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| The Gate House | 
 enlarge | Author: Nelson Demille
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $27.99
Buy New: $13.40
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Avg. Customer Rating:  113 reviews
Sales Rank: 89
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 688
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 2
ISBN: 0446533424
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780446533423
ASIN: 0446533424
Publication Date: October 28, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New!!! bce
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Product Description
#1 New York Times bestselling author Nelson DeMille delivers the long-awaited follow-up to his classic novel The Gold Coast.
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 108 more reviews...
 The Gate House Is "Fast Out Of The Gate," Then Coasts Until The Last Twenty-Five Pages! October 28, 2008
62 out of 64 found this review helpful
If The Gate House was a race horse, I'd say it came out fast from the gate, pretty much coasted for the large part of the race, then put on the speed in the last couple of lengths. For this reader, The Gate House "placed" in the race but was not the big "winner." I've been a big fan, but with diminishing intensity, of Nelson DeMille since his first book, By The Rivers Of Babylon. Demille's The Gold Coast, to which The Gate House is the sequel, is one of my favorite books of his; and so, when I recently received an ARC of The Gate House I put it at the very top of my to-be-read list. Overall, I enjoyed The Gate House but not as much as The Gold Coast. I'd grade it a B-.The main reason being that with the exception of the last 25 pages of the 667 copy I read, little of any substance happens after the first 100 or so pages. In typical DeMille fashion, his character development is very strong -- particularly in regards to his main male character, John Sutter, whose sarcastic wit permeates throughout this book -- and his narrative ability is at the top of his game. However, after several hundred pages of appreciating these characteristics I was getting very impatient for some action and thrills to occur. I would have enjoyed The Gate House much more if it had 200-300 pages less fluff/filler. The Gate House, for me, is a classic example of the adage, "Less is more." Despite these limitations, if you're a fan of The Gold Coast you're going to want to read The Gate House, which takes place ten years later when Sutter has come home to the Gold Coast of Long Island to attend the funeral of an old family servant. I doubt if you're going to dislike The Gate House. As a matter of fact, you'll probably think it is pretty good. The purpose of my review is to urge you to not -- as I did -- expect a book as good as the one on which it is based.
 Good, but definitely not DeMille's best October 31, 2008
39 out of 40 found this review helpful
I was so pleased to be able to read Nelson DeMille's latest novel that I didn't even wait for Amazon to it deliver to me, as is my wont. Instead, I rushed out to my neighborhood bookstore to buy an undiscounted copy on the day of publication.
First, let me state that DeMille is my favorite novelist, which may be obvious from reading the paragraph above. Therefore, it is possible that I hold him to a higher standard than I do other writers. Either way, THE GATE HOUSE is a good book. It's just not a great book, though I think that most authors would be pleased to craft anything as worthwhile as this. DeMille, however, may be a victim of his own success, because THE GATE HOUSE simply is not up to the bar he set himself.
John Corey, his protagonist in a quartet of books, is a wiseguy (not the Mafia kind) who is lovable in spite of his big mouth. John Whitman Sutter, the protagonist of THE GATE HOUSE, merely seems like a self-impressed, condescending jerk. I did read and like THE GOLD COAST, which also was about John Sutter, but I don't remember having such a negative reaction then to this character.
In THE GATE HOUSE, DeMille blends some of his favorite themes, including Long Island, the Mafia and the Muslim terrorists. The only thing missing is Russian oligarchs; having read and admired THE CHARM SCHOOL, I suspect that he is saving them for his next novel.
The novel is well-structured and never seems strained, as happens with many thrillers. At the same time, Sutter and his wife, Susan Stanhope Sutter, are so unsympathetic that it is hard to become engaged in their problems. It is difficult to care about them, it is difficult to like them.
In addition, a few plot points are a bit pat. Why did Sutter's former in-laws always hate him with such intensity? By the standards of these characters, he seems an ideal consort for their daughter. And the resumption of feelings between the former spouses also seems too fast to be realistic.
As for the "Gold Coast," Long Island's North Shore, I grew up near there myself (but light years away in terms of affluence) and DeMille does an excellent job of conveying a sense of the place. Dominick Dunne, however, does it better. With the exception of perhaps Palm Beach in the United States and certain royal palaces in Britain and Europe, there are few other communities where the occupants retain the expectations and entitlements of those remaining old-money families of the Gold Coast.
DeMille also makes good work of the region's fascination with the Mafia. He explores this fascination meaningfully, and his descriptions definitely feel authentic.
As for the terrorists, this subplot turns out to be insignificant yet, ultimately, important in advancing the story.
There are a couple of oddities. DeMille gives a retired Mafia lawyer the exact same name as am important Federal judge in New York; it does not appear, from the acknowledgments at the back of the book, that this was done intentionally, as a compliment. And he gives the Mafia Don's limousine company the same name as a car service/ limo company that has been a presence in New York for decades. Just seems sloppy, when one thinks about it....
In fairness, the whole story all works. The plot is intricate, careful and plausible. Maybe it was nothing more, nothing less, than unsympathetic characters, but I was not engrossed by THE GATE HOUSE. By the end of the book, I did not care about the outcome, one way or another. And this never before has happened to me with a DeMille novel, and it is why I found THE GATE HOUSE a disappointing read.
 John Sutter, Redux October 28, 2008
28 out of 37 found this review helpful
"What I didn't want at the end of the day were any old regrets. What I really needed now were some new regrets." -- John Sutter, in Nelson DeMille's "The Gate House"
OK, so after your fabulously wealthy Gold Coast society wife murdered her Mafia-boss lover ten years ago, you divorced her and sailed around the world for three years before you settled down in London, and now that you're back in the U.S. you're staying in the gatehouse of your ex-wife's ancestral estate, only to find that she's moved in to the guest house right up the street, and now you're about to fall into bed with one of your wife's young friends who, it turns out, used to have a mad crush on you -- and just then, when you think your life can't get any more complicated, who shows up at your door but the son of the Mafioso your ex-wife killed all those years ago...
Don't you hate when that happens? I know I do. But fortunately for readers of Nelson DeMille's "The Gate House," John Sutter, DeMille's protagonist, happens to be brilliant, fearless, witty, and a world-class smartass. He can easily handle situations that would overwhelm you and me to the point of paralysis, and he can do it with a cool intelligence and a rapier wit that leave you panting with excitement, drooling with anticipation, and rolling on the floor in paroxysms of laughter.
DeMille's plotting is flawless, his characters are distinctive and robust, his use of foreshadowing is masterful. The erotic scenes (and there are several of them) are rich, playful, and effectively arousing. The ending is breathlessly terrifying, featuring a morally ambiguous incident that may leave the ethicists among us buzzing for years to come. But all of this is window dressing to the real attraction of "The Gate House," which is the dazzling dialogue and narrative. The story is told first-person in the words of John Sutter, whose wry sarcasm and lightning wit permeate every paragraph, leaving you giddy with pleasure, forcing you to enjoy even the most somber scenes whether you want to or not. The themes of The Gate House include lust, infidelity, meddling parents, sexual assault, and even death -- but thanks to the irrepressible John Sutter, I don't think I've ever had so much pure fun reading a book.
"The Gate House" is the long-awaited sequel to "The Gold Coast," a novel DeMille wrote nearly 20 years ago. As it happens, "The Gold Coast" was my introduction to DeMille -- I had never heard of him when I picked up the book by chance at my neighborhood Barnes & Noble, and it blew me away. Since then I've devoured all of his novels, about half of which are exceptional. (It's the latter half that are so spectacular, by the way -- after authoring half a dozen workmanlike but unremarkable novels, DeMille penned "The Gold Coast" and instantly leapt into the realm of Masters of Fiction.) The only problem I had with "The Gold Coast" was that its ending failed to tie up every conceivable loose end, and I tend to be disappointed by novels that don't definitively resolve every plot line that's even remotely resolvable. DeMille, I've since learned, doesn't seem to subscribe to my view that it's a novelist's responsibility to present the reader with a denouement-in-a-box, neatly gift-wrapped, bound with a shiny ribbon, and topped by a bright bow. Maybe that's just me, perhaps some readers handle ambiguity better than I do. And I don't want to give anything away about the ending, so let me just say that if you're looking forward to being disappointed by the ending of "The Gate House," you're going to be disappointed. :)
DeMille goes to great pains to recap the key elements of "The Gold Coast" in the pages of "The Gate House" -- and so, in theory, you don't have to read the 1990 novel before you read this one. However, in my humble opinion, if you don't read "The Gold Coast" before you read "The Gate House," you're making a mistake of epic proportions. Would you have enjoyed the last episode of "The Sopranos" as much if you hadn't seen the other 85 episodes first? Of course not. And so even though "The Gate House" seems to be designed to stand alone, I have to believe that you will undergo a much richer reading experience if you read "The Gold Coast" first. (If Amazon doesn't market the two books as a package, they're missing a good bet.)
I hope you don't think I'm going overboard when I tell you that there simply has never been a better one-two punch in the history of books than "The Gold Coast" and "The Gate House." OK, maybe "The Old Testament" and "The New Testament" are more inspirational. But DeMille is nearly as thought-provoking. And much funnier.
* * * * * * * * * *
Although, on the surface, "The Gate House" is a novel about revenge, responsibility, and the consequences of our actions, it's really a book about love, redemption, and forgiveness. And although I think that DeMille would agree with St. Paul that the greatest of these is love, I think he's also trying to tell us that forgiveness runs a pretty close second.
"The Gate House" is so close to being a perfect novel that, if I had written it, I'd probably retire immediately, rather than risk following it up with something that couldn't possibly be as good. But while I'm just a novelist wannabe, Nelson DeMille is a Fiction God, and I'm betting that he's up to the challenge. Which explains why, even though I just finished reading "The Gate House," I can't wait to see what DeMille comes up with next.
 a disappointment from america's best fiction writer November 4, 2008
23 out of 27 found this review helpful
Will the real Nelson Demille please get back to work. Six hundred and fifty pages of wise cracks about how much he distains his in-laws is not much to sink your teeth into. Having read all his books, some twice, he is the best fiction writer on the planet. Not this time. Lets hope this little throw away is just a filler while another masterpiece is in the works. If your new to Demille, read: By the Rivers of Babylon, Cathedral, The Lions Game or the dated but terrific: Charm School. The Gate House is a fun read for the first couple of hundred pages. but tedium sets in when another two hundred go by without a plot twist, let alone, a plot. He is laugh out loud funny when it comes to his self-effacing humor and political incorrectness. He has no peer when it comes to creating interesting characters, smart woman, plots, twists and intrigue. The Gate House is sorely lacking all of the above. "Come back Shane...Come back."
T.Harrison
Give us a break November 9, 2008
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
Nelson, Nelson, Nelson...get an editor, man. And then get a plot. And then find yourself a nice quiet place where you can write undisturbed and undistracted. I've always thought Nelson DeMille was an uneven writer. I've loved some of his books, or parts of them, and barely tolerated others. But this mess was unreadable. I got through 150 pages and thought, "what am I doing with this time-waster?" The main character was insufferable and obnoxious. The scenes dragged on interminably. It took him 6 or 7 pages to get out of the old lady's bedroom from right when he was on the verge of leaving. And then he gives her a kiss! But I thought he hated her. Let's not even talk about the scenes with the Mafia Don's Son, Anthony. Just so much could have been cut here to make the book tighter and more interesting. No, I mean it, Nelson. Get away by yourself where you can think and then hire an excellent editor to help you craft your story. Then we'll see.
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