I think anyone who likes Wambaugh's early works should stay away from Harbor Nocturne. In my opinion the Hollywood cycle was a wind-down from the heights his work reached before. Nocturne reads like rhetorical Seconal.

But that may be intentional: after all, the book is about a cast of has-beens who are trying not to let go of their salad days. It doesn't work for them just as it doesn't work for anybody else who has crossed over the hill. What it does do is make the elder unhappy in his/her "golden years".

Considering the life Wambaugh led, he may have been writing unconsciously about himself. Who knows? I didn't like the book much. ( )

Wambaugh, a former L.A. cop, has churned out over twenty novels pulling on experiences he went through ‘on the job.’ He tells us there are two types of cops; that since the years after the Rodney King beating the department became full of “risk-averse cops who wanted to get through their closely supervised careers safely” and the “retro action-oriented risk takers, who always ran straight to the sound of guns.” He makes it pretty clear which one he would have us believe he is.
The cops are regurgitated characters from his last four novels, ‘Hollywood ’ Nate and Flotsam and Jetsam, charismatic figures in the Los Angeles police Hollywood Station series who are once again called upon to carry the story-line with their side-kick partners. The stories are entertaining and probably gleaned from truth to life told to Wambaugh but more recent police escapades. None of the coppers or their adventures are as awe inspiring as his first few novels and you get a feeling Wambaugh knows this as he can’t help himself but to remind us of his illustrious writing past by referring to his 1973 masterpiece “The Onion Field,” and still have all his officers touch a picture of The Oracle, a figure from his past, as they exit the station every day, just like The Green Bay Packers getting a blessing from Lombardi every time they play; tradition is strong within the department.
Wambaugh comes to his own in this latest narrative when he gets away from the police department and wanders into the character development of the seedy side of San Pedro and explores the lives of Lita Medina, a down-on-her-luck illegal alien from Mexico who has been caught up in the entertainment business, taking her clothes of in a local strip club. With Koreans and Russians plying their trade in the human smuggling and making these young girls pay to play local hoodlum, Hector Cozzo plies his trade as a procurer of talent for his new bosses. A chance meeting with Lita and on of Hector’s old high-school chums, Dinko Babich soon leads to true love and the unraveling of the flesh trade in San Pedro.
With his typical dark humor Wambaugh leads us through his latest entertaining, suspense filled and tragic story-line with gritty reality. Another entertaining read from the master of police dramas.
( )

Wambaugh, a former L.A. cop, has churned out over twenty novels pulling on experiences he went through ‘on the job.’ He tells us there are two types of cops; that since the years after the Rodney King beating the department became full of “risk-averse cops who wanted to get through their closely supervised careers safely” and the “retro action-oriented risk takers, who always ran straight to the sound of guns.” He makes it pretty clear which one he would have us believe he is.
The cops are regurgitated characters from his last four novels, ‘Hollywood ’ Nate and Flotsam and Jetsam, charismatic figures in the Los Angeles police Hollywood Station series who are once again called upon to carry the story-line with their side-kick partners. The stories are entertaining and probably gleaned from truth to life told to Wambaugh but more recent police escapades. None of the coppers or their adventures are as awe inspiring as his first few novels and you get a feeling Wambaugh knows this as he can’t help himself but to remind us of his illustrious writing past by referring to his 1973 masterpiece “The Onion Field,” and still have all his officers touch a picture of The Oracle, a figure from his past, as they exit the station every day, just like The Green Bay Packers getting a blessing from Lombardi every time they play; tradition is strong within the department.
Wambaugh comes to his own in this latest narrative when he gets away from the police department and wanders into the character development of the seedy side of San Pedro and explores the lives of Lita Medina, a down-on-her-luck illegal alien from Mexico who has been caught up in the entertainment business, taking her clothes of in a local strip club. With Koreans and Russians plying their trade in the human smuggling and making these young girls pay to play local hoodlum, Hector Cozzo plies his trade as a procurer of talent for his new bosses. A chance meeting with Lita and on of Hector’s old high-school chums, Dinko Babich soon leads to true love and the unraveling of the flesh trade in San Pedro.
With his typical dark humor Wambaugh leads us through his latest entertaining, suspense filled and tragic story-line with gritty reality. Another entertaining read from the master of police dramas.
( )

This book, like all Wambaugh books, has laugh out loud lines and some sad parts. The "Hollywood Love Story Award" in Chapter 8 is hilarious, with the couple singing "I got you babe" in a happy ending to a domestic violence call.

This book is more true to life of what it like to be an police officer than many police procedurals, in that Wambaugh was an LAPD cop for about 10 years. He said that he knew it was time to leave the LAPD when a suspect asked him for his autograph while he was handcuffing the suspect.

The melancholy parts of cops lives, including a high suicide rate, and alcoholism are part of the book. Cops are shown as human beings. ( )

Some of Wambaugh's characterizations were excellent, still one of his strong points. But some of the situations such as Dinko the ne'er-do-well boy and Lita the prostitute were over the top. It was obvious that their relationship was too good to be true... I'm glad I have read other Wambaugh books or I might not have ready any more of his books. ( )