Summary and Reviews of California Girl by T Jefferson Parker

California Girl by T Jefferson Parker

California Girl

A Novel

by T Jefferson Parker
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (3):
  • First Published:
  • Sep 28, 2004, 352 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jan 2006, 416 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

The emotionally wrenching tale of three brothers and the brutal act that irrevocably changes their lives.

A different world then,
a different world now ...

California in the 1960s, and the winds of change are raging. Orange groves uprooted for tract houses, people flooding into Orange County, strange new ideas in the air about war, music, sex, and drugs, and new influences, ranging from Richard Nixon to Timothy Leary.

For the Becker brothers, however, the past is always present -- and it comes crashing back full force when the body of the lovely and mysterious Janelle Vonn is discovered in an abandoned orange-packing plant. The Beckers and the Vonns have a history, beginning years ago in high school with a rumble between the brothers of each clan.

But boys grow up. Now one Becker brother is a cop on his first homicide case. One's a minister yearning to perform just one miracle. One is a reporter drunk with ambition. And all three are about to collide with the changing world of 1968 as each brother, in his own unique way, tries to find Janelle's killer.

As suspects multiply and secrets are exposed, the three Becker brothers are drawn further into the case, deeper into the past, and closer to danger.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

California Girl is not only a gripping mystery but an emotionally absorbing family saga. If you haven't already discovered this Edgar Award-winning novelist I encourage you to do so...continued

Full Review (217 words)

This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For full access, become a member today.

(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Beyond the Book



This is Parker's 12th book. In publication order they are: Laguna Heat (1985), Little Saigon (1988), Pacific Beat (1991), Summer Of Fear (1993), The Triggerman's Dance (1996), Where Serpents Lie (1998), The Blue Hour (1999), Red Light (2000), Silent Joe (2001), Black Water (2002), Cold Pursuit (2003), California Girl (2004 hardcover).
The Fallen will be published in hardcover this March.

Incidentally, the 'T' in Parker's name is just that, a T - it's not short for anything. It seems that his mother thought it would look good on the door of the President! Consider yourself lucky he chose to be a novelist instead; we're richer for it. To his friends, he's simply Jeff.

This "beyond the book" feature is available to non-members for a limited time. Join today for full access.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked California Girl, try these:

  • Everything I Never Told You jacket

    Everything I Never Told You

    by Celeste Ng

    Published 2015

    About this book

    More by this author

    A profoundly moving story of family, history, and the meaning of home, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait.

  • Ordinary Grace jacket

    Ordinary Grace

    by William Kent Krueger

    Published 2014

    About this book

    More by this author

    Told from Frank's perspective forty years after that fateful summer, Ordinary Grace is a brilliantly moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him.

We have 8 read-alikes for California Girl, but non-members are limited to two results. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member.
More books by T Jefferson Parker
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    A Map to Paradise
    by Susan Meissner
    From the USA Today bestselling author of Only the Beautiful. 1956, Malibu, California: Something is not right on Paradise Circle.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Girl Falling
    by Hayley Scrivenor

    The USA Today bestselling author of Dirt Creek returns with a story of grief and truth.

  • Book Jacket

    Jane and Dan at the End of the World
    by Colleen Oakley

    Date Night meets Bel Canto in this hilarious tale.

  • Book Jacket

    The Antidote
    by Karen Russell

    A gripping dust bowl epic about five characters whose fates become entangled after a storm ravages their small Nebraskan town.

Who Said...

The less we know, the longer our explanations.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

T B S of T F

and be entered to win..