Right as Rain (Terry Quinn) [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

George P. Pelecanos (Author), Richard Allen (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2001 | Series: Terry Quinn

Derek Strange is an ex-cop who's making a good living with his own business, a detective agency called Strange Investigations. A new case hits him close to home: A police officer has been slain by another policeman in a confusing late-night clash, and the dead officer's mother asks Strange to help her make sense of his killing. That mother's request sends Strange into the darkest chasms of the D.C. underworld, where police officers and criminals operate by their own secret laws, and where human life is sometimes of less consequence than cash, drugs, and other forms of currency. Strange is joined in his quest by Terry Quinn, the officer who was exonerated in the police inquiry into the shooting but who is still haunted by that terrifying night. Together Strange and Quinn confront the ravages of an unquenchable drug trade, the realities of race in the capital police force, and some of the most implacable, dead-eyed killers ever to haunt the pages of a novel.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

George Pelecanos's Washington, D.C., is a far cry from the upwardly mobile, tourist-attraction-speckled enclave of Margaret Truman (Murder at the National Cathedral, Murder in Georgetown). Pelecanos's capital is a haunting terrain of drugs and death, a no man's land of posturing dealers and skeletal warehouses that shelter their buyers:

A rat scurried into a dim side room, and a withered black face receded into the darkness. The face belonged to a junkie named Tonio Morris. He was one of the many bottom-of-the-food-chain junkies, near death and too weak to cut out a space of their own on the second floor; later, when the packets were delivered to those with cash, they'd trade anything they had, anything they'd stolen that day, or any orifice on their bodies for some rock or powder.

When PI Derek Strange is hired by Chris Wilson's mother to find out why her son, a black cop, was killed by a white cop, Terry Quinn, on a dark night in that no man's land, Strange figures that the answer is painfully clear: a typical case of mistaken identity, fueled by the assumptions and preconceptions of Quinn's innate racism. But what Strange finds is a tentative kinship with Quinn, who is desperate to proclaim himself "color-blind." Kicked off the force and convinced that there's more to his own story, Quinn asks to join Strange in his investigation. As the two pry into the past, drifting through the neighborhoods both men have known all their lives, they find themselves enmeshed in a tangle of cold-blooded competition and heated personal enmity.

Pelecanos generally has a light touch with the treacherous quagmire of -isms, veering only occasionally into sententious meanderings about the consequences of an economically and racially divided society. His wry humor, particularly in his descriptions of Earl and Ray, the heroin middlemen who bring the concept of white trash to a depressingly low level, leavens the novel's noir bleakness. And Strange himself is a compelling character: a middle-aged black man who has seen more of life's callousness than he cares to admit, and whose jitteriness about personal commitment speaks volumes about his own expectations for happiness. A strong character and a good read--Pelecanos fans can settle in and look forward to Strange's next appearance. --Kelly Flynn --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Nearly a decade after Pelecanos (Shame the Devil; Nick's Trip) introduced Nick Stefanos to the private eye scene, the hard-boiled specialist has come up with a new urban gumshoe who's just as tantalizing to watch in action. Derek Strange, a black ex-cop in his mid-50s, walks the same Washington, D.C., streets as Stefanos, yet does so with far more experience under his belt. In his debut, Strange is hired to answer nagging questions about the death of black police officer Chris Wilson, who was killed by another cop in a shootout. Police investigators cleared Terry Quinn, the white cop who killed Wilson, but Strange soon discovers several hidden issues that may put a different spin on the case. Quinn confirms that he shot Wilson in self-defense, but admits he remains disturbed by the actions of the other people present at the scene of the conflict. Strange enlists his aid in the investigation and the case takes both men deep into the worlds of drug dealing, police corruption and racism. The plot rolls along in a workmanlike, almost predictable fashion. Yet as is usually the case with Pelecanos, it's the characters who give the story the gritty, dark twists that have become the author's trademark. The cast is wonderfully varied, yet Pelecanos also manages to capture the essence of most of his characters with just a few descriptive licks. It's Strange, however, who steals the show. He's a mature man with a highly defined sense of who he is--an aging private eye who knows that his best weapons these days are his wits and wisdom. (Feb. 6)Forecast: A new Pelecanos series hero is big news in the noir world. British, Italian, French and Japanese rights have already been sold, and a five-city author tour will start sales rolling in the U.S.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Library Edition; Abridged edition (December 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587889633
• ISBN-13: 978-1587889639
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,471,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

George P. Pelecanos was born in Washington, DC in 1957. His first novel was published in 1992 and alongside his consequential success as an author, he has also worked as producer, writer and story editor for the acclaimed and award-winning US crime series, The Wire. His writing for the show earned him an Emmy nomination.

He is the author of fifteen crime novels set in and around Washington, DC. The Big Blowdown was the recipient of the International Crime Novel of the Year award in both Germany and Japan; King Suckerman was shortlisted for the Gold Dagger Award in the UK. His short fiction has appeared in Esquire and the collections Unusual Suspects and Best American Mystery Stories of 1997. He is an award-winning journalist and pop-culture essayist who has written for the Washington Post.

Pelecanos can also claim credit for involvement in the production of several feature films. Most recently, as a screenwriter for film, he has written an adaptation of King Suckerman for Dimension Films, and was co-writer on the Paid in Full.

His novel Right as Rain is currently in development with director Curtis Hanson (LA Confidential, Wonder Boys) and Warner Brothers. He is a writer on the upcoming World War II miniseries The Pacific, to be produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and HBO. Pelecanos lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his wife and three children. He is at work on his next novel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More from the Mean Streets of DC, July 30, 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: Right As Rain: A Novel (Hardcover)

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.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT IS "RIGHT AS RAIN" -- THIS BOOK IS!!!, March 12, 2001

By 

Nancy Martin (Pennsylvania (orig. NY)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Right As Rain: A Novel (Hardcover)

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.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK, so we learn all about pop..., January 29, 2002

By 

Nina Churchill "NC" (Bordeaux, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Right as Rain (Derek Strange/Terry Quinn) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.