The Gold Coast By Nelson DeMille

It’s about a lawyer who lives next door to a mafia don. And ends up mixed up with him.
Good story , well written. I liked it.

The Gold Coast is social satire at its best. The plot, deliciously foreshadowed at several points along the way, is so captivating that you won’t find yourself able to put the book down, the characters are very well drawn, and the dialogue is witty and hilarious. You’ll find yourself laughing out loud many times.

The author himself, Nelson DeMille, describes it as “The Godfather meets The Great Gatsby on the Gold Coast.” And that about sums it up. John Sutter, a lawyer and the self-deprecating narrator of the story, lives a posh if somewhat boring life with his rather independent and fiery wife on her inherited estate on Long Island’s Gold Coast, where old WASP families have owned vast tracts of land since before the Roaring Twenties. But everything tilts out of balance when Frank Bellarosa, a notorious Mafia boss, moves into the mansion next door and befriends the couple. Soon enough their lives are inextricably linked and John, as well as his wife Susan, find themselves descending into more and more questionable circumstances, yet unable to break it off with Frank, who has charmed them both.

What immediately came to my mind when I started reading, and indeed what DeMille himself compares his story to, is Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe. However, I actually like this one much better. I remember finding Bonfire utterly depressing, leaving you without many good thoughts about human nature, whereas The Gold Coast is a much more cheerful book. While it takes many stabs at the ridiculousness of upper class pretensions, like the distinction between new money and old and all the levels of hypocrisy, the main protagonist in this case is a likeable guy who you cannot help but admire for his actions and principles. And you also cannot help but like the Mafia don, even though you know he is dangerous and manipulative, because in some ways he is a much better and more loyal person than most of the snobbish upper-class society around him.

If you’ve read other books by Nelson DeMille, don’t expect more of the same. This is a very different (and in my opinion much more masterful) book than his usual fare of mysteries and thrillers. The cover art might fool you, as it looks like just another one of the same sort, but it most decidedly is not. Nevertheless, it’s a great and fast-paced read, and one of the best I’ve read this year. I feel like immediately returning to the start and reading it all over again.

John Sutter is an overprivileged tax attorney with an office on Wall Street, who lives in the “Gold Coast” of Long Island, once home to the ultra rich. Susan, his wife, has inherited wealth, and the manners to go with it. Their comfortable world begins to fall apart (though not all at once) when Frank Bellarosa, one of the country’s top mafia bosses moves into their posh neighborhood. To their surprise he doesn’t have horns–in fact he is charming and friendly, and they begin to develop a complicated relationship with Frank and his wife, Anna. Of course all is not as it seems, and the couple gradually find themselves enmeshed in the crime lord’s dark world.

The story moves at a leisurely pace, developing the characters, their origins, their relationships, their neighbors, and the fabled history of the gold coast, a history that is nearing its end. The characters are interesting, flawed, and complex. The mafia don is surprisingly likeable, at least in the beginning. The story begins in a lighthearted way, with a generous dose of wit and humor, then gradually turns dark, as the characters find themselves acting more and more out of character. The last fourth of the book is dark and disturbing–and no, I won’t tell you how it ends.

Author Nelson DeMille is a skilled writer who builds a believable world and characters, recreates the dying way of life of the Gold Coast, and draws the reader into his characters and their haunting dilemmas. The book has its flaws, to be sure, such as the over-use of Italianisms, like “capisce” and “goombah,” and cliche expressions like “stark naked.” Still, it’s an enjoyable book and it will keep you happily reading for a long time. I recommend it. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

although a bit dated this is still a great read