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Substantial Justice: A Novel
"It’s not often that a well-plotted thriller abounds with incisive and amusing social history. In fact, I can’t think of one, or certainly none in the league of Daniel Ben-Horin’s Substantial Justice. ...the details are revealing and exact. Then there is the love story that frames the murder story, plus the weirdly contemporary far-right militia story and the early-internet subplot. Best of all, the romantic leads are witty and complicated and you’ll root for them just as you root for the pure-hearted pair in a Jane Austen novel. There it is―Raymond Chandler meets Jane Austen in post-Vietnam America. Excellent stuff."
―William Finnegan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Barbarian Days
"Substantial Justice is a joy to read―who can resist a mix of intrigue, cannabis, and fraught romance? It’s a literary thriller with a wildly accurate sense of the era it depicts―and great lines uttered by great characters. A winner."
―Joan Silber, PEN/Faulkner Award–winning author of Improvement
“Ben-Horin’s comic death rattle of the sixties unleashes a wondrous set of lost souls who ricochet around the Reagan era following their bliss but finding only each other—which leads to sex, murder, and hopeless political causes.
As a view of America it is strangely hopeful.”
—Ron Shelton, writer/director of Bull Durham and White Men Can’t Jump
Substantial Justice chronicles the 1985 misadventures of Spider Lacey, a laconic Citroen mechanic, and Siobhan Mollenkopf, a lawyer who has reappeared in Spider’s life after a ten-year hiatus. Things start well, then devolve when Spider’s best friend, a marijuana grower and controversial talk-show host, is murdered. Spider and Siobhan spiral into a world of white supremacists, political activists, lumber tycoons, motorcycle gangs, early online geeks, tree-spikers and law enforcement. The terrain is San Francisco, Mendocino County, New York City, and Arizona. A cross between Carl Hiaasen and E. L. Doctorow, Substantial Justice is a comic thriller and a surprising love story that delights in the vicissitudes of the era.
―William Finnegan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Barbarian Days
"Substantial Justice is a joy to read―who can resist a mix of intrigue, cannabis, and fraught romance? It’s a literary thriller with a wildly accurate sense of the era it depicts―and great lines uttered by great characters. A winner."
―Joan Silber, PEN/Faulkner Award–winning author of Improvement
“Ben-Horin’s comic death rattle of the sixties unleashes a wondrous set of lost souls who ricochet around the Reagan era following their bliss but finding only each other—which leads to sex, murder, and hopeless political causes.
As a view of America it is strangely hopeful.”
—Ron Shelton, writer/director of Bull Durham and White Men Can’t Jump
Substantial Justice chronicles the 1985 misadventures of Spider Lacey, a laconic Citroen mechanic, and Siobhan Mollenkopf, a lawyer who has reappeared in Spider’s life after a ten-year hiatus. Things start well, then devolve when Spider’s best friend, a marijuana grower and controversial talk-show host, is murdered. Spider and Siobhan spiral into a world of white supremacists, political activists, lumber tycoons, motorcycle gangs, early online geeks, tree-spikers and law enforcement. The terrain is San Francisco, Mendocino County, New York City, and Arizona. A cross between Carl Hiaasen and E. L. Doctorow, Substantial Justice is a comic thriller and a surprising love story that delights in the vicissitudes of the era.
232 pages, Hardcover
Published July 13, 2020
4 people are currently reading
808 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Ben-Horin
2 books17 followersDaniel Ben-Horin has written nonfiction for the New York Times, Mother Jones, the Nation, and other periodicals. He attended Bronx Science and the University of Chicago, was fired by the Arizona Republic, edited the Arizona New Times, organized tenants and media workers in San Francisco and built, over the course of thirty years, a global nonprofit called TechSoup. Substantial Justice is his first novel. Find the Kirkus Review here: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
May 5, 2020
Reading fiction from a place you know well and an era you lived through is a strange experience. When it is done right, as in the case of Substantial Justice, it is a bit like listening to familiar music. It brings back memories and even smells from three decades ago. The characters are believable, they even feel like people I once knew. Stepping back from the book I found it helpful in understanding the world gone mad that I feel like we are living in today.
August 18, 2020
Substantial Justice by Daniel Ben-Horin begins with a bang through with its Prologue, which engages any readers who like mysteries with a modern romantic flair and political subthemes. The novel chronicles the adventures, sexual and otherwise of Spider Lacey, a cowboy-like auto mechanic and a former lover, Siobham Mollenkauf, who returns after ten years as a hotshot lawyer to complicate Spider’s life with their renewed romance. Follow the adventures and misadventures of Spider and Siobham as they romp through a world of motley characters ranging from evangelical white supremacists, motorcycle gang members to lumber tycoons, from Northern California, San Francisco to Arizona to New York. A must-read potboiler.
May 31, 2020
When I first saw the title, I thought – there’s going to be some bloodshed inside, with ‘good characters’ inflicting justice on the ‘bad’ ones. Later, I found out that ‘substantial justice’ is a legal term. The second meaning of the term is ‘justice administered according to the substance and not necessarily the form of the law,’ which confirmed my expectations of some action closer to the end. No spoilers here, but the book does deliver on the promise of its title.
On a very high level, I define the genre of ‘Justice’ as a mix of noir detective and ‘Big Lebowski’ crime comedy all set in the 80s. Several story arcs develop simultaneously, with the background in the first internet message boards, white supremacy movements, bikers (they add a bit of Hunter Thompson vibe to the whole book), and NY squatters. There are confused loggers, crooked cops, media-activistic Emerald Triangle growers, emissaries of Pablo Escobar, and a careerist Secret Service agent willing to accept whatever story that confirms his objectives.
The main romantic line develops between Spider Lacey, a Citroen DS mechanic (I guess, a somewhat self-portrait type of a protagonist), and his ‘it’s complicated’ partner/not-a-partner Siobhan, an environmental lawyer/activist. The plot is rather slow than fast. The approach of the book is immersive: through extensive descriptions, the novel gets you into the atmosphere of the 80s: landline phones, modems, even a Kaypro ‘portable’ computer (what a touch!), social movements amidst Reagan’s austerity policies (lack of gov employee resources mentioned several times).
The characters, their dialogues, intents, and personal development are very detailed. Sometimes too much. The book has really challenged my vocabulary: I did have to Google quite a lot of new words I didn’t think existed. The result, though, is beneficial: the characters do seem like real people, not RPG game NPCs that just react to the dialogues of the protagonist. The characters are provided in all their internal complexity: Both Spider and Siobhan seem to have commitment issues. Siobhan’s father, despite being an anti-semite conspiracy theorist, is depicted as a person who is capable of decent acts.
I was lucky enough to visit some of the places of the book: Ukiah, Arcata, San Francisco, Arizona (although not Phoenix), and NY. There are not so much nature descriptions, which is surprising – (trigger alert) aside from NY, these are one of the most beautiful places in the US. The choice of places definitely adds up to the overall perception of the story line: American West’s lonesome landscapes, mountains, redwoods.
Ben-Horin planted a number of particularly comic situations across the book. They’re very subtle (I’m not particularly sure that I could identify all of them), and one could even call some of them post-modern. In fact, the jokes are so subtle, that I couldn’t avoid a feeling that I’d want to watch a movie based on the novel. In the text version the gems are like a part of the game – you will see them only if you have the proper optics.
The book, as it seems from across the pond, is relevant to the current historical moment. The filter bubbles of closed-minded communities, lack of trust in the society, racism – all of these seem very 2020. The 35 year difference between then and now highlights the ‘unfinished business’ of the social change.
On a very high level, I define the genre of ‘Justice’ as a mix of noir detective and ‘Big Lebowski’ crime comedy all set in the 80s. Several story arcs develop simultaneously, with the background in the first internet message boards, white supremacy movements, bikers (they add a bit of Hunter Thompson vibe to the whole book), and NY squatters. There are confused loggers, crooked cops, media-activistic Emerald Triangle growers, emissaries of Pablo Escobar, and a careerist Secret Service agent willing to accept whatever story that confirms his objectives.
The main romantic line develops between Spider Lacey, a Citroen DS mechanic (I guess, a somewhat self-portrait type of a protagonist), and his ‘it’s complicated’ partner/not-a-partner Siobhan, an environmental lawyer/activist. The plot is rather slow than fast. The approach of the book is immersive: through extensive descriptions, the novel gets you into the atmosphere of the 80s: landline phones, modems, even a Kaypro ‘portable’ computer (what a touch!), social movements amidst Reagan’s austerity policies (lack of gov employee resources mentioned several times).
The characters, their dialogues, intents, and personal development are very detailed. Sometimes too much. The book has really challenged my vocabulary: I did have to Google quite a lot of new words I didn’t think existed. The result, though, is beneficial: the characters do seem like real people, not RPG game NPCs that just react to the dialogues of the protagonist. The characters are provided in all their internal complexity: Both Spider and Siobhan seem to have commitment issues. Siobhan’s father, despite being an anti-semite conspiracy theorist, is depicted as a person who is capable of decent acts.
I was lucky enough to visit some of the places of the book: Ukiah, Arcata, San Francisco, Arizona (although not Phoenix), and NY. There are not so much nature descriptions, which is surprising – (trigger alert) aside from NY, these are one of the most beautiful places in the US. The choice of places definitely adds up to the overall perception of the story line: American West’s lonesome landscapes, mountains, redwoods.
Ben-Horin planted a number of particularly comic situations across the book. They’re very subtle (I’m not particularly sure that I could identify all of them), and one could even call some of them post-modern. In fact, the jokes are so subtle, that I couldn’t avoid a feeling that I’d want to watch a movie based on the novel. In the text version the gems are like a part of the game – you will see them only if you have the proper optics.
The book, as it seems from across the pond, is relevant to the current historical moment. The filter bubbles of closed-minded communities, lack of trust in the society, racism – all of these seem very 2020. The 35 year difference between then and now highlights the ‘unfinished business’ of the social change.
July 27, 2020
Sometimes it takes a lifetime studying the world before an author is ready to write their first novel. As an activist and social entrepreneur, Daniel Ben-Horin has already done more than most people would consider decent in several lifetimes. Now in “Substantial Justice” it is a pleasure to see him emerge, fully-formed, as a new and substantial literary voice.
As a novel, Substantial Justice immediately draws the reader into an engaging detective story. The characters are nuanced and complex, whilst the milieu they inhabit (New York and California in the 80s) is finely observed. Ben-Horin lulls the reader into a sense they are embarked on an entertaining piece of escapism, until gradually the penny drops that something more serious is at work.
The great art of this novel is how effortlessly Ben-Horin draws the reader into an inspection of the most troubling realities of today’s America, without ever breaking the lightness of his step. Substantial Justice talks to us about the deep-seated underground of white supremacist groups, their inter-connections with the evangelical church and the complicity of the police. Ben-Horin even manages to prefigure the witch hunts of contemporary social media, via a beautifully drawn description of the first online communities which emerged in the 80s.
The book’s narrative style, deftly balancing detective story and social observation, reminded me a little of Thomas Pynchon’s “Inherent Vice”. Ben-Horin’s opus, however, is considerably funnier.
Substantial Justice is a remarkable first novel. I look forward to further works from its talented and serious author.
As a novel, Substantial Justice immediately draws the reader into an engaging detective story. The characters are nuanced and complex, whilst the milieu they inhabit (New York and California in the 80s) is finely observed. Ben-Horin lulls the reader into a sense they are embarked on an entertaining piece of escapism, until gradually the penny drops that something more serious is at work.
The great art of this novel is how effortlessly Ben-Horin draws the reader into an inspection of the most troubling realities of today’s America, without ever breaking the lightness of his step. Substantial Justice talks to us about the deep-seated underground of white supremacist groups, their inter-connections with the evangelical church and the complicity of the police. Ben-Horin even manages to prefigure the witch hunts of contemporary social media, via a beautifully drawn description of the first online communities which emerged in the 80s.
The book’s narrative style, deftly balancing detective story and social observation, reminded me a little of Thomas Pynchon’s “Inherent Vice”. Ben-Horin’s opus, however, is considerably funnier.
Substantial Justice is a remarkable first novel. I look forward to further works from its talented and serious author.
May 7, 2020
I choose "Substantial Justice" as one of my early summer reads and consumed it in one sitting! It takes you on a journey, everything from the airy mountains of California, dusty Arizona deserts to the bustling streets of New York in the 80's, perfect quarantine reading! As a millennial it was delightful to take a trip and get a real feeling for the underbelly of the times. You get to experience and inhabit the life of hippies, biker, hackers and class action lawyers, pure fun!
The book was funny, immersive but above it keeps you present. The writing is self-aware, unapologetic and smart, with the ease of a true crime podcast.Raw and curious, it goes on perfectly constructed rabbit holes to give enough world building to fall in love with Spider and Siobhan.
And you will fall in love. Flawed as they both are the steadfast mechanic and the freedom-loving lawyer are made for each other but often at odds. You root for them from chapter one, to get over themselves and be together. With a tension reminiscent of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, with a dash of "Fleabag" and "Loop", Spider and Siobhan will leave you wanting more.
The book was funny, immersive but above it keeps you present. The writing is self-aware, unapologetic and smart, with the ease of a true crime podcast.Raw and curious, it goes on perfectly constructed rabbit holes to give enough world building to fall in love with Spider and Siobhan.
And you will fall in love. Flawed as they both are the steadfast mechanic and the freedom-loving lawyer are made for each other but often at odds. You root for them from chapter one, to get over themselves and be together. With a tension reminiscent of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, with a dash of "Fleabag" and "Loop", Spider and Siobhan will leave you wanting more.
April 23, 2020
Bias alert: The author has been a friend for many years and I have always enjoyed his wordcraft, wit and erudition. That said, neither he nor I are much given to blowing smoke in or anywhere around the person of the other. This page-turning romance-driven yarn showcases Daniel Ben Horin at the peak of his talents, weaving multiple threads seamlessly into an America foreigners only know from movies and television. Along the way we get cameos of some of life's fringe-dwellers, including a PI with multiple personas. Locals of a certain age will wallow in the minutiae but will miss the point if they tarry too long; add laptops and mobile phones and this novel could be happening now. Ben Horin's chilling depiction of the racist redneck right reminds us that this weeping sore never seems to heal. But I digress. Reward yourself (and the author, in a two-for-one deal) by purchasing this wise and funny book. Note to Netflix, Amazon et al, here's next season's mini-series hit staring you in the face.
May 2, 2020
I’m generally not a fan of whodunnits, so I was skeptical when a friend recommended Substantial Justice. As it turns out, I was very pleasantly surprised and gripped enough to read the whole thing in one sitting. Unlike many best selling and generic murder mysteries (at least the ones I’ve been unfortunate enough to stumble across from time to time), the plot not only delivers a satisfying number of twists and turns, it also supports a cast of genuinely intriguing and well differentiated characters, all of which is enhanced by a convincing atmosphere of the place and time (mid 80's) of events. Throw in the complex relationship of the two main characters and you have a remarkably multi-layered narrative stew within the confines of a 250-page book. The writing reveals a lightness of touch and a mastery of dialogue with just the right amount of underlying wit and irony. Can't go wrong, especially if a pandemic leaves you with time on your hands.
April 28, 2020
I am pleased to recommend Substantial Justice. I loved the main characters, as well the sense of place(s - California, NYC, Arizona) and period (1985) which add layers of nuance and detail but don't get in the way of the story. The tech undercurrent brings to mind the BBS days (before the Internet was available to the general public) - where we find adverse social phenomena that foreshadow many of the ills we face today ranging from the underground organizing of seditious types to egocentric platform founders abusing root privileges. Social movements, local organizations, insights into the grit of real life from multiple perspectives - political operatives, activists, law enforcement, cartels and artisanal weed producers , biker gangs, online/offline social networks, with multiple layers of these networks in interplay evoke a deeper social and historical realism.
May 20, 2020
Just finished “Substantial Justice,” a novel that lies at the intersection of crime fiction and the Woodstock generation a decade-plus years later. The murder victim is a major up-country California marijuana grower. Our Nancy Drew and Hercule Poirot are an activist-to-law-school, NYC, class-action environmental lawyer and a San Francisco, post-Vietnam now-foreign-car-mechanic. Their romance has been smoldering (barely) since they met bar-hopping and joint-smoking as the 60s were coming to a close a decade earlier. Throw in a murderin’, bank-robbin’ white nationalist cell (much of that part of the novel is only slightly fictionalized west coast history), a bit of mid-80s SF politics, the Hells Angels, and the clean tale-telling of Dan Ben-Horin, whom I’ve known since he was a late-60s youth culture journalist, and you’ve got a well-written tale worth settling in with.
July 24, 2020
I would describe Substantial Justice as a comic mystery peopled by misfits, somewhat in the vein of Carl Hiaasen but set in the cannabis-grow/biker-bar/proto-tech scene of 1980s northern California. The culture Ben-Horin lampoons was more or less contemporary when he started writing the book. Thirty years later, now that he's retired and finally done with it, that zeitgeist is evoked as a hilarious period piece. It is not all SF and Mendocino County. White supremacists in Arizona and building squatters on the Lower East Side figure in the proceedings. The house band that makes several appearances is pretty obscure but is well worth checking out on YouTube, the western swing outfit Dusty Chaps that was big in Phoenix back in the day. If your own history crossed any of these paths, or even if it didn't, Substantial Justice makes a rollicking summer read.
September 6, 2020
I felt way cooler after reading Substantial Justice. I missed out on this piece of '80's lifestyle in Northern California, and now I feel like I've had a thrilling, vicarious infusion. It was exciting to be whisked into dens of oddballs and criminals particular to a place in time, and feel like I was in the room with them. A very funny book, teaming with well turned phrases designed to make you smile but made to you keep moving, because you have to know what happens next. The main character, Spider, is a gem, the sort of fellow us women would do well to stay away from, but his vulnerability around the tender feelings re-kindled when ex-girlfriend appears on the scene make for an authentic emotional thread throughout the book, and now I'm impatient for a sequel in order to find out how their love story progresses. I highly recommend this book.
June 6, 2020
Substantial Justice is an impressive debut novel that is being released just in time for summer. It's a fast entertaining read with a twisty who-done-it plot and a particularly strong sense of place - Northern California in the 1980s. Daniel Ben-Horin is a new, original voice - reminiscent maybe of Tom Robbins and Carl Hiaasen. The book follows the life and times of Spider, a hipster Vietnam vet and San Francisco Citroën mechanic who owns the New People's Garage. Spider leads us through a cast of eccentric characters who inhabit the subcultures of the age: San Francisco progressives, early computer geeks, a Mendocino marijuana grow, redwood loggers, rural right-wing activists and the rural police who chase them. This is a fun book with lots of surprises. Well worth reading.
August 2, 2020
As a political junkie who lived for many years in the region of Northern California that serves as the backdrop for Ben-Horin’s book, Substantial Justice felt simultaneously like a throwback to a different era and a snapshot of the dystopian reality of today. Fortunately, Ben-Horin deftly weaves together a tale that delivers comic relief and romance, cannabis culture and politics — all to the delight of anyone seeking a great read with social import and cultural relevance. It moves fast, it messes with your mind, it stirs your heart. Definitely my kind of novel, but I suspect one that almost anyone would find endlessly engaging and intriguing.
February 17, 2021
The reviews of this book convinced me to give this "new author" a whirl...and I am so glad I did. Did my friends NOTICE the five stars? That happens so rarely that I want to break out the Dewers, as my Sis would say. Good, historically accurate rendition of the 1980's scene in Manhattan, Arizona, and the Bay area. The blurb says the author (founder of TechSoup, by the way, which is an awesome way for non-profits to buy computers, etc.) took 34 years to write it. I'm hoping he is really only about 55 and has learned to write more rapidly because I want to read more from him and I'm too old to wait three more decades.
September 21, 2020
Substantial Justice is a great novel set in the 80s. This captivating story goes beyond being another detective story. The dialogues, the observations, the mood all takes you to the place and moment that Daniel Ben-Horin wants you to be. His writing is one that let your senses and imagination join the reading and you find yourself in a mechanic shop in California in 1985. I enjoyed reading Substantial Justice and would recommend reading to anyone who's looking for a fast paced, relevant and smart novel.
May 4, 2020
The whole story is compelling and fun. Being a resident of Mendocino County and formerly of San Francisco, the characters ring true to me. My favorite aspect of it is how well it transported me back to 1980s SF and Mendocino, and Nor Cal in general. The Arizona parts, another place I have lived, were spot on too. The little details that bring it alive are well chosen and accurate. It's a real page turner. Highly recommended.
May 11, 2020
This is such a fun book to read for many reasons. The characters are compelling and could remind one of someone they've known. Substantial Justice twists through a mystery (for those who love mysteries, like me) and a character study of two people's relationship over time. Daniel adds the quirky elements that give the storyline texture, a classic city, a very cool car and unexpected outcomes that continue to the end.
June 3, 2020
The plot moves along swiftly like detective novels by Michael Connelley or Stephen King. Scenes with manipulative leaders of doomsday cults and gentlemanly yet vicious drug dealers got my heart pumping as all great thrillers do. At its core, though, the action is propelled by a love story between Spider and Siobhan, almost like Paolo and Francesca in Dante's Inferno canto 5! I can't wait for the next book!
August 3, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed Daniel Ben-Horin’s novel, Substantial Justice. I brought it with me to read on the beach today, and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. Brilliant characters like Spider and Siobhan, a vivid sense of place and time, fast-paced storyline, and keen sense of humor made for a wonderfully fun read. I feel like Substantial Justice gave me a second chance at living in Northern California in 1980s, having missed out the first time around. Bravo!
February 6, 2021
Substantial Justice is such a fun read you could almost complete it in one sitting. Flawed heroes and a panoply of villains, both comical and realistic, match the charm and wit of Elmore Leonard’s strongest stories. I can’t wait for the next installment – hoping this is just the beginning of a whole series of similar novels that blend recent American history with captivating but entirely believable human stories.
August 5, 2021
Substantial Justice by Daniel Ben-Horin was a great read. The previous reviews explain better than I all of the things I loved about this book. It's a page turner and very entertaining. The action is well paced - the attention to detail brings the story to life. The plot twists keep you engaged. And it's funny and suspenseful. I don't read a lot of books and I am excruciatingly slow about it when I do. I've been working on my current book for the last 6 months. I put it down to read Substantial Justice and "burned' through Ben-Horin's book in less than a week - which is remarkable for me. Can't wait for the next installment.
May 7, 2020
The vivid descriptions of life in the NYC and Bay Area of the 80s really hit home for me, yet I found myself feeling regularly and pleasantly shocked by the clever plot twists and compelling story line. That tension between the familiar and the unexpected is really what makes for a gratifying thriller and what made this novel so engaging.
May 23, 2020
I'm grateful I was able to read an advance copy of Substantial Justice. Spider and Siobhan, a most unlikely couple, captured my imagination immediately. The book's quirky tone is reminiscent of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, a longtime favorite of mine. I just hope it doesn't take Daniel 34 years to write his next novel.
May 25, 2020
What a treat this was. Spider, our hero (of a sort) is a thoroughly appealing fella. His adventures and misadventures make for lively reading--I read the whole book in a few days. San Francisco in the 1980s had a special kind of magic, and SUBSTANTIAL JUSTICE gets all the details right. Heartily recommended!
June 26, 2020
Just finished Substantial Justice in the wee hours last night. I enjoyed it immensely--a fun and surprisingly informative read. There were moments when I could place my feet however reluctantly in alt-right steel-toed boots; that level of empathy is quite the literary achievement. Ben-Horin captures the "bad moon rising" moment while avoiding the apocalyptic histrionics. Well done!
July 22, 2020
It’s a beautiful evocation of a time past but also manages to resonate in our current times. The characters are sympathetically portrayed regardless of economic status, creed, colour, power or malign intent. Their smarts or stupidity just flow from them in the most natural manner, believable and comic as required. A ripping yarn and a cracking read that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish.
August 11, 2020
I blew right through Substantial Justice. It’s a fast, lively read. It captures its era well. The settings were well drawn. I enjoyed the rollicking plot. It's well paced. The writing is solid, professional, and clever, but not too snarky. I liked the characters. Ben-Horin has done a fine job. I look forward to the movie!
December 9, 2020
Appreciated the 1980’s city descriptions and the conflicting story lines. Cannabis battles, early internet, white supremacy, murder and romance take you on a whirlwind adventure. Liked the characters, the author did a good job giving them individual personalities. The ending definitely makes you expect a sequel.
January 8, 2021
What a rollicking, rich ride. A delightful and engrossing read. Ben-Horin has set his romantic, noir-ish mystery thriller in 1970s and 80s San Francisco and off-the-grid northern California with a cast of witty, colorful characters I didn't want to leave. Fortunately I understand there is sequel in the works.
June 7, 2020
A plot that doesn't creak and characters who ring true. This mid-westerner learned about California pot and Western extremism. The tension and the history of the times feel accurate--and i did live through those times. Entirely absorbing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews