Hollywood Station

A Novel

By: Joseph Wambaugh

Narrated by: Adam Grupper

Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

The Grand Master of the police procedural returns to the Los Angeles Police Department in a gripping new audiobook about life in one of the more sensational police forces.

They call him the Oracle. He's got 46 years under his belt and more hash marks than a football field. More importantly, he has a crew of cops to look out for on the streets of Hollywood. From his understaffed office at Hollywood Station, he keeps a close eye on his squad who spend their day in patrol cars, and their nights in the underbelly of a city that never sleeps. As they make their way from the drug dens to dirty street corners, a string of seemingly unrelated events lures the cops of Hollywood Station to their most startling case, reminding them that nothing is too horrific or extreme for Los Angeles.

In his long-awaited return to the LAPD, Joseph Wambaugh takes his listeners on a raucous ride through the streets of Los Angeles and into the heart of the LAPD, where no one's safe from the gritty city - especially the cops.

©2006 Joseph Wambaugh. All Rights Reserved (P)2006 Hachette Audio. All Rights Reserved.

Critic reviews

"Outstanding....The master proves that he can still deliver." (Publishers Weekly)
"A triumphant return....High-voltage suspense drives the tale, and as always, Wambaugh's characters, language, and war stories exude authenticity." (Booklist)

Excellent

Great listen/book. Believable intertwined plots, and Adam Grupper's reading is superb;very fluid and his instant use of different voices for the different charcters gives the reading a "movie" type feel. GOOD JOB ADAM!!

Wambaugh does it again

You would have to have been a policeman who worked teh streets of Hollywood for the LAPD to fully appreciate this story. I was and I do.

Chuck

I think the old master has returned. Yes, this is better than his last and approaches to the level of his novel entitled "Lines and Shadows." The story is a must read!

Hollywood Insider - Narrator Saves the Day

I have to agree with the other reviewer who talked about this book getting off to a slow start. I was not impressed with the depiction of the characters or the different plots as they began. Towards the middle of the book the pace and character development and pace picked up but it never got to any great level of satisfaction for me. The end felt rushed, predictable and anticlimactic. As usual Adam saved the book with his presentation. It is a good book if you are in to cop stories about cops without a true "mystery" in the works. At the end of the day, had I bought this book in paper form I would have tossed it out after the first chapter.

He's Back!

This book ROCKS! This is a wonderful representation of classic Joseph Wambaugh. Funny and gritty. The LAPD cops in this book are real people not the shallow righteous crime fighters of TV and movies. I LOVED this old school style Wambaugh novel and I can't recommend it too much!

Everyday People In A Unique Job

One of the striking things about Hollywood Station is that it could easily be non-fiction. Although the characters in "Hollywood Station" are not particularly developed, in this instance it works to the novel's advantage. Gritty and largely unsentimental. It was a quick and enjoyable listen.

Amazing characters

Having been in government service myself the events struck close to home -love that sleuthing boils down to dumb luck in this book. The author artfully depicts a collision of events that leads to a higher kind of Justice than the laws of man can deliver. Laughed hard at the idiosyncratic characters doings.

LA's finest

Nobody writes like Wambaugh and it's too bad.
He's the GOAT.
Thanks for the adventures, Detective Sargeant.

Wambaugh Stories Are Fun Again

I’m a retired police officer and have read almost all of Joseph Wambaugh’s books during my career. Haven’t picked up a Wambaugh story in over a decade. My first outing with an Audible edition. This story is fun. Brought back a lot of memories from my career. Everything that happened in this book I either was a part of witnessed or heard about while on the job. The voice actor did an excellent job and brought life to each character. At first I thought it was more than one artist. He was that good. Best Audible book I’ve listened to. Highly recommended.

Just Plain Enjoyable

This is a great listen. It's an audiobook you'll be able to simply enjoy without trying to figure out any deep meanings or underlying emotions. The story moved along without many slow spots, the characters were well developed and the story line was interesting. I also enjoyed the anti-woke and non-PC nature of the book. I had just finished Prince of Tides and needed to lighten things up a bit. This hit the spot, refreshing and just plain enjoyable.