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George Pelecanos
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Hell to Pay Mass Market Paperback – March 1, 2003

by George Pelecanos (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 386 ratings
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  1. Los Angeles Times Book PrizeWinner, 2002
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Private investigators Derek Strange and Terry Quinn ("Right As Rain") are hired to find a 14-year-old suburban runaway who's working as a prostitute. But nothing prepares these former D.C. cops for the pimp whose territory they're intruding upon.
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  1. Book 2 of 5
    Derek Strange and Terry Quinn
  2. Print length
    416 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Grand Central Publishing
  5. Publication date
    March 1, 2003
  6. Dimensions
    4.13 x 1.25 x 6.75 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0446611328
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0446611329
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

George Pelecanos is a screenwriter, independent film producer, award-winning journalist, and the author of bestselling novels set in and around Washington, D.C., where he lives with his wife and children. Pelecanos is also a writer and producer on the HBO hit series, The Wire.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grand Central Publishing (March 1, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0446611328
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0446611329
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.13 x 1.25 x 6.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 386 ratings

About the author

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George Pelecanos

George Pelecanos

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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

4.3 out of 5 stars
386 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the writing quality of the book good and easy to read. They appreciate the author's mastery of the black language, which makes the characters more believable. The two main characters are described as tough, flawed, smart, and interesting. The storyline is described as well-told and anti-climactic, but the main part of the story is interesting and well-written.

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Writing qualityCharacter developmentStoryline
6 customers mention "Writing quality"6 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the writing quality of the book. They find it well-written and easy to read. The author's skill with language makes the characters more believable.

"...anti-climactic, but the main part of the story is interesting and well-written...." Read more

"...All of this is well written and in the end justice prevails. A well told tale that is very recommended." Read more

"Really enjoying these books. Easy read. Feeling good about my city. Graphic but that is reality with life in the city." Read more

"As usual, Pelecanos nails it with his gritty, authentic writing. Never a predictable plot." Read more

4 customers mention "Character development"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the character development. They find the main characters tough, flawed, and intelligent.

"...That being said, the characters are still interesting...." Read more

"...Storylines are a great mix of mystery, crime, neighborhood characters, and humanity. Recommend highly amidst most modern copycat books of the genre." Read more

"...His mastery of the black language is striking and gives his characters much more believability...." Read more

"...'d forgotten how good his books were, the mood he sets, the complexity of the characters. I can't wait to get the next." Read more

3 customers mention "Storyline"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the storyline. They find the main part interesting and well-written. The characters are described as tough, flawed, smart, and likable.

"...bit of a let-down, and rather anti-climactic, but the main part of the story is interesting and well-written...." Read more

"...Storylines are a great mix of mystery, crime, neighborhood characters, and humanity. Recommend highly amidst most modern copycat books of the genre." Read more

"...All of this is well written and in the end justice prevails. A well told tale that is very recommended." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Sal Paradise
5.0 out of 5 stars Hell of a Read!
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2004
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I really enjoyed this second novel in the Derek Strange series. HELL TO PAY is an action novel from beginning to end with a great deal of substance in between. I didn't read any of the Derek Strange books in order. I read this novel after reading SOUL CIRCUS. I found out how Terry Quinn got that scar on his face from his run in with a seemingly larger than life pimp named Worldwide. The character Terry seems a lot more developed in this novel than in SOUL CIRCUS. This novel develops both characters personal lives such that they actually seem more like three dimensional characters. I've yet to read HARD REVOLUTION to find out the connection between Granville Oliver's father and Strange. Granville Oliver is the fictional drug kingpin introduced towards the end of this novel who figures more prominently in SOUL CIRCUS. I found this novel a joy to read it's a serial novel but newcomers to the series can pick up any of the Derek Strange novels and start from any point in the series.
4 people found this helpful
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David W. Nicholas
4.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as Right as Rain, but good
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2009
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This book, a sequel to Right as Rain, follows Derek Strange and Terry Quinn as they investigate a pair of problems that come to Strange's detective agency. In the one, Strange tasks Quinn with finding and retrieving a runaway girl who's been working as a prostitute on the streets of Washington D.C. At the same time, Strange is personally hired to look into the background of a young man who's planning on marrying the daughter of one of his friends. The latter case (and its solution) is a sort of black inner city version of a case the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency would take on. And just to make things more confusing, you can throw into the mix that Strange and Quinn coach a PeeWee football team, and one of the members gets killed, along with his uncle. Strange, of course, is interested in finding out who the killer is, especially when he discovers who the boy's father is.

While I liked this book somewhat, I didn't enjoy it as much as some of Pelecanos' other books. It's not quite as coherent, plot-wise, so it has a sort of disjointed aspect to it that's a bit annoying. That being said, the characters are still interesting. The ending is a bit of a let-down, and rather anti-climactic, but the main part of the story is interesting and well-written. Recommended for Pelecanos fans...I would suggest if you're new to the author that you start elsewhere, though.
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Tinker
5.0 out of 5 stars Deep, well-written, real characters and issues with a great storyline
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2016
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Love this series - the two main characters are tough, flawed, smart, interesting, and likable. Storylines are a great mix of mystery, crime, neighborhood characters, and humanity. Recommend highly amidst most modern copycat books of the genre.
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Joseph A.Santiago
4.0 out of 5 stars smart, experienced and morally outraged at some of the ...
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2015
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If you want to read a clash of cultures between what blacks experience in our white society and what they are experiencing now reading George Pelecanos should give you a glimpse of it. Boys that are brought up in poverty with no male figures to use as role models invariably will clash with police and with themselves-so this story is also about black on black crime. The single factor that makes this more interesting is that the teller of the tale is himself white of Greek origin. I know little of Pelecanos. Where he was born and where he grew up but a total guess is Wash DC or Baltimore.
His mastery of the black language is striking and gives his characters much more believability. Strange the main character works with another individual that is white and the moral tension of latent racism is there. The men however are friends so that only an occasional disagreement flares into hostility. Strange is handsome, smart, experienced and morally outraged at some of the young blacks and their crime. He himself is in love with a woman whose son he holds dear and the welfare of adolescents is always in his mind. His influence is felt for the better in the little league team that he coaches. All of this is well written and in the end justice prevails. A well told tale that is very recommended.
4 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2016
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ok
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Sandman
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the finest crime writers out there.
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2015
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No one is better than Pelecanos at realistically capturing the grittiness of the underbelly of inner city life and crime. Have read three of the Derek Strange books and have enjoyed them all.
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Not as bad or as good as some of the reviews would lead you to believe
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2014
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I looked at some of the reviews for this book, which have a surprising range. Usually, the results are more closely grouped than they are for this one, so I decided to chime in. The heading says it for me. I didn't think the book was brilliant. I didn't think it was terrible. I thought it was better than mediocre. I've read several of Pelecanos's novels, including another in this series, and I generally like them, although they are not among my favorites. I think Pelecanos is a good writer, perhaps not a great writer, but undoubtedly better than average, as is this book.
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2017
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I read this year's ago, and just started to re-read Pelecanos last week. I'd forgotten how good his books were, the mood he sets, the complexity of the characters. I can't wait to get the next.
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Top reviews from other countries

oikos
4.0 out of 5 stars A rare guidebook to the darker side of the Capital City of the U.S.A.
Reviewed in Japan on February 7, 2017
Verified Purchase
I first knew this crime fiction writer,George Pelecanos,when I was reading
"The Best American Mystery Stories,2003."
"Hell to Pay" is about a pair of private investigators,
Derek Strange,a black ex-cop and Terry Quinn,a white ex-cop.
Derek also helps local kids as a coach of a football team.
One of the boys was shot and killed.
The target of the killers was his uncle who failed to
pay the drugs he had bought from them.
The murdered boy happened to be in his car.
To Derek who was angered the hunt for the killers
became personal.
The writing style is vivid and sometimes vulgar.

Sexual scenes are graphical:
She applied more lotion to her hands and fisted his coxx.
As her hand went up his shaxx,she feathered the head with
her fingers...."Go now," he said and she pumped him faster.

I prefer crime novels with few sexual scenes like those of
Michael Connelly.But if you don't mind reading vivid sexual
scenes,t recommend this book.
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Jayant M.
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in India on October 17, 2016
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it was ok,
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Peardrop
5.0 out of 5 stars I am a fan
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2013
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I always enjoy Geoge Pelecanos novels ever since I viewed The Wire boxed set.. He conjures up Washinton so you can almost smell it. What more can an author achieve. His characters are always believable. I think he has taken over from James Lee Burke.
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mat bergel
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 25, 2015
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great book
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Andrew Willmott Associates Ltd
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2015
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Great book
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