East Beach

by Ely

Seeking obscurity after the murders of his wife and child, Jake Sands moves to Santa Barbara and befriends Julie, a waitress, but when Julie is also murdered, Jake is determined to track down her killer. Reprint.

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Rich Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book by that rare animal - an actor who actually has both the real props as an actor AND a writer. Yeah, sure most of them try it, but few really pull it off.

Ron Ely, better known as Tarzan and Doc Savage to most, brings his investigator/recoverer Jake Sands back to life in his second novel. The story's an excellent, lightly hard-boiled tale with enough twists and turns, and good characterization, to make things interesting. Ely's writing is distinctive and detailed, and puts the reader right in the middle of the Santa Barbera beach scene. And the best part is that the story never drags or makes you lose interest. This is an A-1 detective tale.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so sad that Ron Ely only wrote two books. This one was a little too predictable, but I enjoyed the time spent with Jake Sands.

[James S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

East Beach is the second novel in a short-lived PI series about Jake Sands, a resident of Santa Barbara (like Ross MacDonald). It's amusing enough and has a nice sense of melancholy and regret, but ultimately I didn't feel like reading beyond page 50 or so, mainly because it seemed obvious where the plot was going (gee, I wonder what Julie's Saturday-night ritual was...could it have anything to do with the lottery, which everyone keeps mentioning? Could the lottery have anything to do with her death?), to the extent that I didn't relish the prospect of reading several hundred more pages.

(By the way, the author is the famous actor of the same name.)

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A peek in to the dark underbelly of California beach culture of the 70s/80s. Lots of beach volleyball and drugs. I didn't enjoy this as much as the previous book in the series, Night Shadows. I feel the book should have explained more on Jake's background instead I got friends who seem to be on the wrong side of the law and lots of references to a mysterious past. However, the author who is a well known actor in Hollywood reads his own book in the audible version and his dramatic narration lifted the story from just okay to good.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just because it takes place in Santa Barbara, I'll give this 4 stars.

[Toesnorth's mom]

so-so