Page 5: Old Money, New Money

Nelson DeMille has written many good books.  Two of them I particularly like are The Gold Coast and The Gate House.  The first book was published in 1990 and the second in 2009.  Many of the same characters are in both books and the story line continues after the surprising conclusion of the first book.

The name "Gold Coast" refers to the North Shore of Long Island where the mansions of the very rich, old money families, have been lived in for generations.  Most are not doing as well in the last part of the 20th Century and have either sold the mansions, part of their estates, or just moved away to the Carolinas or Florida.

DeMille has a sense of humor that keeps you interested in the main characters in spite of all the dumb things they do to screw up their lives.  Imagine laughing out loud while reading a book, The Gold Coast, where a mafia Don from New York City (new money) moves next door to an old money family.  Lawyer John Sutton (the comic) and his wife Susan find themselves caught between their friends, who are shocked that the Mafia has invaded the North Shore, and their social obligation of being nice to the new neighbors.  It gets even more interesting.  John Sutton is having a mid-life crisis.  He has a local practice and  specializes in real estate sales, managing the investments of his neighbors,  and completing their income taxes.  He eventually ends up defending the Don in a criminal case.  Throw some adultery and tax fraud into the mix and it gets even more interesting.

The Gate House picks up the story ten years later.  The same crime family is involved as well as John Sutter and Susan.  The humor continues while the characters seemed destined for self-destruction once again.

Here is a link to the Nelson DeMille website.  http://www.nelsondemille.net  I will blog about some of his other books in future posts.  I hope you laugh as much as I did when you read these.  If you have read these books already, let me know your take on them.