Fiction with a Beach Boy song-type setting, especially a mystery,

[raccoon]

anybody know of any?

What I mean is, a setting in California in the early '60's, dealing with the surfing/beach crowd.

[illinoisprogressive]

1. You would love the Elvis Cole series.

by robert crais. california. p.i. but fun and funny and exciting and on the edge of your seat.
super good series in that setting

[raccoon]

2. Thanks, I'll check into it. nt

[illinoisprogressive]

3. no problem. I'm a bookaholic

[hiaasenrocks]

10. Speaking of RC, have you read "The Two Minute Rule" yet?

I thought it was pretty good.

RC's writing style is wearing thin on me, but I thought the story was good.

[Richardo]

4. "California Girl" by T. Jefferson Parker

Fits your description almost exactly. A great read, but not a "light" or comic mystery.

I grew up in SoCal in the 60s and 70s and the guy has it DOWN. :thumbsup: (PS: Skillful cameos by Richard Nixon, Timothy Leary, Charles Manson)

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780641731884&itm=1

Publisher Review
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, and strange new ideas in the air about war, music, sex, and drugs, and new influences including Richard Nixon and Timothy Leary.

But for the Becker brothers, the past is always present and it comes crashing back when the body of the lovely and mysterious Janelle Vonn is discovered in an abandoned orange packinghouse. The Beckers and 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 special way, tries to find Janelle's killer.

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

[Sequoia]

5. Thanks, that looks good. Check w/ my library.

[Sequoia]

7. Started to read it now. Interesting...Tricky Dick too!

However, I noticed a few "time period" glitches. Women wore "peddal pusher" pants back then, not Capri's even though they are basically the same thing. But men aren't up on women's fashions so much.

[raccoon]

6. I'll look into that. Thanks for the heads up. nt

[flamingyouth]

8. I just finished this and really liked it

In fact, I have been getting into all of Parker's books lately. He's a good writer and the way he weaves the plot and characters, it's hard to know who the guilty party is. I'm reading "Black Water" right now and I hope he writes more Merci Rayborn books.

[hiaasenrocks]

9. Absolutely agree. Fantastic novel!