The Gate House by Nelson DeMille Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Gate House
Book Review: "Wide is the gate, and broad is the road, that leadeth to destruction."
Summary: 3 Stars
De Mille's novel is an ambitious venture into the lives of the uber-riche (and the requisite hangers-on) post-9/11 New York's Gold Coast, "colonial era villages and hamlets on the North Shore of Long Island's Nassau County". No longer the moneyed enclave of American aristocracy, the more recent additions to the blue bloods include a Mafia family and an Iranian expatriate. The once grand and massive Stanhope Estate has been compromised by time and expedience, as related by John Sutter, long-divorced from the stunning Susan Stanhope Sutter, who killed her lover, Frank Bellarosa, a Mafia don, but managed to elude the criminal justice system. After a voyage around the world, a few affairs to heal his broken heart and much self-examination, Sutter has returned to the Gatehouse, awaiting the imminent demise of a family retainer who has inhabited the dwelling, the cottage forfeit upon her death.
Besides the recent arrival of John Sutter, Susan has also returned to the scene of the crime, purchasing the guest house from its former owners. It is inevitable that the ex-spouses will meet, the author prepping the confrontation with Sutter's retelling of the circumstances that brought about the notorious murder and the divorce. With reduced financial means, tax attorney Sutter has no fixed plans, seeming to drift into situations that are both dangerous and untenable, particularly the overtures of Bellarosa's son and heir to the family business, Anthony. Sutter is worried that Anthony may not have a forgiving heart. And Anthony pressures Sutter to accept a business arrangement that doesn't bode well for the two men's relationship. The problem: John doesn't want a relationship, business or otherwise, but is concerned for Susan's safety at the hands of a vengeful Bellarosa scion.
Then there is Amir Nasim, the current owner of the Stanhope Estate and an expatriate, a courtly gentleman who harbors concerns over personal security after being forced to flee Iran. Even Bellarosa has suffered a spectacular demotion in this tongue-in-cheek drama, residing in an upscale subdivision modeled on the luxurious Stanhope mansion his father once owned- until the RICO Act stripped the mobster of dignity and possessions. But all this is inconsequential, considering Bellarosa senior's death at the hands of his lover, Susan Stanhope Sutter. Add in an assortment of characters, an attractive woman whose mother is dying, Bellarosa's wise guys and the usual rich folks who claim this landscape as their own. Shake and stir for a long-winded tale of the rich and infamous that may have passed its expiration date. This traditional sweeping novel of the foibles of strangers hasn't quite the appeal of years past, when publicity followed outrageous behavior with rapt attention. Luan Gaines/ 2008.
Book Review: 600 pages that could have been done in 100
Summary: 2 Stars
HELSON, WHAT HAPPENED? I consider myself your bigest fan--a member of your fan club that couldnt wait to read this book--I bought it in October and finished it this week because it took me so long to get through this book spent more time talking about the drinks you made or had in this book than you did on the plot...I couldnt wait to get to Monday in the story but it took 600 pages to get through this....I sooo miss John Corey...Please, please-- no more sequels!!...find a new story line and I will be first in line to buy itBook Review: A 'Bomb':A 200 page book crammed into 914 pages (large Print)
Summary: 1 Stars
I am a real fan of DeMille's but he 'blew-it' on this one! The book is tedious and boring to plow through with a predictable ending. If DeMille's purpose was to paint a picture of the foibles of the super-rich he beat that to death by the 40th chapter. This would've been a much more effective 200 page book but DeMille crammed it all into over 900 pages. I thought I'd never get to the end vice his other Novels which are excellent. Frankly, I was 'turned-off' by the subject, the subjects, and the never-ending manner of discourse in which it was presented. It's a 'bomb' and not worth reading. Hope DeMille's next effort gets him 'back-on-track'!Book Review: A Fizzler
Summary: 2 Stars
DeMille messed with the Mona Lisa and came away lacking. The scene in Gold Coast when Wall Street attorney John Sutter dines for lunch in Little Italy with Mafia Don Frank Bellarosa is as good and funny as anything I have read in a novel. In the sequel, DeMille chooses to mostly ignore the juxtaposition of clashing social classes and focuses on 600 pages of smashingly boring reconcialiation with his neurotic and spoiled ex-wife, Susan Sutter. Was I the only person who threw the book across the room when John Sutter swooned so easily for Susan? Was I the only person who was disappointed when Sutter didn't have a no holds barred verbal confrontation with his nemesis and father-in-law, William Stanhope? Did anyone else want to see more character development of Frank's evil son, Anthony, who disappeared for most of the book?
I agree with several other reviewers here and rank this one as a major disappointment with a totally predictable ending. If truth be told, DeMille hasn't written a really good book since Up Country. Skip this one unless you are a die-hard fan.
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Book Review: A Good Read
Summary: 4 Stars
Nelson DeMille is one of the authors I turn to when I just want to relax with a "good read" and he comes through once again (for me) in this sequel to The Gold Coast. Every time I read this author it is like listening to an old friend.
Meticulous as always, right down to spelling "whisky" and "whiskey" depending upon where it is produced.
I won't go on as other reviewers have covered the essentials.
But if you are the type of reader who doesn't bother to read the "acknowledgements" at the end of a book, read this one. It has a good final segment.