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Title: Right as Rain by George P. Pelecanos ISBN: 0-446-61079-8 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 February, 2002 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.3 (37 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A Tough, Intriguing Story
Comment: George Pelecanos introduces us to 2 new characters, Derek Strange and Terry Quinn. Both are ex-cops, but there the similarities end. Strange is in his 50's, is a private investigator and black, Quinn is in his late 20's, works in a second-hand bookstore and is white. This book is as much a commentary on racial tensions in today's society as it is a well-crafted thriller.
Strange and Quinn meet after Strange is hired to investigate the shooting of an off-duty black police officer by another policeman. The other policeman was Quinn. The two team up because Quinn would also like to know the truth as to what really happened that night, and is also keen to prove that he is not a racist.
A subplot involving a drug-dealing father and son team and their dealings with their suppliers and distributors keeps pace with the main story and inevitably mixes together in a happy union creating a sizzling finale of revenge and violence.
Once again, Pelecanos' characters are heavily influenced by music and have definite ideas on what is "good" or "bad". The use of music is a big indicator of the personalities of each character and is a very clever and unique means of characterisation.
Unlike some of Pelecanos' earlier characters, I found both Strange and Quinn to be strong, capable and (to a point) moral. Overall, they are likable men. This has led me to look forward to more books involving them. Right As Rain is a compelling mystery containing all the elements that has made Pelecanos books so popular: violence, drugs, music...and Washington D.C.
Rating: 5
Summary: Why isn't Pelecanos better known?
Comment: With Elmore Leonard, Michael Connelly and Dennis Lehane writing blurbs on the book jacket, you know this guy can write a crime story with great characters and dialogue. It's set on the streets of D.C., different from what you see on Brokaw and Rather. Derek Strange, a retired black cop, is asked by Chris Wilson's mother to clear her son's name. He was a black off duty cop with a gun standing over a white guy when he was shot and killed by Terry Quinn, a white off duty cop.
Derek and Terry become buddies. The story reels in redneck Earl Boone and his dumb son Ray (Critter), a couple of dope smugglers, a few Colombians and Cherokee Coleman, a local hoopster of some note, good point guard but not good enough for the big time, who runs the drug operation.
When you cut to the chase, Terry's old partner Eugene Franklin was a bad guy and Chris Wilson was onto him. Strange figures things out, of course, there's some great action and the kind of not quite tied together ending that Pelecanos presents so well. The Metro Police don't know exactly what happened, but they have enough to give Chris Wilson the posthumous recognition he deserved. Derek and Terry go back to their separate day to day lives, but they'll be back in "Hell to Pay".
I thought both stories were great!
Rating: 5
Summary: Pelecanos Knows DC!
Comment: I read this novel after reading SOUL CIRCUS and this was one of the prequels to that novel which unfortunately is probably the last novel that the character Terry Quinn will appear in. RIGHT AS RAIN introduces Derek Strange and Terry Quinn and the origins of their friendship and their differences (other than race) that they often have to contend with. I would have to say that Terry Quinn is a more developed character in this novel than in SOUL CIRCUS but I have yet to read HELL TO PAY which next on my reading list. The story is fast paced and gritty. Washington, DC is described with every brutal and gritty detail. It reads like a postmodern Chester Himes novel. A clear distinction of good and evil in some instances but also grey and shady areas where the lines are not so easily drawn. Quinn is actually a likable character in this novel.
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Title: Hell to Pay by George Pelecanos ISBN: 0446611328 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Soul Circus by George P. Pelecanos ISBN: 0316608432 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Shame the Devil by George P. Pelecanos ISBN: 0440236355 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 06 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Sweet Forever by George P. Pelecanos ISBN: 044023493X Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 10 August, 1999 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Hard Revolution: A Novel by George Pelecanos ISBN: 0316608971 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: March, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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