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Bakersfield Boys Club
"True crime and murder mystery readers alike will find Bakersfield Boys Club a riveting winner." --Midwest Book Review"Because of the fantastic plot, amazing writing style, and phenomenal characters, I rate Bakersfield Boys Club 4 out of 4." --Online Book ClubPrize-winning author Anne Da Vigo returns with an addictive novel of psychological suspense about one woman's battle against a sinister clique of powerful men who've corrupted her son.It's 1978 in Bakersfield,California, where oil is king and country music rules. Suzanne, a widow struggling to raise her teenage son Danny, discovers the stabbed and beaten body of her neighbor, Reggie. Early on, Danny is a suspect, but police back off when The Club, a secretive group of powerful men, shields the boy.
As Danny is drawn ever more tightly into The Club's coils, Suzanne is blocked at every turn in her fight to free him. Even her steamy affair with Pete, father of a murdered teen, can't divert Suzanne as she risks everything--home, job, and a second chance at love--to save her son.
Based on a series of real-life California murders, Bakersfield Boys Club will keep you reading long after the clock strikes midnight!
As Danny is drawn ever more tightly into The Club's coils, Suzanne is blocked at every turn in her fight to free him. Even her steamy affair with Pete, father of a murdered teen, can't divert Suzanne as she risks everything--home, job, and a second chance at love--to save her son.
Based on a series of real-life California murders, Bakersfield Boys Club will keep you reading long after the clock strikes midnight!
322 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 7, 2020
25 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 31, 2020
Sacramento writer Anne Da Vigo's fictional retelling of a long-ago true scandal in Bakersfield, California is one of the most compelling novels I've read in a long time. The addition of fictional characters whose lives are forever changed by the power of the rich, amoral community leaders who make up "The Club" gives complex, emotional meaning to the sordid story of a group of highly-placed men who use teenaged boys for sex, and teen girls for pornography. We meet the central character, Suzanne Ricci, on a foggy January morning as she discovers the body of her next-door neighbor slumped in his doorway, and pockets some evidence that suggests her son, Danny, might have been involved. What follows is a nightmare of cover-up, a slow squeeze of pressure until Suzanne and Mark, the parent of another child involved in the "parties" held by "The Club," have nowhere to turn for help. But this is more than a whodunit - much, much more. It's a study of unbearable emotional stress, the power of love, and the lengths evil and powerful men will go to to hide their crimes. Layered and rich, unafraid of truth, you will not find a tidy ending to this novel. But, I guarantee you, you will be satisfied! Bakersfield Boys Club is as good a crime novel as you'll ever read. I highly recommend it.
October 12, 2021
5 STARS PLUS!!!
Though I purchased this book early in 2020, I didn’t get around to reading it until now. I’m so glad I did!
The relationship between fourteen-year-old Danny and his mother Suzanne—her steadfast love for him despite her misunderstanding of his most basic needs, his strong yearning for her that resolved only into silent sulkiness when they were alone together—was both real and heartbreaking. The twisted power dynamic of late 70’s Bakersfield, playing out against a backdrop of political corruption, sexual shaming, and child abuse, allied me with Suzanne and her comrade-in-arms Pete Stannard as they tried to uncover the truth about what was happening to their children. The oily dankness of a town that was ugly to its core ate away at every page. And running through it all was a great mystery, fast-paced and masterfully told.
An amazingly satisfying read. You won’t want to miss the twist at the end!
Though I purchased this book early in 2020, I didn’t get around to reading it until now. I’m so glad I did!
The relationship between fourteen-year-old Danny and his mother Suzanne—her steadfast love for him despite her misunderstanding of his most basic needs, his strong yearning for her that resolved only into silent sulkiness when they were alone together—was both real and heartbreaking. The twisted power dynamic of late 70’s Bakersfield, playing out against a backdrop of political corruption, sexual shaming, and child abuse, allied me with Suzanne and her comrade-in-arms Pete Stannard as they tried to uncover the truth about what was happening to their children. The oily dankness of a town that was ugly to its core ate away at every page. And running through it all was a great mystery, fast-paced and masterfully told.
An amazingly satisfying read. You won’t want to miss the twist at the end!
April 2, 2020
Page turner based on a true story
Before gay men came out, there was often a seedy underbelly to gay culture, and nowhere more so than in Bakersfield. I grew up there and my step brother knew second hand about the many of the men involved in the Boys Club. He could have been just the kind of young man they might have preyed on, but he was a bit too old. They liked them young.
This book is so well written and captures the sights and smells of the hot, dusty reality that I remembered growing up. I texted friends not to start reading this book if they wanted to fall asleep or get anything done around the house. I was enthralled.
Before gay men came out, there was often a seedy underbelly to gay culture, and nowhere more so than in Bakersfield. I grew up there and my step brother knew second hand about the many of the men involved in the Boys Club. He could have been just the kind of young man they might have preyed on, but he was a bit too old. They liked them young.
This book is so well written and captures the sights and smells of the hot, dusty reality that I remembered growing up. I texted friends not to start reading this book if they wanted to fall asleep or get anything done around the house. I was enthralled.
October 27, 2022
Bakersfield Boys Club--Eye Opening, Heart Wrenching, Honest AAAAA!
Anne Da Vigo exceptionally delivers a touching look at a very sad, tragic reality. Extremely sick men stealing the innocence of teenagers without permission, without consent. This is a story of a mother, struggling with the horror which be sets her Danny, artistic, sensitive, vulnerable! It is quite a story. Unfortunately, it's been repeated far too often. It should be required reading for warning young teenagers, and parents of those same innocents.
I highly recommend this outstanding murder mystery with a sociopathic undercurrent!
Anne Da Vigo exceptionally delivers a touching look at a very sad, tragic reality. Extremely sick men stealing the innocence of teenagers without permission, without consent. This is a story of a mother, struggling with the horror which be sets her Danny, artistic, sensitive, vulnerable! It is quite a story. Unfortunately, it's been repeated far too often. It should be required reading for warning young teenagers, and parents of those same innocents.
I highly recommend this outstanding murder mystery with a sociopathic undercurrent!
March 28, 2020
Reading this novel is like being carried downstream in a fast-moving current. If you've read the plot summary you'll realize that writing about this subject (exploitation of kids) takes a lot of courage and skill. Anne DaVigo's talent and power carry the reader through a series of events that include the ruination of some kids lives. Somehow the story manages to be both starkly realistic and compassionate, unshrinkingly objective and empathetic at the same time. Five Stars!
March 7, 2020
Couldn’t put it down
I’ve lived in Bakersfield my whole life and my mom actually told me about the Lords of Bakersfield a long time ago. So when we heard about this book we both were excited to read. And we were not disappointed.
I will recommend to all my Bakersfield native friends.
I’ve lived in Bakersfield my whole life and my mom actually told me about the Lords of Bakersfield a long time ago. So when we heard about this book we both were excited to read. And we were not disappointed.
I will recommend to all my Bakersfield native friends.
August 31, 2025
The book's content is very thought provoking and sad. I was hoping for some glimmer of hope, but even that has an overcast by what was lost. What makes it so intriguing is the parallel with reality. I think so many Americans think the judicial is mostly just. The reality is many police, prosecutors and lawyers are apathetic and have no regard for the lives they affect.
October 23, 2020
Excellent read!
There is something rotten, in Bakersfield. The legal community leaders and movers and shakers, have a secret club. They are closet pedophiles. They get away with their crimes, for many years. Until, a Mom of one of the kids, started researching.
There is something rotten, in Bakersfield. The legal community leaders and movers and shakers, have a secret club. They are closet pedophiles. They get away with their crimes, for many years. Until, a Mom of one of the kids, started researching.
April 16, 2020
Dark but intriguing.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews