Customer Reviews

Soul Circus (Derek Strange/Terry Quinn Series)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The popularity of George Pelecanos is on the rise, and with good reason. Soul Circus is the third installment of his Derek Strange series, and it more than meets the high expectations set by the previous two. Pelecanos is to Washington, DC as Robert Crais and Michael Connelly are to Los Angeles. He knows the streets, the people, and the culture and his writing reflects the knowledge of an insider. His depictions of urban youth, gang violence, and drug culture are on the mark and he pulls no punches.

Character development seems to be a strong suit of Pelecanos, as Derek Strange is one of the best around. There is not a reader around who will dislike him. He is not perfect - in fact, he is quite flawed. He's married, but he's reluctant to fully immerse himself in family life. He opposes the death penalty and hates the drugs that plague his neighborhood, but at times resorts to violence and illegal activities himself. He is constantly trying to help the younger men with whom he comes in contact, but realizes that he can only go so far.

Terry Quinn is his partner, and he is just as flawed as Strange. He does not believe in stronger gun control laws, and hates when he is 'punked' due to the fact that he is white. He is prone to violence and has a temper. He often steps over the line, but he is just as loveable as Strange and brings a great deal to the story.

Soul Circus is a novel filled with violence and the death of the young. It is at times brutal, and Pelecanos does not flinch when he relates the reality of murder to his readers. He does not, however, portrey all those involved in the drug trade as evil thugs. No character in this book is drawn so black and white as to be wholly good or bad. From Mario Durham, who is constantly laughed at for wearing a pair of used 'ordans,' to the feared Granville Oliver on trial for his life, everyone has their flaws, and all have redeeming features.

This book can be read as a stand-alone, but readers would probably maximize their enjoyment of this novel by reading Right as Rain and Hell to Pay beforehand. They are both excellent as well.

George Pelecanos is one of todays best crime writers. Ive read all of his novels and I can honestly say that Ive never been disappointed. In his latest novel, Soul Circus, Mr. Pelecanos returns us to the Washington D.C. of Derek Strange and Terry Quinn. Its a Washington that most of us dont know about. Drug dealers, gangs, guns and violence abound, but thats not all these neighborhoods are about. Mr. Peleconos takes us deep into our capitols neighborhoods and culture.
If youve been keeping up with Mr. Pelecanoss writing youll know that, Harriet Klausner pay attention here, this is Derek Strange and Terry Quinns third appearance and Mr. Pelecanoss 11th novel.
As I said before Ive enjoyed every one of his novels but the ending to Soul Circus is a surprise that I wasnt prepared for. It may just signal the end to Derek Stranges stories. I guess well just have to wait and see.
If youve read Right as Rain and Hell to Pay then pick up this novel as soon as possible. If you havent..What are you waiting for?

With his 11th novel bestselling author George Pelecanos offers another powerful, disturbing and highly readable story set on the mean streets of Washington, D.C. Private investigator Derek Strange with the aid of Terry Quinn again takes center stage as turf battles erupt in violent grabs for territory and money.

Accomplished voice performer Richard Allen adds just the right amounts of menace and bravado to his reading, ably inhabiting the skins of both good and bad guys.

When a D. C. crime boss is captured and imprisoned he seems a shoo-in for the ultimate punishment. Lawyers representing the gang leader hire Strange to help in getting a lighter sentence. A witness is needed to cast doubt on testimony against the drug lord, and that witness might just be an angry former girlfriend. After all, hell hath no fury like a you-know-who.

Meanwhile with the crime boss in jail two young drug dealers are jousting for the apparently up for grabs neighborhood and profits to come. It is, as Pelecanos makes clear, a vicious circle that goes round and round in an amoral neighborhood where fear rules and friendships are forsaken.

Pelecanos writes thinking man's thrillers, as his legions of fans will attest.

- Gail Cooke

Soul Circus was a disappointment after the first two Derek Strange novels (Hell To Pay and Right as Rain). There is much to enjoy in the book, but not half as much as either of the previous two novels.

There were two problems that bogged down the book for me. First, Pelecanos seems to have lost interest in the character of Terry Quinn from the very beginning -- the only time that Pelecanos seems to be invested enough to animate Quinn into a full, believeable character is in Quinn's bedroom scenes; apart from those Quinn's a prop here.

The second issue that weighs this installment (unfortunately "installment" is an accurate pun here) is that the callbacks (the echoes in pattern, relationships) to the previous two books feel like Pelecanos engaging in the same-ol', same-ol' rather than feeling like Pelecanos is further elucidating, or even effectively reinforcing, either who the characters are or that the characters' setting pushes them toward similar situations again and again. It feels like the actions that recur from the previous novels in this series, are repeated because Pelecanos feels the need to have the characters play these notes again, not because the characters have the need to fall into these patterns or have these personality tics. The recurrances play like ill-conceived "hooks" for pop songs.

Both of these issues seem related to what many have noted, that Pelecanos seems less interested in the characters in this book than in driving home a point about gun control and the death penalty. The joy of the previous two works in this series came from exactly the character exploration that's missing here. I look forward to reading the next Derek Strange book that finds something new to explore about Strange and DC -- Pelecanos does that so well.

I loved the first two Strange/Quinn tales and had high hopes. Sorry to say this story never engaged me and I can't really recommend it. Time for GP to move on to a new venue and some new characters.

Reading fiction is a form of escape, of course. If you want reality, you read nonfiction. But after reading SOUL CIRCUS, the latest novel from George P. Pelecanos, you may find yourself wondering what it is about reality that made you want to escape into a world so dark and disturbing and so, well, real.

The eleventh novel from Pelecanos and the third to feature private investigators Derek Strange and Terry Quinn, SOUL CIRCUS also includes a number of characters that have appeared in previous Pelecanos novels, including Nick Stefanos, another private detective whose character is based on Pelecanos himself.

SOUL CIRCUS finds Derek Strange searching for evidence that will mean the difference between life in prison and the death sentence for Granville Oliver, a dangerous gang leader and drug dealer on trial for murder. Strange has resolved to perform this service, despite Oliver's reputation, for a couple of worthwhile reasons, not the least of which is that decades before, while serving as a police officer, Strange killed Oliver's father. Strange feels that, in depriving Oliver of a father, he set a boy on the path to gangs, drugs, guns and violence, and therefore bears some responsibility for the situation in which Oliver now finds himself. But as Strange explains it to those who question his judgment in the matter, he is not defending Oliver --- he is defending Oliver's rights.

Strange's investigation leads him to a young woman who may have evidence that will keep Oliver off the injection table. But there are those who prefer to see Oliver dead and not just the prosecution. These people have long since rid themselves of the burden of conscience that might otherwise interfere with plans for kidnapping, extortion, murder and the other tools of the bad guy trade.

In the midst of this investigation, Strange and Quinn take on another small case: locating an absent girlfriend for Mario Durham, a petty crook and no deep thinker whose motives, unbeknownst to Strange and Quinn, have more to do with settling a score than they do with faltering romance. Mario, it turns out, is the brother of Dewayne Durham, another feared gang leader and drug dealer. It is Mario's desire to impress his brother that leads to the death of the absent girlfriend and sets in motion a series of events that trigger a cascade of gunplay and violence that winds its way back to Strange and Quinn.

SOUL CIRCUS intricately weaves several subplots into a taut and compelling story that plays out in neighborhoods of Washington D.C. that are so removed from the pomp and photo-op politics of the nation's capital that they might as well be in some third-world hellhole. Pelecanos very effectively demonstrates that living within sight of those familiar, gleaming white symbols of democracy are citizens whose voices are never heard and whose issues offer insufficient political payback to draw the attention of those in power.

But while Pelecanos has a political agenda, his message integrates seamlessly with the story. There's no preaching here and no soapbox --- just finely wrought characters playing out their interconnected destinies in prose that snatches you up and propels you along like a cigarette butt being washed down a storm sewer.

While the story is indeed dark and populated with cold, stone-hearted people, Pelecanos peppers SOUL CIRCUS with details and crisp, often funny dialogue --- particularly between Strange and Quinn -- that provide a precise balance of elements that keep the narrative well within the parameters of noir, without tumbling into a thoroughly depressing, hundred-proof nightmare. But be warned, there's enough violence and nasty business here to make you check to see that the cat is in and your doors are locked.

Readers already familiar with Pelecanos will find in SOUL CIRCUS the unblinking realism and relentless pace they have come to expect. Those new to Pelecanos will find themselves reaching eagerly into his backlist to devour every delicious, hyper-hardboiled scrap. As a vehicle for escape, SOUL CIRCUS will take you as deep into the urban battlefield as you can go without having to actually dodge bullets.

--- Reviewed by Bob Rhubart

Firstly, I have read just about all books by George Pelecanos through 'Soul Circus' ... and so I can be described as one of his fans. I eagerly awaited the publication of 'Soul Circus' in paperback form. Having just finished I am sad to say I was disappointed.

Oh, it has all the hallmarks of his other works: gritty urban crime, drugs, and despair in Washington, DC. It also has one of Pelecanos's regular characters, the self-employed private eye Derek Strange (..he was also in 'Hell to Pay' and 'Right as Rain'). Yet somehow the story seems vaguely similar, sort of a blend of his prior novels. Could I be suffering from 'Pelecanos burn out'? No, this is the first of his books I've read in several months.

Bottom line: for those who haven't read anything from Pelecanos, skip this book at go to 'Right as Rain', 'Hell to Pay', or one of the several books leading with the Nick Stephanos character.

Yet another excellent Pelecanos novel. The third appearance of Derek Strange and Terry Quinn. Sharp characterization, gritty urban setting, excellent description of despair and mayhem. Like other Pelecanos novels, there is an underlying sense of sorrow, and realistic description of young men and women who have gone astray. The story picks up where Hell to Pay ends, and takes some time to get going. But once it does, it is difficult to stop reading. This is poetry in the guise of hard-boiled crime fiction.

I've lived in DC for 20 years and Pelecanos is only the second author I've come across who writes about the DC that I know and recognize (the other is Edward Jones, check out his story collection "Lost in the City" if you can find it). The third book in the Derek Strange series picks up immediately where Hell To Pay left off. In the wake of drug lord Granville Oliver's arrest (as detailed in Hell To Pay), two street gangs are attempting to fill the void his departure has left on the drug market. Meanwhile, Strange is working for Oliver's defense team, gathering background information on various witnesses. This surprising assignment mainly involves the search for one woman, and it soon becomes apparent that someone doesn't want Strange to find her.

Here, Pelecanos weaves a critique of the city's treatment at the hands of Congress into the story. Despite the city's 1981 repeal of the death penalty, and a 1992 citywide referendum that rejected the death penalty by a 2-1 margin, federal prosecutors have sought the death penalty in high-profile D.C. cases (such as the "Starbucks murders") with support from Congress. Strange tells himself he's working for the ex-drug lord as a matter of anti-death penalty conscience, but as in all of Pelecanos' books, there's more to it than that (as readers of Hell To Pay will know). The one misstep in his treatment of this is the appearance of a "big brother" conspiracy element that threatens to push the story into the "24/X-Files" zone. Fortunately, this never becomes too overt, and the story is allowed to move at its own pace.

Even more than in the first two books, Strange and his fiery white partner, Terry Quinn find themselves tilting at windmills in a crusade to make just a tiny difference to their community. It's been ten years since the "Murder Capital" days of the early '90s, but little change is evident in the worst parts of the city as the city regains the dubious title. If Right As Rain was about racism, and the last one about hopelessness, this one is about how guns and hopelessness form a lethal brew that threaten entire communities. Pelecanos' other target in this book is guns, more specifically, the ease by which they can be bought in Maryland and Virginia and then transferred into DC. He's clearly talked to ATF people to get the lowdown on waiting periods, and how straw purchases work. It's remarkably simple, and there's no remedy in sight. Some readers may find Pelecanos to have too much of a personal agenda woven into the plot, but he's walked the streets of Southeast DC and seen what goes down and why.

This is easily the darkest and most depressing of the three Strange books to date, gushing humanity, anger, and frustration. Strange and his creator clearly feel that the only way to turn things around is one kid at a time (Pelecanos has adopted several children), and that's the one good message to take from the book. As always, the cast of characters is large and distinctive, although Terry becomes more of an enigma filled with demons that never quite make enough sense for the reader. For fans of Pelecanos' earlier work, Nick Stefanos makes a cameo appearance here and there's a hint that he'll have a larger role in the next novel. All in all, another solid entry in Pelecanos' D.C. sagas.

Once a person establishes a solid track record, you begin to feel confident that they will deliver when they step up to the plate. That's the way it is with A-Rod and Barry Bonds and that's the way it is with George Pelecanos. With Soul Circus, big George again goes yard with a solid crime novel. Drug dealers, good and bad ex cops, illegal firearms and street smart operators on both sides of the law populate this well written story set, as always, in the Washington D.C. area.

The main thing you need to know about this book is that if you like crime fiction, you ought to read this. Pelecanos is an emerging superstar writer and this is prime time work. My only problem with him is that he doesn't write as fast as I read. I'll try not to hold that against him as long as he keeps writing great stories like this one.