This is a great list, though I do spend most of my time
lurking. I've picked up more ideas for books to search for,
online and in used bookstores, from this list than anywhere
else, even the vaunted Dorothyl. I've tried to get involved
with the reading series--went so far as to get a pair of Mike
Shayne mysteries, but then I got stuck about 30 pages into
the first one. I read the Willeford series about Hoke Mosely
(sp?) 15 years ago and couldn't find the books again. I've
got a stack of Richard Prather books just waiting for the
right day ...
I thought long and hard about this posting, since I know
George Pelecanos is a list member. But I had to do it, at the
risk of sounding like a fawning fanboy. Over the weekend, I
read Pelecanos' latest,
_Right as Rain_ and what a beautiful novel it was. Actually,
I've cruised through his entire output in the past 10 or so
months, and this book ranks right up there with _The Sweet
Forever_, still my favorite.
I love the way he describes Washington, D.C. in these books.
I don't think I'd want to live there, but his characters
obviously love the place and there are times when that
affection almost overshadows the violent, seedy, downtrodden
neighborhoods and lives described elsewhere. I also love the
way the same character weave in and out of the books, and how
you can chart the downfall of the city, from _The Big
Blowdown_ onward.
That said, this book doesn't feature any of the characters
from previous books, although the main relationship, between
Terry Quinn, a former policeman and currently clerk in a used
book/record store, and Derek Strange, also a former policeman
(though much longer ago) and current private detective, might
remind readers of the friendship between Dmitri Karras and
Marcus Clay, in _King Suckerman_ and _The Sweet Forever_.
This is because Terry is white and Derek is black. And this,
along with a riveting mystery, is Pelecanos' main theme in
the book: how are the races getting along? Is it possible to
cross the divide and be friends? There are a lot of probing
insight into this throughout the course of the book.
Essentially, Strange is hired to look into the shooting of an
off-duty policeman, Chris Wilson, by Quinn, some years
before. Although Quinn has been cleared of wrongdoing,
there's still some question whether he was too quick to pull
the trigger, simply because Wilson was black. From there, the
two men gradually develop a real friendship, as they delve
into the case Wilson was working on, a case that eventually
proves to involve drugs and gangs.
This is, simply put, great writing. Elmore Leonard has
nothing on Mr. Pelecanos when it comes to writing memorable
dialogue. And the racial issues at the emotional core of the
novel really elevate it above the norm. Since I've moved from
an English professor to the librarian at a small junior
college in southern Colorado, I've been adding his books to
the collection and it's been gratifying to see them go out
and to hear the positive comments. If anyone on the list
still hasn't read Mr. Pelecanos, what are you waiting
for?
Craig Larson Trinidad, CO
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