The Gate House by Nelson DeMille Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Gate House
Book Review: A Long, Long Trip to Nowhere
Summary: 1 Stars
This is a sequel that should never have been. The Gold Coast was a complex and intriguing novel and even so it felt a tad long and drawn out...so what made DeMille think we wanted to spend more time with these characters?
Unfortunately, DeMille is showing signs of the curse that afflicts many writers who are so fresh and vibrant at the start of their careers and then finding a trick or two that has appealed in the past end up using that trick to the point of novel abuse.
A good example of this was Wild Fire where continuing character John Corey has gone from entertaining and funny in his sarcastic asides and dialog to mind numbingly repetitious and downright annoying.
Notice I haven't said much about The Gate House plot? Besides the fact that there will be many stalwart reviewers who do excellent plot synopsis in these reviews, there also is not much point in it since the plot is wafer thin and is rather pointless anyway.
I simply pray the DeMille recaptures his earlier fire and does not descend down the dreadful path that the likes of James Patterson have.
Book Review: A Nice Read, Not One of DeMille's Best
Summary: 3 Stars
I echo what a lot of other readers wrote, this is a good book, not great by any means. It is the second straight DeMille book I didn't love.
I won't bore you with the details as they have been written by so many others. The story dragged for hundreds of pages, and while the author spent countless pages describing the slow and tedious death of a former servant to this enormously wealthy and dysfunctional family, he sped through some crucial details of the story. John Sutter and Susan Stanhope reuniting and sudden decision to remarry after a 10 year hiatus just sort of happened. And while John claims many times to be in love with Susan he did have some very funny quips about her nutty personality and lack of sense of reality; he was always weighing other options for himself at all times. Towards the end of the book when Sutter has a secret to share with Susan's father that will impact all of their futures, the reader barely got a glimpse of what was said. The reader would have wanted to know what went on behind the closed doors on this account. Yes there was tension building, but again it was not the Nelson DeMille thriller that we've all been waiting for. I gave this 3 stars because it really was a nice, easy read, but when I am sorry to say I was happy when it was over. Sorry Nelson.
Book Review: A Stinker.....
Summary: 2 Stars
Every now and then, Nelson DeMille who has written a number of entertaining and eminently readable novels, writes a "stinker."
Well, file this one under "S".
For most of this 674 page tome, we are retold and retold and retold aspects of the story from The Gold Coast. We are reminded more times than reasonably necessary that Susan Sutter (wife of John) shot (and killed) Mafia Don, Frank Belarossa some ten years or so before which permanently concluded their torrid affair. It also put a period at the end of the marriage of John and Susan. We are reminded of that as well. Frequently. (and often)
Now, John has returned to that part of Long Island, referred to as the Gold Coast. So has Susan. Anthony Belarossa, son of Frank and very much a part of the family business is there also. They are all living in the subdivided parts of the original Stanhope Estate (Susan's family) which must be only slightly smaller than Queens. John is in The Gatehouse, hence the title.
Now you wouldn't think it would take 674 pages for the various elements of the story, living that close, to finally collide in a meaningful way to resolve any loose ends from a decade past. Wrong. It takes over two hundred pages before John and Susan finally get it on again, with predictable results insofar as their mutual attraction for each other, notwithstanding the past unpleasantness.
After 647 pages things finally come to a head and get resolved in only 27 more. The conclusion is mildly interesting, slightly salacious and quite predictable.
I suspect DeMille did well with this effort, due to the past success of The Gold Coast. A lot of trees went to the mill to produce what could have been written as a novella. He no longer gets a knee jerk one click order from this reviewer. No way.
Book Review: A Surprisingly Great Sequel to the Gold Coast, loved it!
Summary: 5 Stars
I found the Gate House to be a wonderful return to the "Gold Coast" of Long Island. Bringing closure to the characters which were beautifully brought to life, only in the way that Nelson Demille can. I would like to revisit these characters again, and continue this saga, for I have found this particular story line the most intriguing and exciting of all Demilles characters. Great work, even if you have not read the Gold CoastBook Review: A Waste Of Time
Summary: 1 Stars
Nelson DeMille has gone from a very entertaining writer to a hack. That is very disappointing. His earlier books are a great read, his last two Wildfire and now the Gate House are a waste of time.