Surf Novels for the End of Beach Season
(and Why I Put Waves in a Spy Thriller)
By Mark Oliver
When the boardwalk crowds thin out and the lifeguard stands come down, the beach doesn't really close. Ask any surfer. Fall is when the water holds a little of summer's warmth, the lineups empty out, and storms far offshore send swells rolling toward the coast. It's also a wonderful season for reading, especially stories that keep a little salt in them.
Good surf fiction is harder to find than good surf. Here are a few books I'd pack in a beach bag this fall, plus a note on why I put waves into a spy thriller of my own.
1. Tapping the Source by Kem Nunn
Published in 1984, this is the novel many surfers call the classic. A young man from the desert comes to Huntington Beach looking for his missing sister and falls into a surf scene with a very dark underside. It's noir first and surf story second, and it set the template for a lot of what followed.
2. The Dawn Patrol by Don Winslow
Boone Daniels is a surfer and private investigator in San Diego's Pacific Beach who would much rather be in the water than working a case. Winslow captures the rhythm of a beach town and the friendships of an early-morning lineup, then drops a serious crime story right into the middle of it.
3. Breath by Tim Winton
Two boys on the coast of Western Australia fall under the spell of an older surfer who pushes them toward bigger and more dangerous waves. It's a quiet, beautifully written literary novel about risk, fear and growing up, with some mature themes.
4. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Four siblings from a famous surfing family throw the party of the summer in 1983 Malibu, and by morning their lives have changed. It's less a surf book than a family drama soaked in surf culture, and it makes a great book club pick.
5. Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan
The one nonfiction pick on the list, and a Pulitzer Prize winner. Finnegan's memoir follows a lifetime of chasing waves around the world, and it explains why surfers organize their lives around the ocean better than almost any novel can.
Why I put surfing into a spy thriller:
The ocean is a natural fit for a story about secrets. A wave looks one way from the beach and completely different once you're paddling into it. Surfers spend their time reading the water for what's coming: a set building on the horizon, a rip current pulling quietly sideways, a sandbar that shifted overnight. Spies do the same thing with people. Both have to stay calm when something big rises up out of nowhere, and both know that a smooth surface can hide a lot.
That idea became the heart of Surf Waves of Betrayal. Covert operatives Jack Lawson, Emily Parker, Turner and the enigmatic Sarah are thrown into a deadly game of cat and mouse when coordinated attacks threaten to bring a city to its knees. The trail leads to a conspiracy involving some of the most powerful people in the country, and to betrayal inside their own ranks. The question running underneath every chapter is the same one a surfer asks when looking out at the water: what's really coming, and who can you trust when it arrives?
Surfing is part of the story, too, and it gives the action a different texture than the usual back-alley spy novel. It's a standalone and a quick read at about 118 pages, so it fits nicely into a beach bag, a long weekend, or one cozy evening once the sweaters come out.
Whether you're squeezing in one last beach day or already reaching for a blanket, I hope one of these books brings back the sound of the waves.
About The Book
Surf Waves of Betrayal by Mark Oliver
Publisher: Independent Self Publisher
Publication Date: June 27, 2024
Format: Paperback - 119 pages
Kindle - 118 pages
ISBN (Paperback): 979-8329683196
ASIN (Kindle): B0D8BYGF8K
Genre: Espionage Thriller
Buy The Book:
Amazon (Paperback, Kindle, Kindle Unlimited)
Book Description:
About The Author
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