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John Sutter #2
The Gate House
#1 New York Times bestselling author Nelson DeMille delivers the long-awaited follow-up to his classic novel The Gold Coast .
When John Sutter's aristocratic wife killed her mafia don lover, John left America and set out in his sailboat on a three-year journey around the world, eventually settling in London. Now, ten years later, he has come home to the Gold Coast, that stretch of land on the North Shore of Long Island that once held the greatest concentration of wealth and power in America, to attend the imminent funeral of an old family servant.
Taking up temporary residence in the gatehouse of Stanhope Hall, John finds himself living only a quarter of a mile from Susan who has also returned to Long Island. But Susan isn't the only person from John's past who has Though Frank Bellarosa, infamous Mafia don and Susan's ex-lover, is long dead, his son, Anthony, is alive and well, and intent on two Drawing John back into the violent world of the Bellarosa family, and exacting revenge on his father's murderer--Susan Sutter. At the same time, John and Susan's mutual attraction resurfaces and old passions begin to reignite, and John finds himself pulled deeper into a familiar web of seduction and betrayal.
In The Gate House , acclaimed author Nelson Demille brings us back to that fabled spot on the North Shore -- a place where past, present, and future collides with often unexpected results.
When John Sutter's aristocratic wife killed her mafia don lover, John left America and set out in his sailboat on a three-year journey around the world, eventually settling in London. Now, ten years later, he has come home to the Gold Coast, that stretch of land on the North Shore of Long Island that once held the greatest concentration of wealth and power in America, to attend the imminent funeral of an old family servant.
Taking up temporary residence in the gatehouse of Stanhope Hall, John finds himself living only a quarter of a mile from Susan who has also returned to Long Island. But Susan isn't the only person from John's past who has Though Frank Bellarosa, infamous Mafia don and Susan's ex-lover, is long dead, his son, Anthony, is alive and well, and intent on two Drawing John back into the violent world of the Bellarosa family, and exacting revenge on his father's murderer--Susan Sutter. At the same time, John and Susan's mutual attraction resurfaces and old passions begin to reignite, and John finds himself pulled deeper into a familiar web of seduction and betrayal.
In The Gate House , acclaimed author Nelson Demille brings us back to that fabled spot on the North Shore -- a place where past, present, and future collides with often unexpected results.
928 pages, Hardcover
First published September 27, 2008
1829 people are currently reading
5104 people want to read
About the author
Nelson DeMille
263 books7,419 followersNelson Richard DeMille was an American author of action adventure and suspense novels. His novels include Plum Island, The Charm School, and The General's Daughter. DeMille also wrote under the pen names Jack Cannon, Kurt Ladner, Ellen Kay and Brad Matthews.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,586 reviews
December 7, 2008
THis unthrilling thriller spends an inordinate amount of time setting up the same basic plot from the Gold Coast. The sly innuendos of John Sutter and his trenchant observations of Long Island life are fairly well missing from this bloated volume. I really hate when a hardcover book is 674 pages and you read 430 and only 2 or 3 days have gone by. DeMille should have tried to write something fresh. This gargantuan tale is best left unread.
March 10, 2009
This was the sequel to the Gold Coast, which I loved. The main character was very sarcastic, which I love. The story was stupid. Only finished it because of the sarcasm. Actually, I only finished it because of my OCD.
November 15, 2008
This book is very, very long and NOTHING HAPPENS until the last 30 pages. Our hero drives around the Gold Coast, reminisces about events that happened in another book ("The Gold Coast'), has sex with his ex-wife an unlikely number of times (I have one word for you, Mr. DeMille: cystitis; wait, here's another one: chafing), and drinks. Also, the author has a weird quirk when he describes people talking. Hs dialog looks like this:
"Hello," I informed my ex-wife as she removed the clothes from her still supple body.
"Hello, dear," she sighed in a way that left nothing to interpretation..
Wanting to convey my desire, I expressed to her, "You look nice."
Did he make a bet with his editor that he could write a 700-page book without using the verb "said?"
"Hello," I informed my ex-wife as she removed the clothes from her still supple body.
"Hello, dear," she sighed in a way that left nothing to interpretation..
Wanting to convey my desire, I expressed to her, "You look nice."
Did he make a bet with his editor that he could write a 700-page book without using the verb "said?"
March 9, 2021
My mistake, thinking this would be a thriller, the genre DeMille is most known for. It isn't; as a result, I gave up after a hundred pages or so. DeMille's voice is engaging, his characters are substantial, and this book opens with a cast that could lead anywhere: a successful lawyer has returned to post-nine-eleven New York, where his ex-wife has killed a mafia don, the don's son wants the lawyer's help, and a mysterious Iranian is living in the palatial family estates once owned by the ex-wife's family. DeMille skewers the rich, the pretentious, and New Yorkers of every stripe, lacing his story with humor and sarcasm. It would be outstanding, if I cared about the story. But if the story is how the divorced couple learns to forgive each other, that's not going to pull me through 570 pages.
October 7, 2017
This is the sequel to The Gold Coast and takes place ten years later. I have seen several negative reviews that state there is no action, nothing happens, etc. This is not an action novel and it is not a thriller. Nelson DeMille has written many such novels (e.g. Plum Island, Night Fall). If that is what you are looking for you will probably be disappointed. If you don't start the book with certain expectations you may enjoy the story. Nelson DeMille is (IMHO) a gifted storyteller.
After John Sutter's wife, Susan, killed her mafia don lover he left the country. First having set out in his sailboat on a three-year journey around the world and then spending ten years in London. When the story opens he has returned to the Gold Coast to attend to the affairs of an old family servant who is in hospice. He is living in the gatehouse of Stanhope Hall and finds himself living only a quarter of a mile from Susan who has also returned to Long Island. It isn't long before John and Susan's paths cross and they find that their mutual attraction resurfaces and the old passions reignite. But life is not simple and there are obstacles in the path of their reunion.
Frank Bellarosa, Mafia don and Susan's ex-lover, is dead but his son, Anthony, is alive and well, and intent on exacting revenge on his father's murderer ... Susan Sutter. Anthony also attempts to lure John back into the violent world of the Bellarosa family. Also standing in way of John and Susan's reunion is her parents who threaten to cut her off financially. Not just Susan but her children too. In The Gold Coast Susan's parents came across as stereotypical wealthy types who think they are better than everyone. In this story her father at least comes across as evil. How strong is the love between John and Susan? That is what they will find out. They are not only dealing with present day events they must deal with the past and think about the future.
As I had mentioned earlier I think Nelson DeMille is a terrific storyteller. If you are not expecting John Whitman Sutter to return seeking revenge for the events that took place in The Gold Coast you may enjoy the story.
After John Sutter's wife, Susan, killed her mafia don lover he left the country. First having set out in his sailboat on a three-year journey around the world and then spending ten years in London. When the story opens he has returned to the Gold Coast to attend to the affairs of an old family servant who is in hospice. He is living in the gatehouse of Stanhope Hall and finds himself living only a quarter of a mile from Susan who has also returned to Long Island. It isn't long before John and Susan's paths cross and they find that their mutual attraction resurfaces and the old passions reignite. But life is not simple and there are obstacles in the path of their reunion.
Frank Bellarosa, Mafia don and Susan's ex-lover, is dead but his son, Anthony, is alive and well, and intent on exacting revenge on his father's murderer ... Susan Sutter. Anthony also attempts to lure John back into the violent world of the Bellarosa family. Also standing in way of John and Susan's reunion is her parents who threaten to cut her off financially. Not just Susan but her children too. In The Gold Coast Susan's parents came across as stereotypical wealthy types who think they are better than everyone. In this story her father at least comes across as evil. How strong is the love between John and Susan? That is what they will find out. They are not only dealing with present day events they must deal with the past and think about the future.
As I had mentioned earlier I think Nelson DeMille is a terrific storyteller. If you are not expecting John Whitman Sutter to return seeking revenge for the events that took place in The Gold Coast you may enjoy the story.
October 12, 2008
What I didn't want at the end of the day were any old regrets. What I really needed now were some new regrets. -- John Sutter, in Nelson DeMille's The Gate House
OK, so after your fabulously wealthy Gold Coast society wife murdered her Mafia-boss lover ten years ago, you divorced her and sailed around the world for three years before you settled down in London, and now that you're back in the U.S. you're staying in the gatehouse of your ex-wife's ancestral estate, only to find that she's moved in to the guest house right up the street, and now you're about to fall into bed with one of your wife's young friends who, it turns out, used to have a mad crush on you -- and just then, when you think your life can't get any more complicated, who shows up at your door but the son of the Mafioso your ex-wife killed all those years ago...
Don't you hate when that happens? I know I do. But fortunately for readers of Nelson DeMille's The Gate House, John Sutter, DeMille's protagonist, happens to be brilliant, fearless, witty, and a world-class smartass. He can easily handle situations that would overwhelm you and me to the point of paralysis, and he can do it with a cool intelligence and a rapier wit that leave you panting with excitement, drooling with anticipation, and rolling on the floor in paroxysms of laughter.
DeMille's plotting is flawless, his characters are distinctive and robust, his use of foreshadowing is masterful. The erotic scenes (and there are several of them) are rich, playful, and effectively arousing. The ending is breathlessly terrifying, featuring a morally ambiguous incident that may leave the ethicists among us buzzing for years to come. But all of this is window dressing to the real attraction of The Gate House, which is the dazzling dialogue and narrative. The story is told first-person in the words of John Sutter, whose wry sarcasm and lightning wit permeate every paragraph, leaving you giddy with pleasure, forcing you to enjoy even the most somber scenes whether you want to or not. The themes of The Gate House include lust, infidelity, meddling parents, sexual assault, and even death -- but thanks to the irrepressible John Sutter, I don't think I've ever had so much pure fun reading a book.
The Gate House is the long-awaited sequel to The Gold Coast, a novel DeMille wrote nearly 20 years ago. As it happens, The Gold Coast was my introduction to DeMille -- I had never heard of him when I picked up the book by chance at my neighborhood Barnes & Noble, and it blew me away. Since then I've devoured all of his novels, about half of which are exceptional. (It's the latter half that are so spectacular, by the way -- after authoring half a dozen workmanlike but unremarkable novels, DeMille penned The Gold Coast and instantly leapt into the realm of Masters of Fiction.) The only problem I had with The Gold Coast was that its ending failed to tie up every conceivable loose end, and I tend to be disappointed by novels that don't definitively resolve every plot line that's even remotely resolvable. DeMille, I've since learned, doesn't seem to subscribe to my view that it's a novelist's responsibility to present the reader with a denouement-in-a-box, neatly gift-wrapped, bound with a shiny ribbon, and topped by a bright bow. Maybe that's just me, perhaps some readers handle ambiguity better than I do. And I don't want to give anything away about the ending, so let me just say that if you're looking forward to being disappointed by the ending of The Gate House, you're going to be disappointed. :)
DeMille goes to great pains to recap the key elements of The Gold Coast in the pages of The Gate House -- and so, in theory, you don't have to read the 1990 novel before you read this one. However, in my humble opinion, if you don't read The Gold Coast before you read The Gate House, you're making a mistake of epic proportions. Would you have enjoyed the last episode of The Sopranos as much if you hadn't seen the other 85 episodes first? Of course not. And so even though The Gate House seems to be designed to stand alone, I have to believe that you will undergo a much richer reading experience if you read The Gold Coast first. (If Amazon doesn't market the two books as a package, they're missing a good bet.) I hope you don't think I'm going overboard when I tell you that there simply has never been a better one-two punch in the history of books than The Gold Coast and The Gate House. (OK, maybe The Old Testament and The New Testament are more inspirational. But DeMille is nearly as thought-provoking. And much funnier.)
* * * * * * * * * *
Although, on the surface, The Gate House is a novel about revenge, responsibility, and the consequences of our actions, it's really a book about love, redemption, and forgiveness. And although I think that DeMille would agree with St. Paul that the greatest of these is love, I think he's also trying to tell us that forgiveness runs a pretty close second.
The Gate House is so close to being a perfect novel that, if I had written it, I'd probably retire immediately, rather than risk following it up with something that couldn't possibly be as good. But while I'm just a novelist wannabe, Nelson DeMille is a Fiction God, and I'm betting that he's up to the challenge. Which explains why, even though I just finished reading The Gate House, I can't wait to see what DeMille comes up with next.
OK, so after your fabulously wealthy Gold Coast society wife murdered her Mafia-boss lover ten years ago, you divorced her and sailed around the world for three years before you settled down in London, and now that you're back in the U.S. you're staying in the gatehouse of your ex-wife's ancestral estate, only to find that she's moved in to the guest house right up the street, and now you're about to fall into bed with one of your wife's young friends who, it turns out, used to have a mad crush on you -- and just then, when you think your life can't get any more complicated, who shows up at your door but the son of the Mafioso your ex-wife killed all those years ago...
Don't you hate when that happens? I know I do. But fortunately for readers of Nelson DeMille's The Gate House, John Sutter, DeMille's protagonist, happens to be brilliant, fearless, witty, and a world-class smartass. He can easily handle situations that would overwhelm you and me to the point of paralysis, and he can do it with a cool intelligence and a rapier wit that leave you panting with excitement, drooling with anticipation, and rolling on the floor in paroxysms of laughter.
DeMille's plotting is flawless, his characters are distinctive and robust, his use of foreshadowing is masterful. The erotic scenes (and there are several of them) are rich, playful, and effectively arousing. The ending is breathlessly terrifying, featuring a morally ambiguous incident that may leave the ethicists among us buzzing for years to come. But all of this is window dressing to the real attraction of The Gate House, which is the dazzling dialogue and narrative. The story is told first-person in the words of John Sutter, whose wry sarcasm and lightning wit permeate every paragraph, leaving you giddy with pleasure, forcing you to enjoy even the most somber scenes whether you want to or not. The themes of The Gate House include lust, infidelity, meddling parents, sexual assault, and even death -- but thanks to the irrepressible John Sutter, I don't think I've ever had so much pure fun reading a book.
The Gate House is the long-awaited sequel to The Gold Coast, a novel DeMille wrote nearly 20 years ago. As it happens, The Gold Coast was my introduction to DeMille -- I had never heard of him when I picked up the book by chance at my neighborhood Barnes & Noble, and it blew me away. Since then I've devoured all of his novels, about half of which are exceptional. (It's the latter half that are so spectacular, by the way -- after authoring half a dozen workmanlike but unremarkable novels, DeMille penned The Gold Coast and instantly leapt into the realm of Masters of Fiction.) The only problem I had with The Gold Coast was that its ending failed to tie up every conceivable loose end, and I tend to be disappointed by novels that don't definitively resolve every plot line that's even remotely resolvable. DeMille, I've since learned, doesn't seem to subscribe to my view that it's a novelist's responsibility to present the reader with a denouement-in-a-box, neatly gift-wrapped, bound with a shiny ribbon, and topped by a bright bow. Maybe that's just me, perhaps some readers handle ambiguity better than I do. And I don't want to give anything away about the ending, so let me just say that if you're looking forward to being disappointed by the ending of The Gate House, you're going to be disappointed. :)
DeMille goes to great pains to recap the key elements of The Gold Coast in the pages of The Gate House -- and so, in theory, you don't have to read the 1990 novel before you read this one. However, in my humble opinion, if you don't read The Gold Coast before you read The Gate House, you're making a mistake of epic proportions. Would you have enjoyed the last episode of The Sopranos as much if you hadn't seen the other 85 episodes first? Of course not. And so even though The Gate House seems to be designed to stand alone, I have to believe that you will undergo a much richer reading experience if you read The Gold Coast first. (If Amazon doesn't market the two books as a package, they're missing a good bet.) I hope you don't think I'm going overboard when I tell you that there simply has never been a better one-two punch in the history of books than The Gold Coast and The Gate House. (OK, maybe The Old Testament and The New Testament are more inspirational. But DeMille is nearly as thought-provoking. And much funnier.)
* * * * * * * * * *
Although, on the surface, The Gate House is a novel about revenge, responsibility, and the consequences of our actions, it's really a book about love, redemption, and forgiveness. And although I think that DeMille would agree with St. Paul that the greatest of these is love, I think he's also trying to tell us that forgiveness runs a pretty close second.
The Gate House is so close to being a perfect novel that, if I had written it, I'd probably retire immediately, rather than risk following it up with something that couldn't possibly be as good. But while I'm just a novelist wannabe, Nelson DeMille is a Fiction God, and I'm betting that he's up to the challenge. Which explains why, even though I just finished reading The Gate House, I can't wait to see what DeMille comes up with next.
November 26, 2008
First off, I'd like to know who wrote the official goodreads description of this book - a sequel to the CLASSIC novel The Gold Coast?? This English major might take exception to that very presumptuous comment.
I've been a big DeMille fan since the 80's, greatly appreciating his sarcasm, wit, and plots where regular guys get to be badasses. I've got to admit to a little disappointment here. Susan, the mafia don's lover/killer in The Gold Coast, was never a very sympathetic character for me and I have a really hard time liking her here. Add to that the ultra-fast reconciliation with her husband John after a 10-year estrangement, which results in NO breaking-in period of being nice to him and I nearly wanted something bad to happen to her. The nice, neatly tied-up, yet more than a little disgusting resolution has a hint of malice to it, which kind of makes the reader think that maybe John is having a hard time liking her, too.
I also find it a little annoyingly repetitive that he kept telling the story of how he got to the situation in this book (mafia don recruits lawyer, screws his wife, who then shoots the don) in one sentence format. I, myself, have a similar sentence (he Xed in X with X. And that was a step up for her!) which I think I'm going have to retire now that I realize how irritating it is.
Slightly disappointed in this outing from one of my favorite contemporary authors - looking forward to his next effort.
I've been a big DeMille fan since the 80's, greatly appreciating his sarcasm, wit, and plots where regular guys get to be badasses. I've got to admit to a little disappointment here. Susan, the mafia don's lover/killer in The Gold Coast, was never a very sympathetic character for me and I have a really hard time liking her here. Add to that the ultra-fast reconciliation with her husband John after a 10-year estrangement, which results in NO breaking-in period of being nice to him and I nearly wanted something bad to happen to her. The nice, neatly tied-up, yet more than a little disgusting resolution has a hint of malice to it, which kind of makes the reader think that maybe John is having a hard time liking her, too.
I also find it a little annoyingly repetitive that he kept telling the story of how he got to the situation in this book (mafia don recruits lawyer, screws his wife, who then shoots the don) in one sentence format. I, myself, have a similar sentence (he Xed in X with X. And that was a step up for her!) which I think I'm going have to retire now that I realize how irritating it is.
Slightly disappointed in this outing from one of my favorite contemporary authors - looking forward to his next effort.
January 19, 2009
It's interesting to learn what happened to John & Susan Sutter after The Gold Coast, but the novel drags on far too long with too little pay-off. John spends several hundred pages rehashing the events of The Gold Coast and worrying about what Anthony Bellarosa is going to do. It gets old, and while Demille can be funny, he's fallen into the habit of repeating variations of the same line over and over. "My ex-wife cheated on me with a mafia don."
Worse, while The Gold Coast was set against John's mid-life crisis and rebellion against his place in the 'old money' world, a large part of the drama in The Gate House revolves around a reconciling John & Susan trying to save her inheritance from her cold and unfeeling parents.
It's hard to feel sorry for characters worrying about their future finances when they take several shopping sprees to purchase things like $2000 hand-made suits. Even their claims that the money is 'for their children' fall flat since the grown kids apparently have good careers and don't seem concerned at about the potential loss of future millions.
Not a bad book, just too long and the character of John who seemed rebellious and witty in The Gold Coast comes across as a whiney middle-aged man.
Worse, while The Gold Coast was set against John's mid-life crisis and rebellion against his place in the 'old money' world, a large part of the drama in The Gate House revolves around a reconciling John & Susan trying to save her inheritance from her cold and unfeeling parents.
It's hard to feel sorry for characters worrying about their future finances when they take several shopping sprees to purchase things like $2000 hand-made suits. Even their claims that the money is 'for their children' fall flat since the grown kids apparently have good careers and don't seem concerned at about the potential loss of future millions.
Not a bad book, just too long and the character of John who seemed rebellious and witty in The Gold Coast comes across as a whiney middle-aged man.
November 13, 2008
Maybe it's me, but I don't think I will finish this book. I was so excited to have a new DeMille to read, but the first 150 pages are almost painful. The writing is flat and repetitious. His John Whitman Sutter tries too hard to be funny. And every other thought in his head is "my wife killed her lover, a Mafia don". I'm bored and disappointed.
January 4, 2022
Possible spoiler if you are really sensitive about knowing anything about the book.
This book was so entertaining! I listened to parts and read parts and loved it. The story was a bit far fetched and unbelievable but it was just so much fun. I laughed out loud at many parts. The best thing about Nelson Demille is his main characters, John Sutter in this book and John Cory in others. They are both similar in their wit and sarcasm. I think the book would be enjoyable even if you didn't read "The Gold Coast", because enough references were made to the original story to keep you informed. The ending was actually suspenseful. It missed a 5 star rating because I did not think that after a 10 year separation, John and Susan would get completely back together within a half hour encounter. If that had been developed more reasonably, I would have given it 5 stars. I do believe they always loved each other despite the craziness that happened in their lives. I did not find Susan to be a likeable character, but I understood that her idiosyncracies that annoyed me were the quirks that endeared John. The audio version had an interview with Nelson Demille at the end which I enjoyed. I always like to hear the author's thoughts and how his life influenced the characters in the book.
This book was so entertaining! I listened to parts and read parts and loved it. The story was a bit far fetched and unbelievable but it was just so much fun. I laughed out loud at many parts. The best thing about Nelson Demille is his main characters, John Sutter in this book and John Cory in others. They are both similar in their wit and sarcasm. I think the book would be enjoyable even if you didn't read "The Gold Coast", because enough references were made to the original story to keep you informed. The ending was actually suspenseful. It missed a 5 star rating because I did not think that after a 10 year separation, John and Susan would get completely back together within a half hour encounter. If that had been developed more reasonably, I would have given it 5 stars. I do believe they always loved each other despite the craziness that happened in their lives. I did not find Susan to be a likeable character, but I understood that her idiosyncracies that annoyed me were the quirks that endeared John. The audio version had an interview with Nelson Demille at the end which I enjoyed. I always like to hear the author's thoughts and how his life influenced the characters in the book.
February 27, 2009
Aghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! I cannot believe that one of my favorite authors wrote such a piece of trash. So bad, I'm giving up on it not even halfway through. DeMille spends the first 3rd of the book making CONSTANT references to its prequel - Gold Coast(if I wanted to reread this, I would have), then the main character becomes an absolute moron and agrees to remarry the woman (from Gold Coast) who cheated on him and then murdered her mafia goon "lover". The ex-wife is vain, unrepentent, harassing, and maddeningly spoiled - but evidently is gorgeous and a great lay, so what the hell - why not remarry her? Then they sweetly (awwwww) and emotionally call the grown kids with the wonderful news. Please.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2020
I was a little skeptical to read The Gate House for a number of reasons, but mainly being I had read that many people hated it, and I saw many mixed reviews, but I like to form my own opinion, so I'm glad I read The Gate House, another winner by Mr. DeMille!!
P.S., just a heads up, my review down below may contain spoilers, where this book is a sequel and follow-up to a previous book. But I'll do my best to keep certain parts to myself.
The Gate House takes place 10 years after the events in The Gold Coast, aristocratic and former Wall Street Lawyer John Sutter has left America, now sailing around the world, divorced from Susan, and trying to rebuild his life after the unexpected conclusion of The Gold Coast. But 10 years later, John has returned to his old abode Stanhope Hall on The Gold Coast of Long Island, New York, to attend a funeral. John moves temporarily (supposedly) into The Gate House of Stanhope Hall, living only a quarter mile from Susan.
But it isn't long before old ghosts come back to haunt both John AND Susan. Anthony Bellarosa, the son of deceased Mob Boss Frank Bellarosa (Whom John befriends in the previous book) has resurfaced, and Anthony wants John to come back and work under him, returning the Bellarosa Family to a life of crime, and following in his late father's footsteps, but John declines. Anthony also has his eyes on Susan, seeking revenge for the horrific events that took place 10 years ago.
But Anthony isn't the only one that the Sutters have to worry about. Since returning to America, John and Susan regret their past decision to separate and slowly begin to fall back in love, wanting to remarry. When Susan's manipulative and controlling parents learn of their daughter's plan to remarry the man they never accepted during the first marriage, they will stop at nothing to prevent the Sutters from being reunited.
A wonderful sequel and follow-up to The Gold Coast! Has the classic Nelson Demille humor that had me laughing out loud many times. A wonderful story filled also with romance, sex, deceit and betrayal. My only preventing of giving it a 5-star rating is the beginning started out really slow, and it took a while to get into, but eventually I got to the point where I was hooked!
P.S., just a heads up, my review down below may contain spoilers, where this book is a sequel and follow-up to a previous book. But I'll do my best to keep certain parts to myself.
The Gate House takes place 10 years after the events in The Gold Coast, aristocratic and former Wall Street Lawyer John Sutter has left America, now sailing around the world, divorced from Susan, and trying to rebuild his life after the unexpected conclusion of The Gold Coast. But 10 years later, John has returned to his old abode Stanhope Hall on The Gold Coast of Long Island, New York, to attend a funeral. John moves temporarily (supposedly) into The Gate House of Stanhope Hall, living only a quarter mile from Susan.
But it isn't long before old ghosts come back to haunt both John AND Susan. Anthony Bellarosa, the son of deceased Mob Boss Frank Bellarosa (Whom John befriends in the previous book) has resurfaced, and Anthony wants John to come back and work under him, returning the Bellarosa Family to a life of crime, and following in his late father's footsteps, but John declines. Anthony also has his eyes on Susan, seeking revenge for the horrific events that took place 10 years ago.
But Anthony isn't the only one that the Sutters have to worry about. Since returning to America, John and Susan regret their past decision to separate and slowly begin to fall back in love, wanting to remarry. When Susan's manipulative and controlling parents learn of their daughter's plan to remarry the man they never accepted during the first marriage, they will stop at nothing to prevent the Sutters from being reunited.
A wonderful sequel and follow-up to The Gold Coast! Has the classic Nelson Demille humor that had me laughing out loud many times. A wonderful story filled also with romance, sex, deceit and betrayal. My only preventing of giving it a 5-star rating is the beginning started out really slow, and it took a while to get into, but eventually I got to the point where I was hooked!
March 26, 2015
I enjoyed this story of John Sutter taking place 10 years after The Gold Coast.I see a lot of my GR FRIENDS didn't like this book, but I found it very entertaining! I would recommend you read The Gold Coast first.
November 24, 2010
I finished 'The Gate House' by Nelson DeMille yesterday, I'm going in a few minutes to get another novel to read, I'll let you know what it is. I want to say this about this book: DeMille captures the good, the bad and the ugly as well as the beauty and joy of a real kind of love that compels the characters to be willing to sacrifice ALL unselfishly for one another. It takes awhile to grasp the scope of what DeMille has created here because it's hard to get past the snobbery and the perspective of our character, at first, and to his credit John Sutter is amused by his own arrogance. Even HE understands, as we do, he is a flawed individual for sure, but one who has the nerve and innate drive to do the right thing, always. Everyone wants to be a rockstar in one way or another. And yet, only some of us have the inkling to want to possess a real kind of love, and even when we have it, are we willing to sacrifice ourselves so that it might live on in our loved ones? This is what I came away from this book thinking...
As far as the level of skill, entertainment value, "gettin' yer money's worth", all of that - it's here in this book. Layer upon layer of subtle plot weaving, witty dialogue, it's all here. DeMille is at the top of his game with this effort folks. Like I said - I'm a fan and writer of the gritty action thriller "no-holds-barred" type of fiction, and hopefully years of training and practice will bear out in the coming weeks, months and years for me, but this guy - DeMille - shares the top of the thriller list when ever he produces a piece for a good reason and that's why I don't hesitate to recommend this 845 page turner. You'll walk away with a bitter-sweet feeling and you'll realize you just had your butt kicked - and liked it.
Update on my Review: Ok, I'm on page 648, I guess you could say: "....coming down the home stretch....." - of DeMille's 845 page book. Being a master of story telling DeMille has carefully weaved the sub-plots into the master plot carefully and almost un-beknownst to the reader. I love the first person account, the hero's wry sense of humor and his core values. A lot is at stake, life and death choices are part of every move and thought he must make, all the while doing his lawyer and husband thing. I still highly recommend this book, though, I myself love the action thriller shoot em' up type novels, this book is an adventure in articulation with skillful image translation. The historical aspect of America's "Golden Age" in the early 1900's is a well constructed backdrop that remains threaded through this modern day drama, and it's a good one. More on the conclusion later.....
DeMille's writing style is smooth with great narration. His introspective first person mastery is the element that draws you in and keeps you there, moving with the characters. I'm 100+ pages in and looking forward to today's reading session. I'll let you know.
Let me explain what I mean by smooth. DeMille's writing at first glance and in texture comes across as "high brow" aka intellectual,(and I mean that in a good way, it's a compliment to the "ambience"), also his character in the book John Sutter is of the upper crust, or at least now on the fringes of it, so the author rolls with what he is and knows, and it works. The characters are complex, the narration clips right along, you barely even realize it's there and most importantly, at least for me, I feel like I'm a part of the whole crazy mess, just sure that it's going to end badly for someone and I hope it isn't the people I have begun to care about. The wife? Yeah, I hate her too, kind of, but stick with her, she'll surprise you. So will the cool plot twists.
That's it for now, a jammed schedule has kept the reading level low but I will be reading and I'll let you know. It's a long book, but I like that, so I'll be back with more in a couple of days!
Ok, 400 or so pages in, I have to read on to see how things play out. The plot thickens as our hero tries to make sense of turning events and make the right, what very well could be, life and death choices. An insight to the "golden age, or "gilded age" of Long Island's elite, many wealthy weekend and summer refugees from NYC in the early 1900's, gives scope and background to the present tense drama playing out in the playground of the rich and is cleverly narrated by DeMille through John Sutter, our hero.
More later as I read through this 800+ page new paperback bestseller release!
As far as the level of skill, entertainment value, "gettin' yer money's worth", all of that - it's here in this book. Layer upon layer of subtle plot weaving, witty dialogue, it's all here. DeMille is at the top of his game with this effort folks. Like I said - I'm a fan and writer of the gritty action thriller "no-holds-barred" type of fiction, and hopefully years of training and practice will bear out in the coming weeks, months and years for me, but this guy - DeMille - shares the top of the thriller list when ever he produces a piece for a good reason and that's why I don't hesitate to recommend this 845 page turner. You'll walk away with a bitter-sweet feeling and you'll realize you just had your butt kicked - and liked it.
Update on my Review: Ok, I'm on page 648, I guess you could say: "....coming down the home stretch....." - of DeMille's 845 page book. Being a master of story telling DeMille has carefully weaved the sub-plots into the master plot carefully and almost un-beknownst to the reader. I love the first person account, the hero's wry sense of humor and his core values. A lot is at stake, life and death choices are part of every move and thought he must make, all the while doing his lawyer and husband thing. I still highly recommend this book, though, I myself love the action thriller shoot em' up type novels, this book is an adventure in articulation with skillful image translation. The historical aspect of America's "Golden Age" in the early 1900's is a well constructed backdrop that remains threaded through this modern day drama, and it's a good one. More on the conclusion later.....
DeMille's writing style is smooth with great narration. His introspective first person mastery is the element that draws you in and keeps you there, moving with the characters. I'm 100+ pages in and looking forward to today's reading session. I'll let you know.
Let me explain what I mean by smooth. DeMille's writing at first glance and in texture comes across as "high brow" aka intellectual,(and I mean that in a good way, it's a compliment to the "ambience"), also his character in the book John Sutter is of the upper crust, or at least now on the fringes of it, so the author rolls with what he is and knows, and it works. The characters are complex, the narration clips right along, you barely even realize it's there and most importantly, at least for me, I feel like I'm a part of the whole crazy mess, just sure that it's going to end badly for someone and I hope it isn't the people I have begun to care about. The wife? Yeah, I hate her too, kind of, but stick with her, she'll surprise you. So will the cool plot twists.
That's it for now, a jammed schedule has kept the reading level low but I will be reading and I'll let you know. It's a long book, but I like that, so I'll be back with more in a couple of days!
Ok, 400 or so pages in, I have to read on to see how things play out. The plot thickens as our hero tries to make sense of turning events and make the right, what very well could be, life and death choices. An insight to the "golden age, or "gilded age" of Long Island's elite, many wealthy weekend and summer refugees from NYC in the early 1900's, gives scope and background to the present tense drama playing out in the playground of the rich and is cleverly narrated by DeMille through John Sutter, our hero.
More later as I read through this 800+ page new paperback bestseller release!
April 7, 2020
Entertaining dialogues with himself.
Page501: I drove out of the small parking lot and noticed the expensive cars driven by wives who’d come to pick up their hardworking husbands. There were young children in some of the vehicles— the nanny left early today-and I looked at these couples, I could see immediately which ones were were happy to see each other, and which ones wished they’d taken another train ten or twenty years ago.
Pg 509: I date women I couldn’t possibly marry, or who announced early that they wouldn’t marry me if their lives depended on it. It’s worked well so far.
Pg 521: I recalled that out-thinking Frank was like matching wits with a worthy opposing general; out thinking Anthony was like trying to out think a predatory animal, who has no intellect— just an empty stomach that needs to be filled.
Pg 541: at a funeral: The punch seemed to be alcohol-free, but I was hoping that someone had spiked at least one punch bowl, and all I had to do was find it. I’m not a big fan of Episcopal cake and cookies, and my stomach was growling for a liverwurst sandwich on rye with deli mustard. But I settled for some potato salad that had little specks of mystery meat in it.
Page501: I drove out of the small parking lot and noticed the expensive cars driven by wives who’d come to pick up their hardworking husbands. There were young children in some of the vehicles— the nanny left early today-and I looked at these couples, I could see immediately which ones were were happy to see each other, and which ones wished they’d taken another train ten or twenty years ago.
Pg 509: I date women I couldn’t possibly marry, or who announced early that they wouldn’t marry me if their lives depended on it. It’s worked well so far.
Pg 521: I recalled that out-thinking Frank was like matching wits with a worthy opposing general; out thinking Anthony was like trying to out think a predatory animal, who has no intellect— just an empty stomach that needs to be filled.
Pg 541: at a funeral: The punch seemed to be alcohol-free, but I was hoping that someone had spiked at least one punch bowl, and all I had to do was find it. I’m not a big fan of Episcopal cake and cookies, and my stomach was growling for a liverwurst sandwich on rye with deli mustard. But I settled for some potato salad that had little specks of mystery meat in it.
December 21, 2012
Hmmmm - what to say about this book. It was torture to read this. DeMille usually has slam/bang action and lots of plots going on, but this one really was a book I was stubborn about finishing. Out of 674 pages, the action FINALLY started taking place on page 634 - totally amazing to me. It was like I KNEW something was going to happen, because that's his style, with usually a very surprising twist. But this was basically nothing happening, and then just the end. The whole story revolved around John Sutter, a Long Island socialite, married to a wealthy socialite, divorced, returning home after 10 years. His wife had had an affair with a Mafia don, killed him, got away with murder (have no idea how) and now these two have happily reunited; all this takes place in a weeks time, and the son of the Mafia don is out for revenge and almost succeeds at the very end of the book. It was like, wait for it, wait for it, it's coming, and than BAM, the book is over. And everyone is wealthy and happy - SUCKED!!! So done with Nelson Demille - that's a shame!
May 18, 2013
WHY DOES EVERY DIMWIT NEED "ACTION!!!"
Don't get me wrong, I like action too, but movies and books can be actionless and be GREAT. You ever see the movie "Glengarry Glen Ross?" One of the best movies ever made in my opinion and I would think other people as well. DIALOGUE in itself and tension/drama can be very entertaining. If you want to read a dumb book with John McClain running around stabbing badguys, go ahead, nobodies stopping you.....on second thought, maybe that would be pretty good...and I digress. Point is, a story and movie can be entertaining without "action." I suppose events need to take place. I would agree that it does have a lot of unnecessary stuff such as the "3 Wake ceremonies." That take FOREVER to get through and nothing seems to happen. But it is a great read overall and most of the time it keeps your interested for one reason or more.
SPOILER ALERT!!!!
I think they did go too long with the "letter" thing. "Should we open the letter or shouldn't we open the letter?" You know way before they read the letter that the letter will be VERY significant, I guess that is probably the point. And I didn't really like how it didn't have potentially one of the most entertaining parts that could have been in the book. THE CONVERSATION WITH WILLIAM STANHOPE AND JOHN SUTTER ABOUT THE LETTER THAT ETHEL GAVE HIM!!!! Instead that part was totally not in the book, it was basically him talking about how the the conversation went as if it happened 10 years prior. And of course if Demille put that conversation in the book he should have made it very entertaining, and give that, "Oh that stings" feeling. "I would hate to be William Stanope at that momemt" feeling.
Don't get me wrong, I like action too, but movies and books can be actionless and be GREAT. You ever see the movie "Glengarry Glen Ross?" One of the best movies ever made in my opinion and I would think other people as well. DIALOGUE in itself and tension/drama can be very entertaining. If you want to read a dumb book with John McClain running around stabbing badguys, go ahead, nobodies stopping you.....on second thought, maybe that would be pretty good...and I digress. Point is, a story and movie can be entertaining without "action." I suppose events need to take place. I would agree that it does have a lot of unnecessary stuff such as the "3 Wake ceremonies." That take FOREVER to get through and nothing seems to happen. But it is a great read overall and most of the time it keeps your interested for one reason or more.
SPOILER ALERT!!!!
I think they did go too long with the "letter" thing. "Should we open the letter or shouldn't we open the letter?" You know way before they read the letter that the letter will be VERY significant, I guess that is probably the point. And I didn't really like how it didn't have potentially one of the most entertaining parts that could have been in the book. THE CONVERSATION WITH WILLIAM STANHOPE AND JOHN SUTTER ABOUT THE LETTER THAT ETHEL GAVE HIM!!!! Instead that part was totally not in the book, it was basically him talking about how the the conversation went as if it happened 10 years prior. And of course if Demille put that conversation in the book he should have made it very entertaining, and give that, "Oh that stings" feeling. "I would hate to be William Stanope at that momemt" feeling.
December 2, 2008
This book is not the sequel of The Gold Coast - at least not a decent sequel to The Gold Coast. The re-hashing of the story over and over and over again is tiresome. If we're reading the sequel we probably already know that Susan had an affair with a Mafia Don and then killed him. And we know all the feelings of the other characters.
Nothing is happening in this story - about 125 pages in - I guess Mr. DeMille is using the Highschool Students way of padding a paper with repetition - large margins - bigger fonts.
Sorry, Mr. DeMille, but you still lost me as a reader after The Gold Coast.
Peg
Nothing is happening in this story - about 125 pages in - I guess Mr. DeMille is using the Highschool Students way of padding a paper with repetition - large margins - bigger fonts.
Sorry, Mr. DeMille, but you still lost me as a reader after The Gold Coast.
Peg
November 24, 2008
Painfully boring and I wish I had the time back that I wasted on this thing. If this is classic DeMille then this is my last time I will read anything of his.
December 21, 2011
This book was recommended to me by three people. I dont know how they could have all been so wrong. This book 786 pages long of pure unadulterated torture. The book could EASILY have been 250-300 pages and not lost any of the story and it probably wouldnt have been bad. the fact that DeMille chooses to stretch out the most trivial of details and side stories that HAVE NO MEANING TO THE PLOT is irritating as shit. I put down the book halfway through and was not going to finish it but I couldnt find a review online that told me the ending so I speed read the last 350 pages. The only positives about this book is that the main character John Sutter has a funny sarcastic sense of humor. after 200 pages of bullshit that sense of humor losses its entertainment value though...
Synopsis (so hopefully someone wont have to suffer as I did):
I have not read the first book and probably didnt need to read it to understand this book. John Sutter is a divorced man because 10 years ago his ex-wife murdered the mob boss next door (who she was having an affair with) because he told her he didnt love her and that he didnt want to see her again. John was the mob boss's attorney and knew about the affair and told the Mob boss to call it off w/his wife (the mob boss owed him because John saved his life once). so we pick up 10 years later after John had sailed the world and lived in London for a stint. He came back to collect his American belongings since the women who owned the place was dying. She had been a servant of his ex-wife’s family and with her death she lost her rights to the property which was on his ex-wifes land. He almost hooks up w/this woman's daughter but instead after a 5 minute meet and greet w/his wife he reconnects w/her and they decide to get married again in the span of about 12 hours. paradise doesnt last long as the mob boss's son apparently lives next door and wants John to start working for him. John entertains this to find out if he has an ulterior motive to kill his ex-wife (and soon to be wife) Susan. He calls it off w/the son and believes Susan to be in danger. At the end of the book Anthony and a fellow goon break into the house tie up Susan and vow to rape her in front of John and then kill John as revenge for his father. Susan breaks free and shoots the son (not killing him) and before police arrive John ensures the sons death by not allowing the wound to clot. John also gets revenge on his father in law who hates him and threatens to disown Susan and the children if they re-marry, which would mean that they would loss out on millions of dollars. John receives a letter from the elderly woman who died that says that the father in law forced his immigrant servants to have sex with him and that he even sent one back to Europe when he impregnated her. John uses this to blackmail his father in law to ensure that all the inheritances are kept.
Synopsis (so hopefully someone wont have to suffer as I did):
I have not read the first book and probably didnt need to read it to understand this book. John Sutter is a divorced man because 10 years ago his ex-wife murdered the mob boss next door (who she was having an affair with) because he told her he didnt love her and that he didnt want to see her again. John was the mob boss's attorney and knew about the affair and told the Mob boss to call it off w/his wife (the mob boss owed him because John saved his life once). so we pick up 10 years later after John had sailed the world and lived in London for a stint. He came back to collect his American belongings since the women who owned the place was dying. She had been a servant of his ex-wife’s family and with her death she lost her rights to the property which was on his ex-wifes land. He almost hooks up w/this woman's daughter but instead after a 5 minute meet and greet w/his wife he reconnects w/her and they decide to get married again in the span of about 12 hours. paradise doesnt last long as the mob boss's son apparently lives next door and wants John to start working for him. John entertains this to find out if he has an ulterior motive to kill his ex-wife (and soon to be wife) Susan. He calls it off w/the son and believes Susan to be in danger. At the end of the book Anthony and a fellow goon break into the house tie up Susan and vow to rape her in front of John and then kill John as revenge for his father. Susan breaks free and shoots the son (not killing him) and before police arrive John ensures the sons death by not allowing the wound to clot. John also gets revenge on his father in law who hates him and threatens to disown Susan and the children if they re-marry, which would mean that they would loss out on millions of dollars. John receives a letter from the elderly woman who died that says that the father in law forced his immigrant servants to have sex with him and that he even sent one back to Europe when he impregnated her. John uses this to blackmail his father in law to ensure that all the inheritances are kept.
April 18, 2009
Before reading this review please note. If you haven't read DeMille's The Gold Coast, and plan to, please don't read this, as it will spoil that story for you.
Though this book is very long (670+ pages) I looked forward to reading it at every turn. I am a huge fan of Nelson DeMille and would enjoy his description of how grass grows. The Gate House is the sequel to The Gold Coast, and much of Gate House rehashes the thrust of that book. I enjoyed this, as it's been awhile since I read the first one and the updates kept it fresh in my head.
Ten years have passed since John Sutter's wife, Susan, killed her lover, a Mafia Don, and got little more than a slap on the wrist for her trouble. After divorcing Susan, John Sutter spent ten years sailing the sea and making a living in London. Now he's come back to the Gold Coast for an impending funeral, and all the ghosts of John's past, and some new ones, are waiting for him. He hasn't lost his clever sense of humor and sarcastic wit, which keeps this story moving along. There isn't a lot of action in most of the book, but tension grows nicely and the ending is the way only DeMille can do an ending.
I have read some unfavorable reviews, and, while I can see the reviewers' points of view, I couldn't help but enjoy this book all the way through - I'm sorry I finished it, and look forward to more by this author.
Though this book is very long (670+ pages) I looked forward to reading it at every turn. I am a huge fan of Nelson DeMille and would enjoy his description of how grass grows. The Gate House is the sequel to The Gold Coast, and much of Gate House rehashes the thrust of that book. I enjoyed this, as it's been awhile since I read the first one and the updates kept it fresh in my head.
Ten years have passed since John Sutter's wife, Susan, killed her lover, a Mafia Don, and got little more than a slap on the wrist for her trouble. After divorcing Susan, John Sutter spent ten years sailing the sea and making a living in London. Now he's come back to the Gold Coast for an impending funeral, and all the ghosts of John's past, and some new ones, are waiting for him. He hasn't lost his clever sense of humor and sarcastic wit, which keeps this story moving along. There isn't a lot of action in most of the book, but tension grows nicely and the ending is the way only DeMille can do an ending.
I have read some unfavorable reviews, and, while I can see the reviewers' points of view, I couldn't help but enjoy this book all the way through - I'm sorry I finished it, and look forward to more by this author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2011
I read the Goodreads review, fortunately even the ones marked "spoilers"didn't contain any real spoilers, having just finished Gold Coast tonight.
"Suspension of disbelief is a key element to enjoy some really interesting fiction". I very much enjoyed Gold Coast, and found that The Gate House did not let me down. DeMille's style uses a narration provided by the main character John Whitman Sutter, who returns to New York from London as he has promised to look after the estate of Ethel Allard, former staff member on the estate of William Stanhope, father of Susan Stanhope Sutter, John's ex-wife. The Allards (Ethel's husband George died ten years before in the novel The Gold Coast) had a life estate bequeathed to them by Augustus Stanhope, in the gatehouse of the estate. John and his then wife Susan lived in a guest house on 10 acres of the estate bequeathed to Susan upon her marriage to John. The estate was purchased in the Gold Coast, by the mafia neighbor of the Sutters, Anthony Bellarosa. The Gold Coast ended as Susan shot Bellarose, her lover, after he became an FBI informant and he broke off his relationship with Susan.
John and Susan quickly come together and form a new relationship, and also John becomes entangled with young Anthony Bellarosa, successor to the holdings of the deceased mafia boss. Relationships quickly become tangled with family discord
"Suspension of disbelief is a key element to enjoy some really interesting fiction". I very much enjoyed Gold Coast, and found that The Gate House did not let me down. DeMille's style uses a narration provided by the main character John Whitman Sutter, who returns to New York from London as he has promised to look after the estate of Ethel Allard, former staff member on the estate of William Stanhope, father of Susan Stanhope Sutter, John's ex-wife. The Allards (Ethel's husband George died ten years before in the novel The Gold Coast) had a life estate bequeathed to them by Augustus Stanhope, in the gatehouse of the estate. John and his then wife Susan lived in a guest house on 10 acres of the estate bequeathed to Susan upon her marriage to John. The estate was purchased in the Gold Coast, by the mafia neighbor of the Sutters, Anthony Bellarosa. The Gold Coast ended as Susan shot Bellarose, her lover, after he became an FBI informant and he broke off his relationship with Susan.
John and Susan quickly come together and form a new relationship, and also John becomes entangled with young Anthony Bellarosa, successor to the holdings of the deceased mafia boss. Relationships quickly become tangled with family discord
July 18, 2009
First of all, I am not author-bashing. I have read a couple of other Nelson DeMille novels that I thoroughly enjoyed. When The Gate House first came out, I had not yet read The Gold Coast, prequel to this book, so I read the earlier book first. Although I didn't really like The Gold Coast, I read this novel anyway, and in retrospect, that was a mistake. Without giving too much away (there is very little to give away and I don't want to spoil what few surprises there are), both books are about a lawyer who lives on the Gold Coast with his heiress wife, and both get a little too close to their Mafia neighbors. I think the second book was even worse than The Gold Coast. It seems that most of this book was spent repeating details from the first book, seemingly endlessly, and for an almost 700-page book, there was remarkably little plot. I think if one were to take out all the repeats of, and references to, earlier actions, the book would be about 50 pages. The main character, John Sutter, is not very likable. His sarcasm, vulgarities, and obsessions got old fast. And while I can appreciate an unlikable character, he must be interesting. John Sutter was not.
August 13, 2016
I listened to the audio version of The Gate House. After listening to the Nelson DeMille interview at the end of the book, I was glad I chose to listen to the book. The audio version opened up the imagery of the book. Even Mr. DeMille mentioned that aspect with the audio version in his interview. As other reviews of The Gate House have mentioned, I too felt this was not the best book by Mr. DeMille. I could not related to this book, so therefore I could not fully get me teeth into this book. The Gate House is a Godfather meets The Great Gatsby. Again, Mr. DeMille mentioned that connection in his interview. The Gate House was about the lifestyles of the rich, dealing will pressures from a mob boss, and closing out the first book in the series, The Gold Coast. I will treat The Gate House just like I treat art from my child. I may not be trilled with the art work, but I will still display the art work on my refrigerator because of the love of my child. Mr. DeMille has written many great books and I will continue to support his work. But I prefer his John Correy character.
March 28, 2009
Yes, I realize this is not great literature, but it was sure entertaining. I read The Gold Coast years ago, but DeMille offers plenty of reminders in the beginning to get me up to speed. The main character, John Sutter has mastered the art of sarcasm, and his lines about his in-laws had me laughing out loud after major surgery (not good for me, but I just couldn't help it). I have to quibble with the speed at which he and Susan reconciled after her horrible betrayal. I never liked her and frankly hoped something really bad would happen to her. There was so much action, though, this book kept me completely enthralled, despite my active dislike of one of the main characters. Reading about the social life, scenery, strange new neighbors and old family retainers was interesting and then throw in a Mafia don with his mind set on revenge and you've got a real page-turner.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2021
Alternated between 2.5 and 3 ⭐
LIKED
Writing style... flowed well.
Sarcasm.
Happy with slow pace..... many readers haven't been.
Humour.
DISLIKED
Rushed ending.
How character appeared manipulated by partner.
Length of book in relation to pace.....a third longer than it needed to have been.
AND BECAUSE MY PHILOSOPHY IN LIFE IS ALWAYS TRY AND END ON A POSITIVE
First Mafia based book that I have completed 🙂
LIKED
Writing style... flowed well.
Sarcasm.
Happy with slow pace..... many readers haven't been.
Humour.
DISLIKED
Rushed ending.
How character appeared manipulated by partner.
Length of book in relation to pace.....a third longer than it needed to have been.
AND BECAUSE MY PHILOSOPHY IN LIFE IS ALWAYS TRY AND END ON A POSITIVE
First Mafia based book that I have completed 🙂
February 7, 2013
His best novel in many years! Great humor in contrast with some of his past sophomoric efforts. 10 of 10 stars!
March 10, 2021
This is a sequel to the Gold Coast. In that book, a mafia don rehabs one of the Gold Coast mansions and moves in among the snobby elite, which has rather disastrous results for the lawyer's family next door. The lawyer's wife has an affair with the Don, and murders him when he spurns her. Being among the 1%, she gets off scot-free, although any normal person would have been shipped off to prison. The lawyer, John, rightly divorces his wife Susan and sets off on a 3 year sail around the world, then works in London for 7 years. Susan went off to live in Hilton Head, remarried, and was widowed. In the Gate House, we are now 10 years later. Susan decides to buy back the house she and John had owned. The son of the guy she murdered builds a house 500 yards from her, and he needs revenge. John returns to the states, and for God only knows what reason, reconciles with her and they decide to remarry. Things with the mafia get interesting. Classic DeMille, with a snarky, over-sexed protagonist.
December 27, 2009
This is a great thriller from Nelson DeMille. Although the book a sequel he wrote earlier, called the Gold Coast, you can get a hint of history in the background through the narration of what transpired in the past, a decade ago. This is set in 2002, when John Sutter returns home for a funeral, and deals with an Iranian landlord, a possible hit by the mob don's son, his ex-wife and then his in-laws from hell. And it's all centered in the gatehouse, his former home. It gets dicey, when he and his ex decide to remarry and things get harry from there. What a great read and a new delight to add to my TBR list. Enjoy!
November 7, 2008
I am a little disappointed. There were not the usual twists and turns associated with his books. I thought how he resolved his estrangement with his wife was very odd (2 hours to reslove a 10 year estrangement?). I couldn't put the book down, but it had nothing to do with the story line. I just kept waiting for the book to meet my very high expectations.
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