The Lost Coast

by Scott Lipanovich

Jeff Taylor, twenty-five, is a former college basketball star whose path in life has been changed by an he lost half of his right hand to a threshing machine. He had been prepping for the MCAT, but Jeff’s chopped hand triggered a loss of confidence in his medical ambitions. He ends up working as a private eye for Sherman Investigations, a player in the underbelly of California politics.Jeff’s boss calls in the middle of the night. He asks Jeff to drive to the cold northern California coast to bail out an old friend, state senator Allan Watkins. Watkins has been arrested for drunk driving and charged with vehicular manslaughter of a man named Joe Garston. While Jeff transports Senator Watkins and his wife back to their vacation rental, the senator forces Jeff to pull over at the accident site. Watkins makes a case for his innocence, claiming he’s been set up. Jeff rejects the idea and simply drops them off at the cabin. But now he’s curious. He starts asking questions around town. That night, he gets stomped. Rather than being scared off, Jeff sets out on a quest to find the truth behind the death of Joe Garston…

218 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 21, 2021

Reviews

[David Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The protagonist in Scott Lipanovich’s novel, The Lost Coast, is a private eye named Jeff Taylor who bails out a California state senator charged with killing a pedestrian while driving drunk. It looks like an open-and-shut case until Jeff starts sniffing around.

As in any good PI novel, this leads to trouble: a beating from goons, a treacherous woman, a duffel bag of cocaine, a stolen notebook, a murdered detective and an action ending.

The writing is clean, direct and highly visual. The dialogue is succinct and believable (this probably has to do with Lipanovich’s work in films). Here’s a passage that put me right into the story:
“I handed Kate a glass and sat at the other end of the couch. I heard the refrigerator humming two rooms away, a creak in one of the windows, and a crow cawing somewhere outside. Every sound on that ridge was separate, distinct, beautiful and eerie. Like a ghost town.”

The Lost Coast was a fun read. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a page-turner. I enjoyed the thorough plot detail and character development. The book kept my interest from start to finish. This was different enough from the usual mystery books I devour. A great read!

[Jonathan Vasgar · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an ok debut. The last 30 pages were entertaining, but if I have to read about his “hook hand@ again, I may go crazy. It’s a plot device that gets WAY overused. Second complaint is the language. A frequent complaint from me, but dropping the f bomb frequently doesn’t add anything. Find other words to make your point. Final complaint, I don’t love a mystery where SPOILER ALERT: the last villain is someone we hadn’t yet met. Too easy. Still, what I liked was the way he drew a setting- it felt like a movie. The fast pacing of the story and, as I said before the final 30 pages were riveting.

[Matthew Cost · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Lost Coast" by Scott Lipanovich is a twisting tale greed and corruption involving landowners, politicians, and the authorities. Jeff Taylor, a young man lost and adrift, finds himself thrown into the midst of this swirling melee and must navigate the choppy waters to do the right thing. He is threatened, seduced, and bribed all in a day's time, his allegiances pulled right and left while his moral compass struggles to continue to point north. Lipanovich will keep you turning the pages in a desperate attempt to discover what is really happening on "The Lost Coast".

[Sharon Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott Lipanovich’s background in film serves him well in The Lost Coast. He writes brisk dialogue and places characters in scenes that are visual without being overly descriptive. He knows how to create a fight scene and a love scene and knows when to end the scene. He made me understand the plight of people living among the redwoods. They are as lost as lost as The Lost Coast of California. The novel propelled me forward to a surprise but appropriate ending.

[Jt O'Neill · Rating 3 out of 5]

The setting for this book is close to where I live so that is what brought me to it. As it turned out, I found myself skimming the pages by mid book. I could not relate to any of the characters. They weren't interesting to me and I didn't particularly care what the outcome of the book would be. I just wanted to finish it.

The writing seemed inexperienced. It read as if it had been written by a high school kid. I think some editing would have helped.

I'm not a big mystery reader so maybe others who favor the genre would like it more than I did. If it looks good to you, give it a try.

[simon c martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A winner

Enjoyed the flow of the read. As you get deeper into story you can feel the characters emotions and you think you know what their game is. Book reminded me of a John Sanford novel. Highly recommend this book. Looking forward to reading the series