海角大神

It鈥檚 the oldest clich茅 in the book when it comes to authors: Write what you know. And, with Kent Anderson, there is no doubt he does just that.

Anderson鈥檚 r茅sum茅 includes fighting in the Vietnam War as a Green Beret, teaching English at Boise State, and working for police departments in Portland and Oakland during the 1970s and 1980s. In his new novel, Green Sun, Anderson鈥檚 protagonist, a frustrated idealist named Hanson, shares the exact same r茅sum茅.

Whatever the author鈥檚 actual adventures may have been, he has rendered a fictional version that manages to be both taut and leisurely in its pacing. And if a reader emerges from the new novel thinking it might make for a pretty decent movie, there鈥檚 a good reason: Anderson has dabbled in screenplays, including collaborations with John Milius, whose credits include 鈥淎pocalypse Now鈥� and two entries in Clint Eastwood鈥檚 鈥淒irty Harry鈥� series.

Anderson鈥檚 writing is reminiscent of that of James Lee Burke, blending pathos, violence, and corruption with long-shot hope and glimpses of natural wonder. Look no further than the opening paragraph, where Anderson sets a powerful scene.

鈥淚t鈥檚 winter in Idaho, past聽midnight, and it should be dark, but the wind-driven snow crackles with lightning and shakes the clattering glassy branches of frozen trees,鈥� Anderson writes. 鈥淕reen and blue curtains of aurora borealis flare and furl and curtsy across the northern horizon.鈥�

Who wants to say no to that story?

Anderson doesn鈥檛 stay in Idaho for long. The book quickly shifts to Oakland circa 1983. Hanson is a 38-year-old huffing and puffing his way through the police academy, looking for a fresh start after previous stints with, yes, the Portland police department and a teaching gig at Boise State.

Or, as Anderson describes the circumstances: 鈥淗e was not what they wanted, and they were not what he wanted, but he needed the job. They thought he had a bad attitude, and he did.鈥�

Hanson drinks too much and he bucks authority. And he tries to minimize antagonism in the rough, drug-riddled streets of inner-city Oakland, where his is one of the few white faces.

Many of Hanson鈥檚 co-workers hassle the often poor, minority communities they patrol 鈥� racking up much-needed quota arrests and treating petty crimes as excuses to inflict physical, financial, and mental anguish.

With excessive, often foolhardy brazenness, Hanson wades into volatile situations and tempers the worst instincts of his often drug- and alcohol-addled suspects through sheer audacity. Many of his reports are summed up, simply, by the phrase, 鈥淧roblem solved upon departure.鈥�

Hanson wants to survive 18 months on the OPD and then go to a smaller town for a lower-stress policing job. But, of course, even as he tries to avoid intimacy and anything bordering on a mission, Hanson stumbles into a friendship with a good-hearted but street-wise 11-year-old boy named Weegee and falls in love with a victim of domestic violence. The newbie on the force, already viewed with suspicion by some of his bosses and colleagues, he also unintentionally strikes up a fragile, brief d茅tente with Oakland鈥檚 most powerful drug dealer.

Somehow, Anderson traffics in these archetypes without lapsing into tired storytelling. The characters are flawed but, in many cases, likable, especially Weegee, whose aunt raises him as a single parent.

Weegee and Hanson bond over burgers and ice cream and a shared enthusiasm for bird-watching. Yes, really.

鈥淕reen Sun鈥� builds to a fraught but satisfying finale, one that likely marks the final literary chapter for Hanson. This is Anderson鈥檚 third novel with the Bronze Star-winning hero 鈥� no need to ask whether the author won two Combat Bronze Stars of his own 鈥� and it holds up just fine as a standalone (which it was for this reader).

Promotional jacket copy on the back cover heralds Anderson as a favorite of Michael Connelly, James Ellroy, George Pelecanos, and James Patterson. They know what they鈥檙e talking about.

鈥淕reen Sun鈥� avoids over-the-top action but maintains narrative tension. Indeed, Anderson鈥檚 lean but limber style makes this novel a suitable companion for just about anyone. Put differently, it鈥檚 anything but for the birds.