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Joseph Wambaugh

    January 22, 1937

    Joseph Wambaugh is a celebrated author whose works are deeply informed by his extensive experience as a detective sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department. He is known for his raw realism and incisive portrayals of police life, often exploring the moral complexities and gritty realities faced by those on the front lines. His distinctive narrative voice and authentic characters draw readers into compelling stories that resonate with profound human truths. Wambaugh's keen observation and mastery of suspense have cemented his reputation as a significant voice in crime literature.

    Joseph Wambaugh
    The Secrets of Harry Bright
    The Onion Field
    Hollywood Crows
    Joseph Wambaugh
    The Golden Orange
    The Joseph Wambaugh Omnibus
    • 2013

      Ex Longshoreman and taxi driver Dink Babich tries to protect a dancer after she witnesses something that links her to the murder of 13 people.

      Harbour Nocturne
    • 2008

      Wambaugh returns to the beat he knows best, taking readers on a tightly plotted and darkly funny ride through Los Angeles's epicentre with a cast of flawed cops and eccentric lowlifes they won't soon forget.

      Hollywood Crows
    • 2008

      Hollywood Station: While the cops out of Hollywood Station deal with the costumed crackheads, prostitutes, purse snatchers, tweakers and everyday lunatics that haunt the boulevards, in the streets behind the lights and crowds, the real Los Angeles simmers, never far from boiling point. The New Centurions: The story of five years in the lives of three policemen, from boot camp to the bitter realities of patrolling the streets of Los Angeles The Blue Knight: Bumper Morgan is a cop with twenty years' service under his belt and retirement looming. His outlook is old-fashioned: he believes in justice - even when it doesn't conform to the letter of the law. If a judicious bit of violence will give him what he needs to solve a crime, so be it. That's the way the game's played. And it usually works. But the prospect of retirement is clouding Bumper's judgement and he finds himself making mistakes. The kind of mistakes that kill people.

      The Joseph Wambaugh Omnibus
    • 2007

      While the cops out of Hollywood station deal with the costumed crackheads, prostitutes, purse snatchers, tweakers and ordinary lunatics that haunt the boulevards, in the streets behind the lights and crowds, the real Los Angeles simmers, never far from boiling point.Under the watchful eye of the veteran sergeant they call Oracle, the Hollywood station squad are as different as the streets they police. Budgie Polk's back on duty while still breast-feeding her son, begrudgingly teamed with old school patrol officer Fausto Gamboa. Flotsam and Jetsam live only for surfing and the petite - but intrepid - Meg Takara. Andi McCrea goes off duty and into night classes, while rich kid rookie Wesley Drubb is as desperate to see some action as Nathan 'Hollywood' Weiss is to get his script developed.Under-staffed and over-worked, bound by red tape and hobbled by political correctness, these men and women hold the front line in LA's epicentre, but add a diamond robbery, the Russian mafia and a cluelessly ambitious glass freak and something has got to give...

      Hollywood Station
    • 2003

      Fire Lover

      • 416 pages
      • 15 hours of reading
      3.7(87)Add rating

      Set against the backdrop of a devastating fire in South Pasadena, the story follows a respected arson investigator as he confronts the aftermath of a tragedy that claims four lives, including a toddler. As firefighters battle the flames, two additional suspicious fires ignite nearby, raising questions about a possible connection. The narrative delves into the complexities of arson investigation, the emotional toll on those affected, and the relentless pursuit of justice amidst chaos and destruction.

      Fire Lover
    • 2003

      The Secrets of Harry Bright

      A Novel

      • 350 pages
      • 13 hours of reading
      3.8(14)Add rating

      Set against a backdrop of stunning natural beauty, the story intertwines the lives of raucous cops, outlaw bikers, and glamorous celebrities. As tensions rise, the narrative explores themes of crime and mortality, revealing the darker side of paradise. The collision of these diverse characters creates a thrilling atmosphere filled with intrigue and unexpected twists.

      The Secrets of Harry Bright
    • 1997

      Floaters

      • 291 pages
      • 11 hours of reading
      3.5(669)Add rating

      NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLSER • “This is vintage Wambaugh, a rollicking and ribald tale, laced with black humor.”—The San Diego Union-Tribune Harbor cops Fortney and Leeds have a good time patrolling San Diego’s Mission Bay, scopingout body-sculpted beauties on pleasure craft, rescuing boating bozos who’ve run aground, and haulingin the occasional floater. But now their days are anything but typical, for theAmerica’s Cup regattas have come to town and San Diego swarms with sailors, schemers, spies, and saboteurs,and the cuppies who want to love them. It’s a randy cuppie named Blaze who tweaks their cop instincts thatsomething’s not quite right on the waterfront—and it’sBlaze who sets off a bizarre criminal trail that wouldbe hilarious if it didn’t wind up just as nasty asit gets, with a pair of murders right on the eve of thebiggest sailing race of all. Praise for Floaters “There’s only one Joe Wambaugh. He’s a really important American writer.”—Jonathan Kellerman “[Wambaugh] dazzles with his intimate knowledge of police life, black humor, raunchy dialogue, and a cast of nineties choirboys. . . . A cop’s expertise and the literary power of a master storyteller.”—Digby Diehl, Playboy “The author’s trademark sardonic writing is in full force here.”—Publishers Weekly

      Floaters
    • 1992

      The Glitter Dome

      • 305 pages
      • 11 hours of reading
      3.3(48)Add rating

      A grim look at the ugly underbelly of life as a Hollywood copy It’s the wildest bar in Chinatown, run by a proprietor named Wing who will steal your bar change every chance he gets. On payday the groupies mingle there with off-duty LAPD cops, including homicide detectives Martin Welborn and Al Mackey, who get assigned the case of a murdered Hollywood studio boss who may have been involved in some very strange and dangerous filmmaking.

      The Glitter Dome
    • 1991

      When forty-year-old cop Winnie Farlowe lost his  shield, he lost the only protection he had. Ever  since, he's been fighting a bad back, fighting the  bottle, fighting his conscience. But now he's in  for a special fight. Never before has he come up  against anyone like Tess Binder. She's a  stunningly beautiful, sexually spirited three-time  divorcee from Newport Beach--capital of California's  Golden Orange, where wallets are fat, bikinis are  skimpy, and cosmetic surgery is one sure way to a  billionaire's bank account. Nearly a year ago Tess  Binder's father washed up on the beach with a bullet  in his ear. The coroner called it suicide, but to  Tess it means the fear of her own fate. And  Winnie Farlowe is a man willing to follow wherever she  leads--straight into the juicy pulp of the Golden  Orange, a world where money is everything, but  nothing adds up . . . where death and chicanery  flourish amidst ranches, mansions, and yachting  parties. In his long-awaited new novel, best-selling  author Joseph Wambaugh combines harrowing suspense,  scathing humor, and a moving portrait of a man on  the brink of  self-destruction.

      The Golden Orange
    • 1989

      Chronicles the first homicide cases to be solved by DNA testing: the 1983 and 1986 rape-murders of English teenagers Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashforth.

      The blooding