Don Winslow is the kind of talent who comes along once every generation. Like Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen before him, Winslow walks the line between zany fun and hardboiled mystery. He has embraced the culture of southern California the same way Hiaasen has adopted the Florida coast. His writing sparkles with authentic dialogue, and he keeps the plot moving at a breakneck pace.

Of course, plenty of authors share his gift for the written word. We've all been wowed by a mystery novel that starts off so strongly, only to taper off as the writer delivers an unconvincing and nonsensical finale. This is not the case with Winslow. After solid early efforts like CALIFORNIA FIRE AND LIFE and THE DEATH AND LIFE OF BOBBY Z, Winslow finally delivered a star turn with THE WINTER OF FRANKIE MACHINE. He has topped that here, presenting the story of a place and the people who populate it.

In THE DAWN PATROL, Winslow tells the story of private investigator/surfer Boone Daniels and the crew of eccentric surfers who join him every morning to cleanse body and soul in the ocean. The Dawn Patrol, as they affectionately call themselves, are immediately among the all-time great supporting casts. Each loves to surf almost as much as Boone. Almost, because the others have what Boone calls "j-o-b-s." He, in turn, works only when the spirit (or his landlord) moves him. A former cop, he works part time as a private investigator. But mostly he surfs, searching for that epic wave.

Of course, this wouldn't be genre fiction if Boone wasn't haunted by a case he just couldn't let go. When he was on the police force, one of his decisions may have cost a young girl her life. Years later, he still obsesses about the case and punishes himself for his failures.

Winslow is not afraid to embrace these genre clichés. He uses them effectively to move the plot along, while at the same time transcending them. While Winslow is telling the reader about Boone's story, Boone is sharing the story of San Diego and the surf scene that evolved there. It's a unique subculture, a slice of Americana that Winslow, a native New Englander, has embraced with open arms.

As The Dawn Patrol is eagerly awaiting the biggest wave to hit southern California in a decade, Boone gets caught up in a metaphorical wave that could sweep up his entire easy life and crush it on the ocean floor. When a beautiful and sardonic lawyer asks for Boone's help finding a witness to arson, it seems like a case he can be done with in plenty of time to ride the big wave. Soon, however, it becomes apparent that arson is just the prelude to murder and the revelation of a much more sinister Dawn Patrol.

With THE DAWN PATROL, Winslow has crafted a true masterpiece. Still hidden from the spotlight and a relative unknown, this could be the book that sees him take his rightful place alongside George Pelecanos, Michael Connelly, T. Jefferson Parker and other masters of modern mystery.