Shoedog [Paperback]

George P. Pelecanos (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (1994)
• ASIN: B000OT377U
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Noir in DC, July 23, 1999

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shoedog (Hardcover)

Pelecanos takes a break from the Nick Stefanos series to tell the noir tale of a drifter who, while simply hitching a ride south, gets caught up in shady dealings with deadly consequences. The protagonist, Constantine, is extremely similar to Pelecanos' Nick Stefanos (and even spends a night in Stefanos' bar) he's a loner, able to hold his own, at home with the underbelly of society and a keen sense of what is right and wrong. He gets caught up in with some petty criminals and their controlling boss and ends up in a sticky situation. As usual, Pelecanos uses Washington DC and environs as a backdrop for this gritty little tale.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars an early caper, worth the read, December 28, 2004

By 

Simon Crowe (Greenville, SC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shoedog (Mass Market Paperback)

SHOEDOG is an early work by George Pelecanos, which I recently read for the first time when it was reissued in paperback. The plot involves a drifter named Constantine who stumbles into a half-baked liquor store robbery run for no good reason by a man named Grimes. There's really no reason Constantine can't leave at any time except for his attraction to Grimes' girlfriend.

All of the Pelecanos trademarks are here - Washington, DC....old soul music....drug use described into detail, etc. While I enjoyed SHOEDOG, it lacks the thematic richness of some Pelecanos' Derek Strange books and the conclusion was somewhat unsatisfying....All of the characters, except Constantine, are pretty one-dimensional....

If you've read Pelecanos' other books this will be a fun diversion, but RIGHT AS RAIN might be a better place to start for the novice.....

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars just please rob the liquor stores, January 6, 2011

By 

littlecatland "littlecatland" (MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shoedog (Mass Market Paperback)

My first Pelecanos novel and won't be my last because I've heard such good things. But this stand alone heist novel is overlong. There is a great 100 page story in this book but the plot is dragged out to 300 pages with too many points of view and too many back stories for minor characters. You could skip the first 80 pages without missing much.

The action sequences are riveting and well written but don't begin until chapter 20.