I thought surfers were supposed to be laid back?

This is the second book featuring the surfing private detective Boone Daniels. An ex-cop turned PI, Boone seems to be the epitome of SoCal surf culture with a lifestyle that revolves around spending as much time as possible in the water with his surfing pals, the Dawn Patrol. Boone gets roped into a job that he doesn’t much want by Petra, a lawyer and his kinda sorta girlfriend.

Surfing legend and beloved community activist Kelly Kuhio, also known as K2, was killed in a senseless act of violence by a young punk representing the dark side of surfing territoriality. K2 was a friend of Boone’s, and he wants nothing to do with the case when Petra asks him to help prove that it wasn’t premeditated murder so they can get a reduced sentence for the punk. After realizing that K2 would never want anyone to be scapegoat in a misguided attempt to seek justice for him, Boone reluctantly signs on, but this instantly puts him at odds with the surfing community he loves and his friends in the Dawn Patrol, especially his best friend Johnny who was the cop who got a confession in K2’s death. Another rich surfer adds to Boone’s mental stress by begging him to find out if his wife is cheating on him.

Just like The Dawn Patrol this book has a unique setting and likeable main character. Winslow conversational style makes the reader understand surf culture and as always, his writing is entertaining as hell. However, the two Boone books rate a bit down my Winslow scale. There’s nothing wrong with them, and I’d recommend them to anyone looking for a readable mystery with style, but they just lack a certain heft that you get in Winslow’s best like Savages or The Power of the Dog or The Winter of Frankie Machine.

But since the worst thing I can say about them is that they aren’t Don Winslow’s best books, it still means they’re pretty damn good.