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Pirata
From 21-Jump Street writer and series creator Patrick Hasburgh, a part thriller, part family novel about an ex-pat American living and surfing in Mexico, the family he loves, and the murder he witnesses, in the vein of Don Winslow’s The Dawn Patrol
“Going straight at the stuff that scares you is good advice. I just didn’t have the courage to do it…”—Nick Lutz
In a former life, Nick Lutz, sold cars in the Golden State. He had a wife and a young son, Marshall, and they struggled along until Nick was shot in the head when a potential customer hijacked the car he was demonstrating. The incident sets off a bad-luck domino fall, and he loses an eye, his job, his family, and, eventually, his self-respect.
With nothing left, he heads for Mexico, where he sheds his former self among an eclectic group of expats and locals, who fondly name him “Pirata” on account of his eye patch. There on the beaches of Sabinita, Nick and his new buddy Winsor drink, surf, and—most of all—they escape, buoyed away from their pasts on a life of south swells and Tecate. Nothing epic. That is until Winsor’s girlfriend, Meagan, puts the claws of a hammer into her lover’s skull.
The thing is, Winsor had it coming. And thanks to Nick’s soft spot for Meagan and her two sons, he agrees to help her out—after all, ninety percent of Mexican crimes go unsolved. They dump the body, Meagan and the boys move in with Nick, and a monsoon season fling turns into a torrid love affair as they weave their secrets and loyalties into something like a family. But when an FBI agent turns up looking for Nick and the local policía find a body washed up in the surf, he realizes his past—and his sins—have caught up to him. And there are dangerous new surprises that have yet to roll in with the tide….
A gifted storyteller, Hasburgh drops readers into the middle of a gripping, heartwarming, viscerally compelling page-turner. At once tender and deadly hysterical, Pirata is a novel readers won’t soon forget.
“Going straight at the stuff that scares you is good advice. I just didn’t have the courage to do it…”—Nick Lutz
In a former life, Nick Lutz, sold cars in the Golden State. He had a wife and a young son, Marshall, and they struggled along until Nick was shot in the head when a potential customer hijacked the car he was demonstrating. The incident sets off a bad-luck domino fall, and he loses an eye, his job, his family, and, eventually, his self-respect.
With nothing left, he heads for Mexico, where he sheds his former self among an eclectic group of expats and locals, who fondly name him “Pirata” on account of his eye patch. There on the beaches of Sabinita, Nick and his new buddy Winsor drink, surf, and—most of all—they escape, buoyed away from their pasts on a life of south swells and Tecate. Nothing epic. That is until Winsor’s girlfriend, Meagan, puts the claws of a hammer into her lover’s skull.
The thing is, Winsor had it coming. And thanks to Nick’s soft spot for Meagan and her two sons, he agrees to help her out—after all, ninety percent of Mexican crimes go unsolved. They dump the body, Meagan and the boys move in with Nick, and a monsoon season fling turns into a torrid love affair as they weave their secrets and loyalties into something like a family. But when an FBI agent turns up looking for Nick and the local policía find a body washed up in the surf, he realizes his past—and his sins—have caught up to him. And there are dangerous new surprises that have yet to roll in with the tide….
A gifted storyteller, Hasburgh drops readers into the middle of a gripping, heartwarming, viscerally compelling page-turner. At once tender and deadly hysterical, Pirata is a novel readers won’t soon forget.
339 pages, Paperback
First published June 26, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
August 11, 2018
Sun, sea, sand, .. mucho troubles in Mexico for a man with one eye called Pirata by many, as in Spanish for Pirate, due to his one eye and patch.
You will find him at times in the surf with his certified Mike Hynson Red Fin surfboard, and at others times catch him getting beat down by military with bamboo stick.
In San Diego County he lost his house, wife, son, and job and so finds himself across the border now in a little of a jam.
Easy flowing, funny and original little summer crime caper of a read.
https://more2read.com/review/pirata-by-patrick-hasburgh/
You will find him at times in the surf with his certified Mike Hynson Red Fin surfboard, and at others times catch him getting beat down by military with bamboo stick.
In San Diego County he lost his house, wife, son, and job and so finds himself across the border now in a little of a jam.
Easy flowing, funny and original little summer crime caper of a read.
https://more2read.com/review/pirata-by-patrick-hasburgh/
March 17, 2018
Pirata by Patrick Hasburgh is a wild, crazy, fun, and refreshing beach/family novel.
Nick Lutz was a family man, selling cars in Southern California. That changed when he was hijacked while demonstrating a Chevy to a potential customer/car hijacker. Something happens, and Nick leaves his family and lands in a small Mexican beach village. Here he struggles to find a new life and to figure out what happened to his old one. Along the way he meets friends, girlfriends, thieves, and two kids who make him rethink what he is doing.
Throw in descriptive surf scenes, drugs and cartels and you have a fine book written by an equally gifted author.
Surf is up – buy Pirata and enjoy the wave.
Nick Lutz was a family man, selling cars in Southern California. That changed when he was hijacked while demonstrating a Chevy to a potential customer/car hijacker. Something happens, and Nick leaves his family and lands in a small Mexican beach village. Here he struggles to find a new life and to figure out what happened to his old one. Along the way he meets friends, girlfriends, thieves, and two kids who make him rethink what he is doing.
Throw in descriptive surf scenes, drugs and cartels and you have a fine book written by an equally gifted author.
Surf is up – buy Pirata and enjoy the wave.
July 22, 2018
Not really my thing. Sort of a first person account of a sad sack victim with a bent towards sarcasm.
June 18, 2018
Nick has really, well, blown up his life. Understandably, he wanted to make some changes after being shot in the head but the move to Mexico brings a more dramatic shift in lifestyle than even he could have anticipated. Surf culture is not always as laid back as we would like to think. He makes what many would agree is a bad decision when Meagan kills Winsor when instead of reporting it, they disappear the body and move in together. Winsor was a bad guy in more ways than one but this doesn't make a difference in the end. Nick learns that you can run but not hide and that the past will haunt you. Hasbaugh has an interesting voice and even if you did not know he has a background in script writing, you can see the potential for a movie in this one. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. It wasn't one I would have naturally picked off the shelf but I enjoyed it and recommend for a story of a man looking for second chances.
March 22, 2018
Readable book about a surfing car salesmen who moves to Mexico after getting shot in the head by a customer, abandoning his family. The book has a unique premise and is good light entertainment. I enjoyed all the surfer lingo, but I was expecting a shaggy dog story in the vein of lighter Pynchon, with Hiaasen style characters and high jinks. The book half-delivers on those expectations, but ultimately waded a little too deeply into male weepy territory for me.
October 27, 2020
A pleasantly drowsy novel that feels like a 1970s auteur film with noir sensibilities, a more languidly paced NIGHT MOVES, PIRATA is sometimes so sleepy that I drifted away from it from time to time, but it's worth the effort to finish this novel heavily inspired by the 1980s surf-noir classic crime novel by Kem Nunn, TAPPING THE SOURCE.
The story is slight — Nick Lutz, an American losing himself in coastal Mexico since being shot in the head in a plot triggered by his ex-wife, helps a fellow expat woman dispose of her abusive boyfriend in the ocean after she kills him in a fit of rage inspired by his sexual exploitation of one of her two teen sons. They know the body will probably wash up sometime, somewhere, and they hope they'll get away it, but they're not sure, and don't entirely care, and as the days and weeks pass, Nick and the woman fall in love, and he falls as well fro the two rudderless boys.
The novel is taken up less with this issue, however, than of the not-completely-serene sleepiness of their chosen home, as embodied by surfing. Surfing, as rendered in PIRATA, is less a balm than a tribal affectation, a pursuit with a rigid culture and a zillion unspoken rules and a grinding obsession with authenticity that never seems to allow anybody to relax. THE ENDLESS SUMMER this ain't.
All the plot questions eventually get resolved, but I'll have to admit that if you lose interest in how it gets there through the drugged stupor of its prose and tone, I wouldn't blame you much. In the end, PIRATA is a novel that doesn't linger with you quite the way TAPPING THE SOURCE does, but it is a novel of skill, and a small miracle for having the confidence of its own unhurried path. This is no market-of-the-moment thriller, so adjust your expectations accordingly.
The story is slight — Nick Lutz, an American losing himself in coastal Mexico since being shot in the head in a plot triggered by his ex-wife, helps a fellow expat woman dispose of her abusive boyfriend in the ocean after she kills him in a fit of rage inspired by his sexual exploitation of one of her two teen sons. They know the body will probably wash up sometime, somewhere, and they hope they'll get away it, but they're not sure, and don't entirely care, and as the days and weeks pass, Nick and the woman fall in love, and he falls as well fro the two rudderless boys.
The novel is taken up less with this issue, however, than of the not-completely-serene sleepiness of their chosen home, as embodied by surfing. Surfing, as rendered in PIRATA, is less a balm than a tribal affectation, a pursuit with a rigid culture and a zillion unspoken rules and a grinding obsession with authenticity that never seems to allow anybody to relax. THE ENDLESS SUMMER this ain't.
All the plot questions eventually get resolved, but I'll have to admit that if you lose interest in how it gets there through the drugged stupor of its prose and tone, I wouldn't blame you much. In the end, PIRATA is a novel that doesn't linger with you quite the way TAPPING THE SOURCE does, but it is a novel of skill, and a small miracle for having the confidence of its own unhurried path. This is no market-of-the-moment thriller, so adjust your expectations accordingly.
November 1, 2021
Started slow and reminiscent of Cross, Davenport, and Bosch. About two-thirds in, the book becomes its own. There is Mexican lawlessness and Cartel inferences. I reread the ending, and listened to the last three chapters at least twice. The ending left me suspecting I missed something the first time. It was ghastly numbing, and once I processed the simplicity I was impressed. I didn't see it coming and yet its the ending I want in all books. Once I close the book, I want a realistic memory.
There is profanity, and the crust of filth. I never will justify swearing. A good writer doesn't need to use click bait. I did understand a father with two roughly 13 y/o stepsons explaining how to talk about women to his buds and what not to ever say to one. The writer used a technique employed by my own father ..... Hostage situation = In a moving car and in my case, the radio was off.
Slow start and profanity equals 3 stars. Pirata is worth the time -- audio was on Hoopla. The book was from Book Outlet less than $2 clearance section. The two worked in tandem nicely.
I am going to seek more from the author. Pirata will be donated in the hopes that it finds itself under the tree in a forever home.
There is profanity, and the crust of filth. I never will justify swearing. A good writer doesn't need to use click bait. I did understand a father with two roughly 13 y/o stepsons explaining how to talk about women to his buds and what not to ever say to one. The writer used a technique employed by my own father ..... Hostage situation = In a moving car and in my case, the radio was off.
Slow start and profanity equals 3 stars. Pirata is worth the time -- audio was on Hoopla. The book was from Book Outlet less than $2 clearance section. The two worked in tandem nicely.
I am going to seek more from the author. Pirata will be donated in the hopes that it finds itself under the tree in a forever home.
July 16, 2026
I think what makes this book so good is that nearly every character has major flaws. No one has a perfect life. There’s real tragedy and struggle, yet each protagonist still moves forward and does their best to (eventually) overcome their shortcomings or past failures. The tense moments were well written and there was a healthy dose of sarcasm and wit to ease the reader through some heavy parts. I especially liked the exchange at the border, as well as the unexpected ending of the climax. Original, well written, this book is a great novel and it honestly surprised me how much I really liked it. The complicated relationships felt realistic. Even the happy(ish) ending felt fair and fitting. Really enjoyed this one and I’m honestly surprised with the current average rating, and how few reviews this has. It honestly is among my new favorite books I think. For one reason or another, it just came at the right time in my life, like an unexpected perfect wave to surf.
March 11, 2020
This is a story about, as the main character would say, "surviving ourselves." A series of tragic events leads Nick Lutz to leave his home, wife, and young son in Southern California and move to Mexico to surf his days away. And live in denial of his past.
Several years later another series of events involving his surf pals and local friends in Sabinita, MX, turns Nick's life upside down and threatens his placid surf-bum existence. But somehow this shakeup realigns things for him and brings his life back into focus.
Several years later another series of events involving his surf pals and local friends in Sabinita, MX, turns Nick's life upside down and threatens his placid surf-bum existence. But somehow this shakeup realigns things for him and brings his life back into focus.
October 15, 2020
This book was alright- had a lot of potential and felt like it was building towards something. The main character’s story was a seesaw between good luck & bad luck. Every piece of bad luck just magically ended up ok. Every time he was having good luck something bad happened. But then it just ended. I was hoping for a cataclysmic ending where his good luck finally ran out but it just kind of petered out.
I did enjoy the main character & his sarcasm, as well as some of his character growth.
I did enjoy the main character & his sarcasm, as well as some of his character growth.
September 20, 2026
Pirate: A Novel
Interesting novel. Good story with very novel twists throughout. One minor irritation- throughout the book no translations are provided when some conservations are written in Spanish. For a novice like me that meant looking up the translation scores of times to get the story straight. Over and over again! Tiresome. But the story is good and keeps the reader involved. I enjoyed it…
Interesting novel. Good story with very novel twists throughout. One minor irritation- throughout the book no translations are provided when some conservations are written in Spanish. For a novice like me that meant looking up the translation scores of times to get the story straight. Over and over again! Tiresome. But the story is good and keeps the reader involved. I enjoyed it…
September 22, 2018
This is not so much a mystery as a slice of an odd life. But found it in the mystery section so.... Hasburgh has written for TV and has another novel out. He creates interesting characters and unpredictable twists plot twists. It reads pretty fast and keeps the surprises coming with a fair dollop of humor to go with. I enjoyed it a lot.
February 5, 2019
Very enjoyable
I read all of Jenn Nunns books years ago and really enjoyed them but there's only three that cover surfing and I was missing for a similar style of story. Patrick's book filled that void and I loved every bit of this book. I really hope he writes another story line this discontinued on with this one.
I read all of Jenn Nunns books years ago and really enjoyed them but there's only three that cover surfing and I was missing for a similar style of story. Patrick's book filled that void and I loved every bit of this book. I really hope he writes another story line this discontinued on with this one.
September 5, 2022
This is a guy book and a surfer book. If you're not one, or appreciate riding waves, this book is likely to be a miss for you. For me it really hit the spot. Short and sweet, this book should be turned into a script for Matthew McConaughey as the title character. But movies like that aren't made anymore, so I'm stuck with the book. and happy about it.
February 4, 2023
The rain falling like pesos. The red coca cola chairs. The 10am margaritas. Patrick writes so well about Mexico because he knows it, lives it, breathes it, and understands it - deeply. I couldn't put Pirata down. It starts with a dead body and the tension rockets from there. It's fast, very well written, and has huge heart. Thank you, Patrick. Pirata was such a pleasure to read!
December 12, 2018
[library audiobook]
Main character was appealing, likable relationship with his love interest, nice depiction of surfer life in Mexico. I couldn't get behind the extended depictions of surfing.
I'd try another Hasburgh if he came up on the library.
Main character was appealing, likable relationship with his love interest, nice depiction of surfer life in Mexico. I couldn't get behind the extended depictions of surfing.
I'd try another Hasburgh if he came up on the library.
July 9, 2018
Pretty good story overall. The pacing gets a bit weird at the end, but I devoured this book. It’s worth a read, especially since it’s so quick.
January 9, 2019
Hilariously entertaining
January 13, 2019
Awesome read!!!! Page turner. One of my favourite
February 6, 2019
FUN READ
April 9, 2019
Eel written with well developed and interesting characters
May 1, 2019
Excellent read! Couldn't put it down.
October 6, 2023
You know, this was a darn good sophomore effort. Wasn’t perfect, but it was a good, quick, enjoyable read.
Read
December 1, 2023CNN b
February 10, 2024
Unlikeable characters, no plot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2026
Solid 3 tähteä! Ei tajunnaräjäyttävä, mutta oli mukava lueskella ja pääsi pari kertaa yllättämään! En tiedä voisiko tätä kirjaa suositella kellekkään - ehkä lukujumin taltuttamiseen?
Did Not Finish
August 4, 2026Had a lot going for it but I just can’t follow characters who make so many obvious mistakes in advancement of the plot. DNF. Still a fan of the author’s television work however.
January 14, 2019
Let’s just say that Pirata needs to grow a huge pair of cojones instead of letting Megan take over and run his show. He’s an absurdly weak protagonist. No empathy for you, buddy. Stand up! Speak up! Grow a pair!
This is one I enjoyed listening to. By book’s end, Pirata still hadn’t grown a spine. He was a pushover, one I had absolutely no empathy for. What makes the story good for me however, is that the author tells a good tale.
This is one I enjoyed listening to. By book’s end, Pirata still hadn’t grown a spine. He was a pushover, one I had absolutely no empathy for. What makes the story good for me however, is that the author tells a good tale.
January 22, 2022
A dystopic novel about a crime victim who has lost everything and goes to Mexico to rediscover himself surfing, drugging and raising two step kids after their mom murders their perverted dad. Their are several unexpected plot twists and the is a bit confusing, but the book is full of suspense and is a quick read.
March 31, 2019
Audible Audiobook: first listening March 29, 2019; second listening March 2020
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews