Customer Reviews

Right as Rain (Derek Strange/Terry Quinn)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Oddly, no one from DC has thrown in their 2 cents on the latest Pelecanos book, so I guess I'll give it a shot. I've lived in DC for 20 years, my family is from here, and Pelecanos is only the second author I've come across who writes about the DC that I know and recognize (the other Edward Jones, check out his story collection "Lost in the City" if you can find it). In this new book, he steps away from his established characters Nick Stefanos and Dmitri Karras, and launches a new duo, black, middle-aged PI Derek Strange, and younger, white ex-cop Terry Quinn. Through them, and the story of Chris Wilson, an off-duty black cop shot by Quinn, Pelecanos displays the racial awkwardness and tension that pervades Washington, D.C. The central message of the book is that everyone, regardless of race, carries preconceptions with them about other groups. That doesn't make them racist-that term is reserved for those who carry hatred in their hearts.

Strange is hired to investigate the shooting of her son, Chris Wilson, leading him to Quinn, who works in a little used bookstore in Silver Spring (Like all the locations in the book, the store really exists, it's a few blocks from my office and I sometimes swing by on my lunch break). The two men fall into an uneasy partnership as this discover more about he events that led to Quinn's killing of Wilson. They make an engagingly effective odd couple as they verbally spar with one another about race, underneath their respective flaws, they're good men. At the same time, both men are struggling to make relationships work, Strange with his divorcee secretary, and Quinn with a Latina student/waitress. As with most of Pelecanos's men, they often make selfish or simply clumsy moves in looking for love. And like most of those same guys, they have well-defined tastes in music, cars, movies, and books.

Following the tone of Pelecanos's previous work, what is gradually revealed is a sordid tale of drugs and corruption, with some powerful drug pushers, and a few violent rednecks. All this unfolds in a world instantly recognizable to Washington natives, where drug dealers work in the open, neighborhoods revolve around local restaurants, and corruption has spread to even the upscale oases (the well-known high-end restaurant Red Sage being one example). As we have come to expect from Pelecanos, everything comes together in a cinematic violent climax offering some attempt at justice. If you've read and enjoyed previous books of his, you're likely to enjoy this one as well. It's got two great new characters, and is a bit more explicit in examining racism, but is otherwise very much in keeping with his previous work.

In a recent issue of Book Magazine, George Pelecanos claims that he
doesn't want the words "cool and tough" to dominate his dust
jacket blurbs in describing his writing so I'll have to come up with
some other adjectives to describe his explosive storylines and quick
dialogue. He describes one of the characters in his book as being
"violent, fearless, sensitive and disturbed" -- come to
think of it, these are the adjectives that could be used to describe
his own writing in this book. I had an opportunity to see Pelecanos
in person at a book signing in Philadelphia and if the words cool and
tough shouldn't be used to describe his books, they certainly can be
used to describe this author, as the picture in his book doesn't do
him justice.

In Right As Rain, Derek Strange is a 50 something
ex-cop who now has his own investigation agency. Terry Quinn is a 30
something ex-cop who now works in a bookstore. The shooting death of
black cop Chris Wilson at the hands of a white cop will bring these
two together as the white cop and shooter was Terry Quinn. Strange is
hired by Wilson's mother to clear her son's name since Quinn said he
acted in self-defense in shooting Wilson. The investigation will lead
Derek Strange to a drug trafficking ring originating out of Florida
and supplying the D.C. dealers with enough drugs to make everyone
rich. The middlemen in D.C. are lowlifes and their connection is even
worse. Pelecanos explores the lives of the junkies, the dealers, the
bad cops involved and some good cops trying to come to terms with
urban life in D.C. as well as their own prejudicial agenda. This
isn't the Washington, D.C. you see on CSPAN. The author states that
there are "more violent criminals there, per capita, than in any
city in the country." Yet it is quite obvious that George
Pelecanos loves this city and knows its good points as well as its bad
ones. His research is extensive and I've heard he's been known to
drive around with D.C. cops at night to further understand the inner
workings of the beat....after signing stacks of liability releases I'm
sure.

The story comes to a cataclysmic end as all roads lead to one
and everyone's story becomes connected. It was at this point in the
book that I truly became nervous wondering how it would all end up.
This is the true sign of a good mystery writer -- one who can keep you
on the edge of your seat.

Pelecanos makes some very good points on
social reform yet he doesn't lecture you as some other authors might.
He just throws his thoughts out there perhaps hoping they'll stick.
He's also obviously a music lover and aficionado of books with a
western theme as most every scene in the book has accompanying music
mentioned as well as many western book titles being read in the
bookstore where Quinn works. Lovers of music and westerns will eat
this up.

The teaming up of Derek Strange and Terry Quinn is one that
definitely works and this reader hopes to meet up with them again in
another Pelecanos' offering. If you've yet to check out George
Pelecanos, I'd suggest starting with this one since you'd be hard
pressed not to enjoy it. I know that Pelecanos is being compared to
many other authors out there right now. Believe me, there's no
comparison -- he's in a class of his own.

Right as Rain is gritty social realism at its best. Pelecanos works against the straight-jacket of the detective genre to bring us a novel that is equal parts detective novel, social commentary, and roller coast ride entertainment. In the end, it's easiest just to call Right as Rain a detective novel, but it could just as well fit on the literary or mainstream book shelf inside a bookstore. It is that good!

One honest word of caution to anyone who may be reading this review trying to make up her mind whether or not to buy or read Right as Rain -- it is a very "male" novel. It is macho. It is violent and gritty in its depiction of drugs and drug use, and women take subordinate roles to men. If you want great women characters go read Jane Austen, if you want a shotgun and Sharmba Mitchell, Pelecanos is your man.

Right as Rain is the story of private detective Derek Strange and former cop Terry Quinn's first meeting and first work together. Quinn has been forced into retirement for shooting and killing a plain-clothed black cop (Chris Wilson) in a morally compromised situation, and the story is primarily about his ability to redeem himself. The race issue is described in multi-textured layers where honesty proves the better line to walk than PC social convention.

Both Quinn and Strange have mature issues to work through. For Strange, he must decide how much to commit to a role as father and husband, while working the thankless streets of D.C. And at the center of their work is the lost junkie sister (Sondra Wilson) of the cop Quinn killed. She may hold the answers to why Wilson was going ballistic on a slimeball kid named Ricky Kane, which drew Quinn into pulling his gun in the first place.

All of this makes Right as Rain sound like a heavily weighted character novel, and while the characters are heavy the novel itself never gets weighted down. Pelecanos's pacing is about as good as any writer writing today, regardless of genre. You get the sense that he just writes each chapter on the fly, and when done well this makes for the best kind of novel -- one with a pulse, man. One with a very strong pulse.

I highly recommend Right as Rain to ...anyone who likes really good fiction. I'd also suggest checking out "Shame the Devil," a novel who's opening twenty-five pages may be the best opening twenty-five pages I've ever read. Pelecanos doesn't mince words. When he gets into writing a novel, it's the fiction equivalent of Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali. The fight is for truth, justice and moral redemption, and the result is an undisputed knockout!

Stacey...

George Pelacanos has detailed knowledge of a certain kind of pop music, seems to have a passion for cars and an excellent grasp of D.C.'s map. Is that enough ?

"Right as Rain" is the second book of his which I read, and most likely the last. On a rather flimsy plot, we are made to amble around the city with a taxi driver's descriptive driness, to endure a DJ's self-important opinion of whatever is playing wherever it is playing (and God knows it IS playing everywhere...), and to yawn at a garage mechanic's description of cars which only another garage mechanic would love.

The plot moves slowly, everybody guzzles galons of beer (Tsingtao, for Chinese color; Heineken for that touch of elegance; Bud for beaten up, soulful characters who have had it "bad"), smokes and solves most conflicts with beatings and shootings. Characters, except for those with a white hat, are caricatures, clichés. And, of course, there's that racial moral high-ground, with lots of 60's "flower children cum Harvard professor" posturing.

As for style, this book is obviously written to ease the pain when it shall have to become a TV or movie script. Almost all one has to do is change chapter numbers and little paragraph separations by "Scene number" and...voilà ! another Gooding/Pitt mold has been poured.

"Right as Rain" is wrong as drought.

I ultimately enjoyed this novel, which is the first I've read by Pelecanos. If you read crime fiction, Pelecanos is often held up as the most underappreciated crime writer in the business. The critics adore him (as well as writers such as Michael Connelly, Elmore Leonard, and Dennis Lehane), but his books have never been bestsellers.

This book is certainly well written, but the plot is very slow paced. Pelecanos writes the stories as a series of vignettes involving a lot of different characters. You really don't understand how all these different characters relate to one another until you're about halfway through the novel. At that point, things begin to gel together and you understand what Pelecanos is getting at.

In short, this novel requires a certain amount of patience. This really isn't a thriller or a suspense book at all. It's more of a character-based crime drama. A lot of the characters in this book are in bleak situations and are not very attractive. Even the heroes have severe flaws. There's some humor in this book, but not a lot like Elmore Leonard's books. There also isn't a lot of action in this book until the last 50 pages or so. If you're looking for an entertaining beach read, this book probably won't satisfy you.

Still, I think the writing and dialogue in this book are top-notch. I therefore recommend this book to people who prefer crime novels that are darker and more literary in flavor. I'm glad I stuck with it to the end.

The only detective series featuring a black detective I know of besides this one is Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins novels. In my humble opinion, this one is better.

Derek Strange is a more well-rounded character for one thing. He's fifty-something years old, an ex-cop who retired from the force thirty years before. When on duty, he carries a Leatherman, a buck knife and advanced technology such as Night Vision goggles. He does not shy away from a fight. On the other hand, he goes to church and he visits his mother in a convalescent home. He also has commitment issues. He's in love with his secretary and would like a family, but he keeps several girls on the side and often visits massage parlors. He also has a love for old records, many of which are vinyl and secretly collects theme music from old western movies.

This is also a salt and pepper mystery in that Derek's sidekick in this yarn is Terry Quinn, another ex-cop who quit the force after being accused of shooting a black officer. Derek is hired by the victim's mother to rehabilitate her son's name. When Derek interviews Quinn about the case, they bond. For one thing, Quinn is addicted to western novels. Eventually the case revolves around the drug trade in Washington D.C., including Columbians, redneck middle men, and the heroine-addicted sister of the black officer Terry mistaken killed. Quinn is also conflicted as he's not sure the shooting wasn't racially motivated. This eventually affects his relationship with his black girlfriend, Juana.

Washington D.C. is an integral character in this narrative as Strange maneuvers his vintage car through avenues and streets named after states and the alphabet. This is modern noir with much of the action going down in the seedy sections of D.C.

Most detective series worry little about the personal lives of their protagonists. The story in RIGHT AS RAIN will remind you of Rockford File episode, but Pelecanos's emphasis on the personal lives of Strange, Quinn and the city of Washington D.C. brings it to invigorating life.
RIGHT AS RAIN was my first Derek Strange, but I'll definitely be reading him again.

Washington D.C. private-eye Derek Strange, a black ex-cop in his mid-fifties, is hired by the mother of a slain young cop to clear her son's name in this gritty, character-driven novel. The dead cop, Chris Wilson, an off-duty black man in plain clothes with a gun to the head of a white man in a tough neighborhood, was shot by a white cop while trying to identify himself. Sound familiar?

In Pelecanos' capable hands the story takes several quirky turns. Strange interviews the shooter, Terry Quinn, who subsequently joins his investigation, determined to prove himself colorblind. Although cleared, Quinn left the force and now works in a second-hand bookstore, passing his days reading Westerns. A cocky, impulsive young man, quick with his fists or whatever else comes to hand, Quinn makes an unlikely match for Strange, laconic and self-assured, who feels no need to defend every slight to his manhood.

But Quinn makes himself useful and a wary partnership develops as Strange delves into Wilson's life, seeking reasons for his presence with that white man on that dark street.

The D.C. streets, the ones our country's leaders never see, teem with simmering rage, wrecked lives, drug dealers, crumbling neighborhoods held intact with affection and traditions, good music, family restaurants, friends. Gritty, dangerous and lively, the city is home to a varied cast.

The narrative shifts among them from Strange to Quinn to the leaders of a black heroin operation and their vicious white-trash go-between suppliers, with cameos by various girlfriends, hangers-on, and junkies. Each character is placed firmly in their home setting - the abandoned-warehouse headquarters of the heroin operation, the rural fortress of beer-soaked Earl and his hopped-up son, Critter, a pair who make their city connections look wholesome. Strange punctuates his methodical investigation with stops at favored neighborhood haunts, leaves his lonely rowhouse for evenings with his longtime girlfriend, Janine and her teenage son Lionel, but remains wary of commitment. Quinn moves in a new world, trying to be his cocky white self in black society, proving himself.

The story is well-paced and absorbing. Pelecanos ("Shame the Devil," "King Suckerman") explores racial and social issues without sentimentality or preaching and with a hefty dose of dark, city humor. But the real movers in this fine novel are the characters, particularly Derek Strange, and the D.C. he calls home.

Over the weekend, I read George P. 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 characters 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 a 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 insights 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 you still haven't read Mr. Pelecanos, what are you waiting for?

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!

"Right As Rain" introduces private investigator Derek Strange, a middle-aged black ex-cop hired to investigate the death of young black cop Chris Wilson at the hands of young white cop Terry Quinn. The story takes place in the racially divided inner-city neighborhoods of Washington, DC, and the author places racial issues front and center throughout, adding to the tension inherent in encounters among characters existing on the fringes of society. The Washington streetscape is described in such detail that I feel like I would recognize every city block were I to find myself in Strange's neighborhood. It's not an idealized capital city but rather one in which vibrant ungentrified neighborhoods give way to filthy ruins dominated by the drug trade. The story is told in tough, spare prose, and even the good guys are men of action, not introspection. They place great importance on musical tastes, but otherwise are more likely to express their feelings by hitting someone, taking a drink, or visiting a prostitute. In the course of the investigation, Strange and Quinn develop a tentative friendship across generational and racial lines, and much of the book involves their negotiating boundaries of trust. Which leads to my complaint - there is an awful lot of driving around listening to music relative to the amount of plot and character development. Perhaps future installments, in which Strange and Quinn's relationship will already have been established, will have more real story.