once-innovative dialogue and storylines to the realm of the clich_

[Carolynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This might have been an interesting story - about police on the Hollywood Beat - but it is so darned racist that I could not stand it. Every sentence has some sort of racial comment. Each new character is introduced by their race. Enough already.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent police procedural - Wambaugh at his best.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a policeman, but I imagine the life of a policeman is pretty close to the way Wambaugh describes it.

[Michael Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

And the police lose another good officer to a stupid crook and a bad situation.

[Studvet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! Great story.

[Lois Crockett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!

I really enjoyed this book. Fast-paced action, screwball situations, perps & cops all going headlong into a plot with more twists & turns than Mulholland Drive.

[Alexis Billeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Builds on the cast in the first book, and adds a new set of characters intertwined in various crimes.

[Jiří Pavlovský · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jen o málokterém autorovi můžu říct, že se mi jeho pozdější věci líbí o dost víc než ty, které napsal na vrcholu své kariéry. U Josepha Wambaugha tohle platí. Svá největší díla napsal někdy v sedmdesátých letech a vlastně byl jedním z průkopníků policejních románů – jeho nejslavnější román, Choirboys, byla v podstatě Hlava 22 v policejním provedení.

A jak se ukázalo, ani po nějakých padesáti letech neztratil talent, spíš nabral na dravosti. I v Hollywoodské sérii (už existují čtyři knihy) si udržuje cynický odstup a jeho policejní hrdinové pořád nejsou zrovna vzorem… čehokoliv. Ale jsou to lidi, co se i přes své defekty, ambice a problémy ze strany vedení, snaží dělat svou práci.

Joseph Wambaugh v téhle řadě vlastně především servíruje policejní historky. Někdy srandovní, někdy děsivé, s zajímavým vhledem do světa policajtů i zločinců. Tentokrát se příběh přesouvá do oddělení pro styk s veřejností (Community Relations Officer – Crow), čili k něčemu, co je z hlediska policie pohodová fuška. Obvykle to znamená mluvit se stěžujícími si stařenkami, vyslechnout problémy více či méně šílených spoluobčanů (a v Hollywoodu jsou šílení skoro všichni) a občas zasáhnout do nějaké té domácí hádky. A samozřejmě, válčit s byrokratickým aparátem, který jim tu práci co nejvíc komplikuje. Třeba když nějaký policista praští někoho baterkou a na základě toho jsou funkční baterky stažené a nahrazené mnohem menším, kterými se zraníte jen pokud se je pokusíte sníst. Bohužel, ty baterky se nedají skoro vůbec držet a několik policistů už při práci s nimi začalo hořet. Ale jinak dobrý.

Příběh se také víc motá kolem „charakterů“ čili lidí, co se živí tím, že se na hollywoodském bulváru, převlečení za Batmana či Spider-Mana, nechávají fotit s turisty. Samozřejmě, vznikají různé klany, které spolu bojují a snaží se vyšachovat… nehledě na to, že velké hlavy se dobře hodí pro schování drog. A celý román spojuje rozvodové klání manželů Azizových, kteří se navzájem hodlají zabít, a do své války zatahují nejen zločince, ale i policisty. To je ta linka, která udržuje tempo a která se pomalu sune až k tragickému finále.

Pro milovníky seriálu Wire je tohle celkem jasná volba… a i když jsem se tak neřezal jako u jedničky, tak celkový dojem z knihy byl ještě o malý chloupek lepší.

[Barry Martin Vass · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Joe Wambaugh was with the LAPD for fourteen years, rising from the rank of patrolman to detective sergeant. So if you're looking for a realistic police procedural, Wambaugh has definitely been there and done that. His characters jump off the page in the way they talk and carry themselves, often in life-or-death situations. The title of this book is an acronym: Hollywood (Police) Station Community Relations Officers (Crows) are not actively involved in fighting crime like most of the other officers in the LAPD. Rather, their job is to interact with the community, whether it means following up on chronic-noise complaints, Homeless Outreach programs, Police Explorer Scout programs, illegal parking, and other quality-of-life measures. Most of the other police officers resent them to a degree, because they're not really doing anything to stop crime as it happens, but with Congress, federal judges, and politicians trying to tamp down the aggression and violence of police work over the years, the work of the Crows is seen to have real value from the higher-ups as policing moves forward. Wambaugh's sense of humor is wry and irreverent, and this is often hilarious, but Hollywood Crows gives you a realistic view of life on the streets.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional, spot-on, I’m lovin’ this series! Epic!
Christian Rummel’s narration is flawlessly unique! After listening to several Rummel-narrated books, he has joined the ranks of a few of my most favored presenters: Julia Whelan, Rob Shapiro, Kristin Atherton, R.C. Bray and Victor Slezak. Rummel’s perfect attention to humor and creativity to characters’ voices is impeccable. Author Joseph Wambaugh is now a favorite of mine and I’m looking forward to his the next in this series, “Hollywood Moon.” An enjoyable romp through the quirks and eccentricity of Hollywood, There were laughs as well as a few tears. Featuring members of the Hollywood Police Department, Wambaugh creates exciting and suspenseful plot and subplots, encompassing humor, deception, sudden tragedy {{{grab the tissues}}}, double-crosses, strippers, live chickens {{{yes, you read correctly}}} and so much more. Kudos to Wambaugh and Rummel, as well as Audible, for bringing this remarkable series to the forefront. Worth a cherished credit. So strongly recommended, I want to shout it from the rooftop: Epic, I say, EPIC, EPIC, EPIC!

👀👏🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟👏👀

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this audiobook. This is the second in the Hollywood Station series. Each book in this series is the same. They follow several cops who work in Hollywood. The recurring characters include a pair of cops who are stereotypical surfer dudes known only as Flotsam and Jetsam, and a cop who dreams of being an actor nicknamed Hollywood Nate. Each book features anecdotes about weird crimes in Hollywood. Some are hilarious, some are tragic. There is a main plot that weaves it way through the book. Leonard, a drug addict would be burglar is hired by sleazy topless bar owner to break into his estranged wife’s house. This is only part of the bar owner’s plan to eventually kill her. Meanwhile, the wife is cooking up her own complicated plan to kill her husband. Leonard runs into several of the Hollywood Station cops but always squirms his way out of trouble. These books are funny and clever.

[Judy Steiner Marino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another hurrah for Wambaugh

Crows is the word for community relations officer ... As we delve into another side of the LAPD. With a few other stories weaved into the mix, the main line is about a divorce case. Hollywood has it's fair share of characters from the sublime to the slime, and all the levels of income that don't predict which end of that spectrum who is what! Many a different level and age of police officers add to the cornucopia of characters unfolding the decadence of a divorce in the magic kingdom known as Hollywood. Wambaugh mastery of dialogue is amazing as he is able to enhance the different people involved in a melting pot city of law and lawlessness. The events that occur are sometimes sad like real life, but in the end, karma and/or justice win.