SURF CITY Confidential: A Beach Book

by Daniel J. Waters

It’s 1967 and Surf City Police Chief Mickey Cleary has a less than a week before the Memorial Day weekend, a battered corpse has washed up on her New Jersey beach. When the body is identified as the teenage son of powerful Mafia boss Dante “Danny Rags” Ragone, Mickey is pressured to declare the death an accident and close the book. Once one of Philadelphia’s first female beat cops, she understands the looming potential for bloodshed and demands an autopsy by the State’s Medical Examiner. Hiding the body in the cooler of a local liquor store, Mickey sets in motion a series of events that rapidly draws in warring mob factions, Philadelphia’s Police Commissioner, and a pair of FBI agents who may or may not be on the side of justice.When a cryptic note is discovered tucked in her deputy’s uniform pocket, suspicion mounts that Mickey might be involved in the boy’s death. She allies herself with Ronnie Dunn, a disaffected Viet Nam vet who warns her that nothing is what it seems in the sleepy beach town. Both having been witnesses to horrific violence, they bond together in a desperate attempt to find the truth, prevent a mob war, and stay alive.

437 pages, Paperback

Published May 25, 2018

About the author

Daniel J. Waters is a native of southern NJ. He is a graduate of St. Joseph's College (PA) and the University of Medicine & Dentistry of NJ; he also holds a Graduate Certificate in Narrative Healthcare and a Master of Arts in Writing from the Thomas Wolfe Center for Narrative at Lenoir-Rhyne University (Asheville, NC). First published as a medical student in 1981 he has authored numerous stories and essays, two widely-quoted books of surgical advice, three poems, an award-winning play, and five novels. He retired in 2019 after performing open-heart surgery for thirty years and overseeing Graduate Medical Education programs for two decades. He was a Writing Fellow for the Health Professionals website Doximity where his "Op-Med" essays were widely read. He lives with his wife in Clear Lake, Iowa.

Reviews

[Gene Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniel J. Waters has a hit on his hand. I desired a shore read for the Summer of 2025 and I received an exciting one in Surf City Confidential. It is a fiction thriller, a who done it! If you are a Jersey Shore person, a Philadelphia Police murder story reader, a travel back in time to the late 60's reader with the Vietnam War and its veterans' "Coming Home" reactions, and finally if you are into mob stories, this book will steal your heart. I would recommend reading it in the months of May to the end of September because the season of this thriller is Summer of '69. Let our summer weather enhance this thriller-on the beach if possible. Enjoy the time travel back into the late 60's, the action and the thrill of a great mystery won't allow one to put it down. Many readers familiar with the Jersey Shore will thrive on this best-read summer read.

[Mmarbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read! A photorealistic description of the Jersey shore in the 1967 summer of love with a rollicking murder mystery/detective story perfectly superimposed. Like any good roller coaster, the story starts slowly, and then a wild ride ensues. It threatens but never does come off the rails, and, like any good roller coaster, delivers you safely at the end, just in time to want to go again! Historical and imagined characters are plausibly intermingled. My advice: don’t miss it, and , unless you were actually there, keep a web browser handy to follow the references for some extra fun.

[Rosemary Bartuska · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the story but the book was very difficult for me to read - too many typos and editing mistakes. Plus, being from the Philadelphia/Jersey Shore area, I felt the author was trying too hard to mention landmarks and different shore towns when it wasn’t necessary. You wouldn’t drive from Surf City to Ocean City to stay in a hotel! And anyone from South Jersey knows OC is a dry town. You can’t get a drink in a restaurant. Once I convinced myself to ignore the mistakes, I enjoyed the story more.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to buy the series but I received them all for Christmas. I grew up on Long Beach Island and was intrigued about them and what kind of story they would be. To my surprise the books were some what accurate with the area details but also way off with others, twenty minute drive from LBI to Somers Point. I did like the book and the story line very much and will definitely read the rest of the series.

[Mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because it is set on the shore but I enjoyed the story and found it to be well written. I could have done without all the bad guys having Italian American names but I chuckled when the epilogue said that the author named those characters after his friends. I can easily recommend this book.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the plot and the protagonists in this book. A fast paced read that kept you wondering how all the threads of the story would come together. Also always a thrill to read something written by someone you know. A gifted heart surgeon and a gifted writer! Looking forward to reading more of this series.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main draw of this book was that it was set on Long Beach Island which was part of my formative childhood days and beyond. It was great to read about places I knew and also sad because the LBI described in this book is long gone. Money has displaced what used to be a lovely family based vacation place.

[Kristi Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed going back to 1967. Mickey is now the Chief in surf city, the first female to hold the role. Summer is about to start and a lot rests on her shoulders to make sure the peace ensures. Of course right away a body turns off and everything goes haywire. Twists and turns & her past comes back along with her father’s. Will they find out what happened before the tourist show up?

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up to read because of the setting on LBI. Brought back memories of going down the shore in the 60's. What's not to like: Philly mafia, corrupt cops and Ron Jon's mention. He even got in a plug for L&M bakery in Riverside and yes they did have THE BEST donuts.

[Erin Raftery · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was looking forward to a nice beach read about a shore town I’ve been going to my entire life, but was very disappointed and couldn’t even finish it. There were typos and grammar errors riddled throughout the book. The real kicker was a character slut shaming 13-year-olds. Do not read this book.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow .........

[Brenda Heinz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started slow but then the suspense kept me up late into the night! Can’t wait to read the next one!

[Ann Muoio · Rating 4 out of 5]

If anyone is familiar with LBI you may enjoy this book, written by a heart surgeon who went to LBI often. Good book!!

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great crime action on LBI

Chief Mickey joins the police dept and the quiet NJ shore town heats up just before the summer with death, organized crime bosses and a little romance

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book drew my interest as it is set at the Jersey shore. It involves the murder (or was it an accident) of a powerful and dangerous man’s son. It needs to be solved or others could die.

[Scott Lakefield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ultimately pretty good but dragged in places. Could have been a bit more suspenseful to be more gripping.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book

Loved this very much, it was great especially reading it where the story takes place, in Surf City and imaging what it was like back when this story takes place

[Ellen Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

worth the read

Can’t put it down.Enjoy it and the characters. Suspense and intrigue as to what things were like then. Enjoy it

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I live on LBI, I really enjoyed the book, the fiction as well as some of the locales that were mentioned. Looking forward to the next one.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Really teetering on this one. A lot of loose ends and half baked plot, but I liked the characters and setting

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read this and the rest of the series became it was about LBI