If you’re a fan of Nelson Demille’s books you’ve no doubt read one of his more highly touted novels titled The Gold Coast. If you haven’t, go read it and come back (spoiler to follow!). At the conclusion of that novel, Susan Stanhope Sutter, a wealthy, high-society Gold Coast resident and wife of Ivy League-educated lawyer John Sutter, kills her mafia boss lover Don Bellarosa and heads back to where her parents live. John, on the other hand, takes off on his sailboat. Of course, this leaves you wondering what ever happened to these characters you’ve grown attached to, and The Gate House answers all your questions. The novel is a sequel set ten years after the events of the previous novel, leaping into the aftermath of the post-9/11 world.

After sailing the high seas then residing in London for a while, the fearless and witty John Sutter comes back to Long Island’s Gold Coast. After an extremely quick reconciliation with his former wife, John is in hot water again when the son of the murdered mafia boss, Anthony Bellarosa, shows up to talk to John about working for him. John ponders the offer and desires the financial gain, but he also knows the consequences of dealing with any Bellarosa again. The story opens up hot, settles down for a while as it delves into other character subplots, and heats up at the end again.

As usual, there is plenty of Demille’s snappy dialogue; I laughed out loud several times. The audio production is smooth as silk, but fans of Demille’s previous audio books will be flummoxed to find that it isn’t Scott Brick narrating this time around. Have no fear: Christian Rummel does a great job and really nails the New Yorker accent. Though it’s a sequel, The Gate House works as a stand-alone and is a tremendously enjoyable listen.