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Bragg #4
Wake Up and Die
A DIRTY CASE FROM THE BEGINNING...
The quiet community of Sausalito is the site of a glittering new hotel complex. But Peter Bragg, work-ing on a blackmail case in the area, senses some-thing else simmering beneath the ocean-kissed beachfront.
Residents are being "persuaded" to give up their homes to the developers. The means of persuasion? Arson, torture, and murder. And when the blackmail case blows up in his face literally he knows he's onto something big.
A street-smart black lady, a very friendly cock-tail waitress, a poor little rich girl, and an army of hardcases who enjoy making ground beef of nosy detectives...Bragg smells a conspiracy so immense that his own life isn't worth a paper dollar if he doesn't bring the criminals to justice. And if any-body can, Bragg will.
The quiet community of Sausalito is the site of a glittering new hotel complex. But Peter Bragg, work-ing on a blackmail case in the area, senses some-thing else simmering beneath the ocean-kissed beachfront.
Residents are being "persuaded" to give up their homes to the developers. The means of persuasion? Arson, torture, and murder. And when the blackmail case blows up in his face literally he knows he's onto something big.
A street-smart black lady, a very friendly cock-tail waitress, a poor little rich girl, and an army of hardcases who enjoy making ground beef of nosy detectives...Bragg smells a conspiracy so immense that his own life isn't worth a paper dollar if he doesn't bring the criminals to justice. And if any-body can, Bragg will.
246 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 15, 2016
This is the fourth entry in the late Jack Lynch's series featuring San Francisco P.I., Peter Bragg. Originally published in 1984 as Sausalito, it has recently been brought back into print by the people at Brash Books who are re-releasing a number of classic crime novels that have sadly fallen out of print.
The case begins when someone sends racy photographs of a young woman named Melody Moss to her father, Samuel. The father, who is a widower and who has no child other than Melody, is naturally distressed. He's not sure who sent the photos or why, and so he hires Bragg to get him the answers. Bragg suggests that Moss might simply ask his daughter about the pictures, but Moss declines, telling Bragg that he and his daughter don't have the kind of relationship that would allow him to ask such questions. He also forbids Bragg from approaching his daughter about the matter.
Bragg thus approaches the case with one hand effectively tied behind his back. Moss tells him that Melody is engaged to marry a young man named Duffy Anderson, who is the son of Paul Anderson, a rich and powerful local developer. To complicate matters further, Moss's brother, Arthur, is involved in a project with the elder Mr. Anderson to develop a big convention center and resort called Marinship Shores in Sausalito.
The only lead that Moss is able to give Bragg is that he recognizes the place where the photos were taken, a small vacation cabin that he owns up the Pacific Coast. Bragg goes up to check the place out and quickly discovers that Melody and her friends aren't using the cabin only for the purpose of taking racy photographs.
From there, a relatively simple case mushrooms into something much more complex. Most of it centers on the Marinship Shores development, the construction of which will have serious consequences for those people living in Marin County near the site of the development. In particular, a small group of people who live on houseboats close to the project are being intimidated into leaving their homes, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out who might be behind these actions.
Before long, the bodies are dropping and Peter Bragg is racing as fast as he can to stay one step ahead of the chaos, trying to protect any number of people to whom he has become attached during the course of his investigation. It's a gripping story that races along to a fairly violent conclusion.
Set in the early 1980s, the book is also a reflection of an earlier time in America, particularly with regard to race relations. Melody Moss and her father are black, as are a couple of other key characters. Melody's fiance and his family are white, and critical to the original premise of the Marinship Shores development is that it will provide jobs to low-income residents of the area, principally blacks. But is the intention genuine or are these people simply being used as pawns in a larger and more nefarious scheme?
All in all, this is a very good read that should appeal to large numbers of crime fiction fans, especially those who relish a good P.I. story where brains, guts and shoe leather are still a detective's principle assets rather than computers, GPS, and cell phones.
The case begins when someone sends racy photographs of a young woman named Melody Moss to her father, Samuel. The father, who is a widower and who has no child other than Melody, is naturally distressed. He's not sure who sent the photos or why, and so he hires Bragg to get him the answers. Bragg suggests that Moss might simply ask his daughter about the pictures, but Moss declines, telling Bragg that he and his daughter don't have the kind of relationship that would allow him to ask such questions. He also forbids Bragg from approaching his daughter about the matter.
Bragg thus approaches the case with one hand effectively tied behind his back. Moss tells him that Melody is engaged to marry a young man named Duffy Anderson, who is the son of Paul Anderson, a rich and powerful local developer. To complicate matters further, Moss's brother, Arthur, is involved in a project with the elder Mr. Anderson to develop a big convention center and resort called Marinship Shores in Sausalito.
The only lead that Moss is able to give Bragg is that he recognizes the place where the photos were taken, a small vacation cabin that he owns up the Pacific Coast. Bragg goes up to check the place out and quickly discovers that Melody and her friends aren't using the cabin only for the purpose of taking racy photographs.
From there, a relatively simple case mushrooms into something much more complex. Most of it centers on the Marinship Shores development, the construction of which will have serious consequences for those people living in Marin County near the site of the development. In particular, a small group of people who live on houseboats close to the project are being intimidated into leaving their homes, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out who might be behind these actions.
Before long, the bodies are dropping and Peter Bragg is racing as fast as he can to stay one step ahead of the chaos, trying to protect any number of people to whom he has become attached during the course of his investigation. It's a gripping story that races along to a fairly violent conclusion.
Set in the early 1980s, the book is also a reflection of an earlier time in America, particularly with regard to race relations. Melody Moss and her father are black, as are a couple of other key characters. Melody's fiance and his family are white, and critical to the original premise of the Marinship Shores development is that it will provide jobs to low-income residents of the area, principally blacks. But is the intention genuine or are these people simply being used as pawns in a larger and more nefarious scheme?
All in all, this is a very good read that should appeal to large numbers of crime fiction fans, especially those who relish a good P.I. story where brains, guts and shoe leather are still a detective's principle assets rather than computers, GPS, and cell phones.
February 21, 2016
This book is the fourth in the series featuring Peter Bragg; the series was nominated for the Edgar Award and twice for the Shamus Award. I’ve read three others in the series and enjoyed them, so imagine my delight when I located it among the DRC’s offered by Brash Priority Readers Circle.
This is the same book as Sausalito; when Brash adopted the Bragg series, the titles in this series were renamed for continuity, a change for the better. Once in awhile Goodreads is slow to show the new name, and so I read it and reviewed it before this title appeared, and I got mixed up and began to reread it, thinking I had not been here yet. Prior to the Amazon acquisition of Goodreads, a volunteer librarian like me could easily scan a book jacket, if I had it, or provide a link, and the superlibrarians would obligingly add it to the site. Now the policy is much more restrictive, and so I found myself trying to review a book that the site didn't admit existed, and no one responded to my request to add the title. I am glad it is here now.
Okay, the rant is over; we can go back to the book.
Like most Peter Bragg mysteries, this one is set in the Bay Area. A huge development is about to built on the waterfront, complete with a convention center and any number of hotels and restaurants. The problem arises when the residents of area houseboats protest the likelihood that they will be shut out. Bragg is working a different case, one involving pornographic photos that have been sent to the subject’s father, when he finds himself on the waterfront near his home helping to get people and pets to safety after a suspicious fire breaks out. A murder is discovered and before you know it, all hell has broken loose.
The setting is the 1990’s, shortly before the internet changed all of our lives. It is actually a contemporary setting because this is when the mystery was written, but now as it is re-released, it feels like a noir setting, because all of the telephones are land lines and all files are on paper buried in metal cabinets. In this sense, I think the series actually benefits from the time lag.
The novel is ambitious, bouncing us from one setting to another and introducing a large number of characters. I had trouble keeping track of them all. I might have wondered whether my mind was getting old and rusty but for the fact that I was reading a different galley at the same time with even more characters, and the latter left me with no doubt whatsoever who each one was.
On the plus side, I like the way issues of race and gender are treated; appropriate and at times quite zesty without ever appearing to be self-consciously PC or awkward. There is a moment toward the end that made me want to stand up and cheer! This moment took what was about to be a three star review and bounced it back up to four stars.
On the downside, in addition to the confusion engendered by too frequently hopping between undeveloped characters and situations, there’s an over-the-top moment that some readers will enjoy, but that I found was too much for me: too much vigilantism, too violent, and over the top on my personal ick-meter.
Those that are fans of Jack Lynch will want to read this newly-republished mystery. Those that love good mysteries and/or fiction set in the San Francisco area should also get this book and read it.
Why not spend a weekend curled up with Peter Bragg?
This is the same book as Sausalito; when Brash adopted the Bragg series, the titles in this series were renamed for continuity, a change for the better. Once in awhile Goodreads is slow to show the new name, and so I read it and reviewed it before this title appeared, and I got mixed up and began to reread it, thinking I had not been here yet. Prior to the Amazon acquisition of Goodreads, a volunteer librarian like me could easily scan a book jacket, if I had it, or provide a link, and the superlibrarians would obligingly add it to the site. Now the policy is much more restrictive, and so I found myself trying to review a book that the site didn't admit existed, and no one responded to my request to add the title. I am glad it is here now.
Okay, the rant is over; we can go back to the book.
Like most Peter Bragg mysteries, this one is set in the Bay Area. A huge development is about to built on the waterfront, complete with a convention center and any number of hotels and restaurants. The problem arises when the residents of area houseboats protest the likelihood that they will be shut out. Bragg is working a different case, one involving pornographic photos that have been sent to the subject’s father, when he finds himself on the waterfront near his home helping to get people and pets to safety after a suspicious fire breaks out. A murder is discovered and before you know it, all hell has broken loose.
The setting is the 1990’s, shortly before the internet changed all of our lives. It is actually a contemporary setting because this is when the mystery was written, but now as it is re-released, it feels like a noir setting, because all of the telephones are land lines and all files are on paper buried in metal cabinets. In this sense, I think the series actually benefits from the time lag.
The novel is ambitious, bouncing us from one setting to another and introducing a large number of characters. I had trouble keeping track of them all. I might have wondered whether my mind was getting old and rusty but for the fact that I was reading a different galley at the same time with even more characters, and the latter left me with no doubt whatsoever who each one was.
On the plus side, I like the way issues of race and gender are treated; appropriate and at times quite zesty without ever appearing to be self-consciously PC or awkward. There is a moment toward the end that made me want to stand up and cheer! This moment took what was about to be a three star review and bounced it back up to four stars.
On the downside, in addition to the confusion engendered by too frequently hopping between undeveloped characters and situations, there’s an over-the-top moment that some readers will enjoy, but that I found was too much for me: too much vigilantism, too violent, and over the top on my personal ick-meter.
Those that are fans of Jack Lynch will want to read this newly-republished mystery. Those that love good mysteries and/or fiction set in the San Francisco area should also get this book and read it.
Why not spend a weekend curled up with Peter Bragg?
November 20, 2021
I'm really enjoying this series, which is a pleasant surprise given that when I began (with book #3), I was less than impressed. But thus far, the rest of the books I've read (now a total of four) have been entertaining and well paced.
Peter Bragg, former journalist and now PI, is a classic hard boiled character who is smart, tough, and of course, somehow irresistible to women (for the most part). He has a moral compass which he uses pretty well, deviating here and there when needs must. Lynch draws us into Bragg's world effectively, with apt descriptions of place and people who inhabit these novels. Set in San Francisco and neighboring Sausalito, we see both big city and country environs playing a role. In this particular book, a lovely houseboat shoreline area is threatened by developers with nefarious plans to bring in the mob-- making a sort of semi-private West coast shangri-la for them. Not so fast, not as long as Peter Bragg is investigating some issues that tangentially lead him to discover the true larger picture and the negative consequences thereof.
Well, if you're a fan of such novels as this, you know there will be some violence, some sexual tension and some good old fashioned gumshoe investigating. There you go-- what more do you need for a few nights of diversion and entertaining reading? This series is a hoot, and reliving some of the early 1980's, the time in which this story unfolds, is interesting and a touch nostalgic (not always in a good way, mind you, but nevertheless...). All in all, a worthwhile read for any fan of crime novels, especially featuring an old-fashioned and a bit hard-boiled hero.
Peter Bragg, former journalist and now PI, is a classic hard boiled character who is smart, tough, and of course, somehow irresistible to women (for the most part). He has a moral compass which he uses pretty well, deviating here and there when needs must. Lynch draws us into Bragg's world effectively, with apt descriptions of place and people who inhabit these novels. Set in San Francisco and neighboring Sausalito, we see both big city and country environs playing a role. In this particular book, a lovely houseboat shoreline area is threatened by developers with nefarious plans to bring in the mob-- making a sort of semi-private West coast shangri-la for them. Not so fast, not as long as Peter Bragg is investigating some issues that tangentially lead him to discover the true larger picture and the negative consequences thereof.
Well, if you're a fan of such novels as this, you know there will be some violence, some sexual tension and some good old fashioned gumshoe investigating. There you go-- what more do you need for a few nights of diversion and entertaining reading? This series is a hoot, and reliving some of the early 1980's, the time in which this story unfolds, is interesting and a touch nostalgic (not always in a good way, mind you, but nevertheless...). All in all, a worthwhile read for any fan of crime novels, especially featuring an old-fashioned and a bit hard-boiled hero.
April 7, 2020
Bragg in another mystery
I really enjoyed this Bragg story, but I’ve enjoyed each one I’ve read. In this one he gets mixed up with a crazy Family and a construction project. Lord of twists and turns to get to the end.
I really enjoyed this Bragg story, but I’ve enjoyed each one I’ve read. In this one he gets mixed up with a crazy Family and a construction project. Lord of twists and turns to get to the end.
July 11, 2015
Hired to find who sent nude photos of his daughter by a small time San Francisco bookie, Peter Bragg finds himself soon in the middle of a full scale plot to build a waterfront resort for the Mob on the Sausalito
waterfront.
Join Peter Bragg, as he encounters the wild daughter of one of the resort developers, a gorgeous cocktail waitress, various nasty sorts and, yes, the woman whose photos started his investigation.
The late, great Jack Lynch has created another page turner with more action than Saturday night TV, characters you want to call up for a drink and dinner, and another ride on the wild side.
Grab this baby, your snacks and drinks and hide the phone – you won’t want to stop reading till you hit that last page!
waterfront.
Join Peter Bragg, as he encounters the wild daughter of one of the resort developers, a gorgeous cocktail waitress, various nasty sorts and, yes, the woman whose photos started his investigation.
The late, great Jack Lynch has created another page turner with more action than Saturday night TV, characters you want to call up for a drink and dinner, and another ride on the wild side.
Grab this baby, your snacks and drinks and hide the phone – you won’t want to stop reading till you hit that last page!
December 7, 2014
I t was a blackmail case, a little black bookie receiving mildly pornographic pictures of his daughter, that brought Bragg into it. The little man simply wanted to know who had sent them.
It leads Peter Bragg across the Bridge To a waterfront playground for the rich and powerful in Sausalito and he soon finds himself hip deep in blood, arson, and the mob. And no clear picture who exactly was in charge. Just a lot of suspects.
When those people beat a beautiful woman, a friend of Bragg's, to within an inch of her life, Bragg decides to play a little rough himself.
Excellent.
It leads Peter Bragg across the Bridge To a waterfront playground for the rich and powerful in Sausalito and he soon finds himself hip deep in blood, arson, and the mob. And no clear picture who exactly was in charge. Just a lot of suspects.
When those people beat a beautiful woman, a friend of Bragg's, to within an inch of her life, Bragg decides to play a little rough himself.
Excellent.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews