THE HOOK: Surfing to Survive a Shattered Family, Drugs, Gangs and the FBI

The book opens with the crushing weight of violent surf, the swimmer gasping for air, clutching for life. The life of Dana McCarren is analogous to the rise and fall of the volatile surf. The lure of the sand and ocean draws Dana–it is her own version of therapy minus the words, medicine. She is drawn back to Half Moon Bay by the hospitalization of her ne’er-do-well brother, Shane. Shane is a former pro surfer who wasted his talents and succumbed to hardcore drug addiction. Dana has become Shane’s trouble-shooter as her father and brother Terry have washed their hands of the entire situation. A dysfunctional family life dominated by mental illness and emotional/physical abuse has taken its toll on the family. Shane has become dependent on his sister’s help through one jam or another. Dana decides to utilize her journalistic skills and charm to investigate the circumstances leading to her brother being found disoriented with a broken arm. Dana questions close friends and surfer buddies of Shane’s and uncovers her brother’s involvement with a local Asian drug gang. Shane had been dealing, and some of the product went missing, which resulted in an unfriendly visit from some of the gangsters. Dana wants to get her brother in rehab and seeks to do so, but the FBI is looking for Shane. A relentless agent named Stokes has questions regarding a recent overdose and narcotic activity in the Half Moon Bay area. Dana is balancing her immediate family problems with an insecure position at her newspaper in Los Angeles and a budding relationship with a casual hook-up named Wayne. Dana and Shane have always felt the need to take things to the edge, but now the consequences are dire and life-changing. Will Shane be saved or have to save himself? Dana needs to find a way out of the current maze of trouble for Shane while also saving herself.

The Hook is a non-stop tide of emotions. The author has woven together an interesting cast of characters with unique attributes and foibles. The emotional crux of the story is easy to relate to, whether an addict oneself or a friend or family member to an addict. There is always something that pulls you back…home, family, love, or an addiction, any of which can be powerful and dominant. I believe the author has done a great job of detailing the frustrations and emotional toll that pervade not only life with an addict but also with a dysfunctional family. An excellent book!