Review of HOLLYWOOD CROWS (Hachette Audio 2008)
By guest blogger Star Lawrence
Author, Joseph Wambaugh; read by Christian Rummel
Stephen King threw HOLLYWOOD CROWS on his "best of" list in Entertainment Weekly. I thought, "Joseph Wambaugh, wow, pretty Hill Street." Turns out the precursor to CROWS, HOLLYWOOD STATION, had been Wambaugh's first book in a decade.
At first, I was sort of cringing when I heard corny lines like "Hollywood, where men are men and so are the women,” but within two disks, I was hooked. Crows—the pronunciation of CRO—Community Relations Officer—do the PR work, schmoozing people with unauthorized people parked across their driveways or noisy neighbors who suddenly go quiet (that one did not end nicely).
They also interact with the "regular" cops from the Hollywood Station, including my favorites, two surfer cops nicknamed Flotsam and Jetsam. Their blab is hilarious, so Valley-guy and jargon-frontloaded, their fellow cops treat them almost as lovable mascots. Yet, their weird gut feelings ("That house is seriously bad juju, bro.") edge the story forward in its leisurely pace.
Weaving the elements together as only a master can, Wambaugh brings the cops into contact with Ali Aziz, a Middle-Eastern strip club owner, and his gorgeous honey-haired wife Margo, who is not as sweet as her hair.
Christian Rummel is a slightly nasal reader, hilarious as F&J (see above).
I wouldn't say this story is exactly plot-driven, but it does end up someplace. And the trip is worth the hours. What more could you ask? I mean, what more could you ask, dude?
Star Lawrence owns the health humor site, Health's Ass, at http://healthsass.blogspot.com. She can be reached at jkellaw@aol.com.
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