The Gate House by Nelson Demille

From Barnes and Noble

Synopsis

When John Sutter's aristocratic wife killed her mafia don lover, John left America and set out in his sailboat on a three-year journey around the world, eventually settling in London. Now, ten years later, he has come home to the Gold Coast, that stretch of land on the North Shore of Long Island that once held the greatest concentration of wealth and power in America, to attend the imminent funeral of an old family servant. Taking up temporary residence in the gatehouse of Stanhope Hall, John finds himself living only a quarter of a mile from Susan who has also returned to Long Island. But Susan isn't the only person from John's past who has reemerged: Though Frank Bellarosa, infamous Mafia don and Susan's ex-lover, is long dead, his son, Anthony, is alive and well, and intent on two missions: Drawing John back into the violent world of the Bellarosa family, and exacting revenge on his father's murderer--Susan Sutter. At the same time, John and Susan's mutual attraction resurfaces and old passions begin to reignite, and John finds himself pulled deeper into a familiar web of seduction and betrayal. In THE GATE HOUSE, acclaimed author Nelson DeMille brings us back to that fabled spot on the North Shore -- a place where past, present, and future collides with often unexpected results.

I have just had a heck of a time trying to write a review of The Gate House. First, I love DeMille; Wildfire and NightFall are a couple of my all time favorite novels. I loved The Generals Daughter, Plum Island and so many of them. I didn't remember reading The Gold Coast, but when the characters in The Gate House would refer to past events, they always seemed very familiar so I must have read it as well. I really enjoyed the sarcastic snarky main character, John Sutter. I liked the premise of the novel, enjoyed most of the other characters, Amir, the Bellarosa clan, etc. So I can't figure out why the book just didn't do much for me. I think it might be a flaw in my personality. I don't seem to really enjoy many books or movies that have the mob tie-in going on. The book started really strong, but seemed to sort of sit there through the middle. I also don't find myself terribly fond of John's love of his life, Susan. She strikes me as one those "pretty" women, who ultimately are "pretty useless", I couldn't for the life of me figure out her appeal to John. I couldn't seem to find any redeeming quality in her, especially that could cause an ex-husband to go to such great lengths to ensure her safety. (Ok, I'll give a nod to the "protecting the mom of my kids bit" but I still didn't much like her.)

Overall, I thought the book was sort of..meh...love the author, love the way he writes, loved his main character, just didn't like the story much.