The Gate House

By: Nelson DeMille

Narrated by: Christian Rummel

#1 New York Times bestselling author Nelson DeMille delivers the long-awaited follow-up to his classic novel The Gold Coast.

When John Sutter's aristocratic wife killed her mafia don lover, John left America and set out in his sailboat on a three-year journey around the world, eventually settling in London. Now, ten years later, he has come home to the Gold Coast, that stretch of land on the North Shore of Long Island that once held the greatest concentration of wealth and power in America, to attend the imminent funeral of an old family servant.

Taking up temporary residence in the gatehouse of Stanhope Hall, John finds himself living only a quarter of a mile from Susan who has also returned to Long Island. But Susan isn't the only person from John's past who has reemerged: Though Frank Bellarosa, infamous Mafia don and Susan's ex-lover, is long dead, his son, Anthony, is alive and well, and intent on two missions: Drawing John back into the violent world of the Bellarosa family, and exacting revenge on his father's murderer--Susan Sutter. At the same time, John and Susan's mutual attraction resurfaces and old passions begin to reignite, and John finds himself pulled deeper into a familiar web of seduction and betrayal.

In The Gate House, acclaimed author Nelson Demille brings us back to that fabled spot on the North Shore -- a place where past, present, and future collides with often unexpected results.©2008 Nelson Demille; (P)2008 Nelson Demille

Critic reviews

"Narrator Christian Rummel expertly characterizes Susan, the wealthy ex-wife of tax attorney John Sutter, who saunters back into his life following a torrid affair and her murder of powerful Mafia boss Frank Bellarosa. Rummel is most enjoyable affecting the local 'lockjaw' pronunciations as the story mixes in 'criminal' Italian accents just one generation removed from 'deese' and 'dose.' Listening to this witty, entertaining novel, fans of DeMille will be hooked..."—AudioFile

Good follow up

I really enjoy DeMille's writing style. This is a good follow up to the Gold Coast.

An entertaining conclusion

Where does The Gate House rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I absolutely loved The Gold Coast, and this is a wonderful conclusion. It's the same voice for zJohn Sutter and it fits him to a tee!

What did you like best about this story?

This story did not disappoint and it was suspenseful...though it is 10 years since we last read about Mr. Sutter, it picks up exactly where you might imagine John to be....sailing around the world!

Which character – as performed by Christian Rummel – was your favorite?

I just loved the character John Sutter and the performance was perfect.

Disappointing

I'm a big fan of Nelson DeMille and I thought The Gold Coast was a terrifc book, so I was downright giddy when I learned that Mr. DeMille had written a sequel. Now I'm just disappointed. Sure, the dialogue is clever and funny and how can you not like John and Susan? But a work of fiction should also have a good story, a plot that moves along and some dramatic tension. This sequel failed miserably in those last three requirements. I suppose if you've read The Gold Coast you'll feel obligated to read this one too, but this is not a book I'd recommend otherwise. The Gold Coast, however, is.

Terrible.

This book has no redeeming values. Almost every part was just too silly to believe or enjoy. No one would be in the face of a mob boss mouthing off as this character did. Jogging in the nude? Come on! Silly book. Poor character development was an on-going issue.

misrepresented length

described as being 22 hours long -- it is only 9 hours long; I can't comment on story -- Rummel a good narrator but not happy about misrepresentation re length of story