It always happens with a book that grabs me. I start reading and can't put it down-stay up late, read read read, and then I realize I have only 45 or so pages remaining, and I slow Way down. I don't want the book to end; I don't want to stop being with these characters; and sometimes I'm fearful of the outcome. It happened to me with The Dawn Patrol.
I was immediately taken in by the tone and style of writing. The mystery begins on page one. You read an eerie scene that makes you wonder where I fits into the story. Then you meet protagonist Boone Daniels (surfer extraordinaire who lives by the rhythms of the ocean) and his morning-surfer friends. To subsidize his ocean living, Boone, a former policeman, is a registered PI, taking jobs only when he needs the funds. The start of this novel has him in that position, and the job he takes challenges more than his PI skills.
It seems a simple case of getting a witness to the trial on an insurance-fraud case; but within hours Boone realizes there's a lot more involved. The opening scene remains there, haunting, occasionally revisited as the intricacies and gripping realities of the story keep Boone and the reader on edge. Boone must also face truths he had been avoiding about himself and way of life.
With believable dialogue and precise character development, Winslow, in storyteller fashion, also pops in interesting pieces of So. California and surfer history. At the start I found these annoying, not wanting to be away from the story; but by the end, I realized it all meshed, was important to the total understanding of what was going on. The characters are strong: adult, children, men and women. I appreciate stories that show a total community and don't withdraw to one or two people who seem isolated. Boone is the main protagonist, but the reader gets to know and appreciate all of his friends, lovers, and adversaries.
I often shy away from urban-set stories, but The Dawn Patrol captured me with the writing, and mesmeric details of the ocean and those who live with it. Richly crafted.