Tijuana Straits by Kem Nunn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I live about 20 miles from where the action of Kem Nunn's "Tijuana Straits" takes place. Mr. Nunn's feel for the place is extraordinary. The plot of the novel is interesting and the characters of Sam Fahey and Magdalena are rich and well drawn. Magdalena is a young woman from Mexico trying to uncover environmental crimes committed by factory owners. Sam is a famed surfer with a criminal past and a heart of gold. Yeah, a bit cliché but still effective. The ending is top notch.

Yet, I could hardly finish this book. One reason is that I have no interest in surfing whatsoever. I find all this mumbo jumbo about the Mystic Peak, the Third Notch, the one great wave just boring. Sam could be a state champion in knitting or embroidery, and it would be equally interesting to me. This is, of course, my bias, and I am sorry for it.

The main reason for how hard I struggled to read this book is the exalted language. The book is ridiculously overwrought. Pages upon pages of language when one sentence would suffice.

Other readers may find this book great and I will understand them. I can't stand books that use ten times more words than needed (a purely personal pet peeve).

Two and three quarters stars.


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