The Dying Ground: A Maceo Redfield Novel (Strivers Row) [Paperback]

Nichelle D. Tramble (Author)

Book Description

Series: Strivers Row | Publication Date: January 9, 2001

Billy: dead. Felicia: missing.

None of the words made sense together, but the doom I'd expected announced itself. I felt iron in my mouth, like I'd gargled with pennies, a taste like blood, a bitter taste that always followed bad news.

The setting is Oakland, 1989; the crack epidemic is at its height and turf wars are brewing. Maceo Redfield, currently on hiatus from college, is walking a fine line between respectability and involvement in Oakland's drug underworld. As he waits in the neighborhood barbershop, one of his closest childhood friends, Holly Ford, brings him the news of the murder of Billy Crane, the third member of their childhood trio and a successful drug dealer. Felicia, Billy's girlfriend and Maceo's true love, is on the run and suspected of setting up the hit. As he searches for Felicia and the answer to the mystery of Billy's murder, Maceo is drawn deeper into a world in which dealers, players, and interlopers, obeying a code of honor all their own, engage in a deadly game to capture the heart of Oakland. When Maceo uncovers the truth about Billy, the story builds to a terrifying and painful climax.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This debut mystery in the Striver's Row imprint features Maceo Redfield, a disillusioned baseball star who has dropped out of college. Investigating the murder of a childhood chum, Maceo finds himself in the thick of the Oakland drug wars of 1989.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Beautifully written with an incredible eye for decaying urban streets. Nichelle Tramble has created one of the most accurate portrayals of violence, death, and redemption in mystery fiction. This book is smart, mean, and funny as hell. Don't be the last to discover a great new writer."        
— Ace Atkins, author of Leavin' Trunk Blues and Crossroad Blues

"Friend or foe, everybody's family in this heartfelt hometown mystery, even the guy at the other end of the gun. "
—The New York Times Book Review

"Tramble's writing is multidimensional, muscular and poetic, capturing the voices of African-Americans of many ages and backgrounds without slipping into pretense or parody."
— Chicago Tribune

"The Dying Ground teems with the tinny bravado of young men too eager to prove themselves. [An] “impressive debut…[with] a pungent, streetwise sensibility that gives her novel its racing pulse.”
— The Boston Globe

"[Tramble’s] characterization of Maceo is often astonishing, the most dazzling facet of a consistently noteworthy debut. The author’s sure sense of structure, keen knowledge of male behavior and exquisite sense of pacing all contribute to this novel’s overall excellence. I read it fast, and I was sorry when the last page appeared….”
— The Washington Post

"A pulse-pounding urban thriller that keeps the mystery intact, refusing to show its hand until the final pages. Tramble proves herself an unpretentious poet whose sense of the inner city, its argot and its inhabitants is almost romantic—and certainly vivid. The story is … infused with immense passion and new, true grit by this remarkable young novelist..."
— Philadelphia Weekly

“Mysteries are the urban fiction; nothing else so catches up the furies and fantasies of our cities. In The Dying Ground, Nichelle Tramble turns out Oakland's ragged, depleted pockets — and hands us gold. I welcome a strong new writer.”—James Sallis, author of Eye of the Cricket

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Villard (January 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375756531
• ISBN-13: 978-0375756535
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.9 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #490,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HIP HOP + URBAN REALITY + SUSPENSE = GREAT NOVEL!, January 21, 2001

By 

ChickLitGurrl™ "Shonell Bacon" (Lake Charles, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dying Ground: A Maceo Redfield Novel (Strivers Row) (Paperback)

The Dying Ground is one of the best novels I've ever read. Nichelle D. Tramble's debut novel is hard-hitting and gritty and goes from 0 to 60 in 6 seconds with the suspense meter.

THE DYING GROUND takes us to Oakland, CA...circa 1989, drug wars, crack and gun fire runs rampant in the streets, and we're introduced to Maceo Redfield, a young black man who has always been on the conservative side of ganging and slanging, opting for college instead of drugs and guns. Since slightly parted, Maceo laments over the break-up of his childhood friendship with Billy Crane and Holly Ford, two well-known men in the drug world. When Billy Crane is murdered, Maceo finds himself teaming with Holly to bring Billy's murderer to justice...and to find Felicia, Billy's girlfriend and his first true love. Maceo's decision finds him immersed in violence and drugs and dealers and the dark side, ultimately leading to a shocking, painful climax...he learns that there are ALWAYS prices to pay when you play on the dying ground.

Tramble's description of the dark side of urban life - violence, drugs, death - were so vivid and sadly, true to life, that you're immediately drawn into the world that she creates. As much drama that ensues, this book is a wonderful suspense as well, and will leave you flipping pages with the swiftness to reach the end, because Tramble gives NOTHING away in this book...you want to know who did it...and why? Read to the very last page. This novel is a stark SHOCK of reality, a reality we rarely see between the pages of a novel, a reality filled with pain, but Tramble writes so deliciously through her characters, you make it through the pain to realize what a literary gem THE DYING GROUND is!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Brilliant New Voice, May 1, 2001

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dying Ground: A Maceo Redfield Novel (Strivers Row) (Paperback)

This outstanding first novel, set in crack-riddled Oakland of 1989, is one of the most accurate portraits of the friendships and conflicts of young black men in the inner city I've come across. Although the book is subtitled "A Hip-Hop Noir Novel" it doesn't really have much to do with either (the hip-hop mostly comes from a minor character who speaks in lyrics and a cameo by Too Short, the noir refers mainly to the importance of the past--a central theme in film noir and in the book), rather, it's a highly inventive twist on the traditional procedural.

Cut from much the same cloth as Boyz N the Hood, and indeed greatly in debt to it, the book kicks off with an excellent (and highly cinematic) barbershop confrontation. The killing of local drug baron Billy, propels his two childhood friends, Maceo and Holly, into a quest to find his killer and Billy's missing girlfriend, Flea. Former high school baseball star and recent Berkeley dropout Maceo Redfield makes an unlikely, and very flawed, detective. Until now, he's always managed to stay out of the hustler's drug life, never having to pick sides due to his untouchable athlete status. However once his old friend is killed, he decides he must find Flea and avenge Billy as a matter of honour, even if it means getting involved with people much nastier than he can ever be.

Tramble exposes the empty codes of honour for what they are through the outsider character of Alixe, who challenges Maceo to walk away from it all. And just as Maceo couldn't face a tough challenge in college, he can't face this one, "Despite my family, my talent or even myself, all any of us felt we had was the game.... invented manhood." Even though he's got everything to lose, and little to gain, one reads on, hoping Maceo will manage to squeak through against the odds and come out clean. This book (just like Boyz N the Hood) makes a vivid point about how even the those with solid upbringing and potentially bright futures can still get caught up in all kinds of nonsense.

The book's biggest strength is Tramble's remarkable ability to reach into each character's head and come up with just the right voice and make that come alive on paper. Her skill is evident in that she accomplishes this across all ages and both sexes. The use of local slang and pronunciation is blended effortlessly in every conversation. The book's other real strength is the vivid depiction of time and place--Tramble makes Oakland come alive. If you like this book, check out Jervy Tervalon's "Living for the City" or pretty much anything by George Pelecanos. Tervalon's short stories about growing up in LA, and Pelecanos' D.C. crime novels have the same strengths in voice and setting as this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Predictable Story...read between the lines, January 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dying Ground: A Maceo Redfield Novel (Strivers Row) (Paperback)

I appreciate this book for two reasons. 1. Being from the Bay Area, I really enjoyed the familiarity of the setting (area and time period). 2. The book made me understand the plight of some young males from Oakland. While the storyline was somewhat predictable, there were instances when I really began to understand the feeling of a young person who was essentialy abandoned by both parents. While I was raised in a very loving family with both parents, I couldn't ever really understand why anyone could allow his or her self to get caught up in the game when there are many options to succeed in life (legally that is). But when parents choose drugs over their children, what type of message does that send to the child? This story shows how much children are affected by being abandoned, even if other family members pick up the slack. Although, I still feel that there are other ways for these children to survive other than pullin a hustle, I can better see why being hustler is an easy option. I was slightly annoyed with the end of this book though. It seems to me Maceo gave up on life when life itself had given him extra chances. This is a book that can mean many different things to many different people and I recommend it because of that.