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Right as Rain Mass Market Paperback – February 1, 2002
- Print length384 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherGrand Central Publishing
- Publication dateFebruary 1, 2002
- Dimensions4.25 x 1 x 6.75 inches
- ISBN-100446610798
- ISBN-13978-0446610797
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Grand Central Publishing (February 1, 2002)
- Language : English
- Mass Market Paperback : 384 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0446610798
- ISBN-13 : 978-0446610797
- Item Weight : 6.2 ounces
- Dimensions : 4.25 x 1 x 6.75 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,162,481 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7,430 in Hard-Boiled Mystery
- #23,482 in Police Procedurals (Books)
- #71,028 in Suspense Thrillers
- Customer Reviews:
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
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the plot interesting and well-thought-out. They appreciate the well-developed characters and flawed protagonists. The writing style is described as simple and easy to read. However, opinions vary on readability and pacing - some find it good and effective, while others find it hard to read or frustrating with the quality of the ebook.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the plot interesting and well-thought-out. They describe the story as a thriller that starts slowly but delivers a satisfying ending. The language and flow of the story are calm, with plenty of tension and intrigue. The dialogue drives the narrative, making it an enjoyable detective procedural with local color. Overall, readers find the characters believable for their world.
"...and the racial tensions that exist there, I would say the story is nicely plotted and inhabited by real characters that give it a strong sense of..." Read more
"...The nooks and crannies of D.C. sparkle with intrigue in this book...." Read more
"...There's great tension in the narrative that keeps the reader glued to the page...." Read more
"...An enjoyable detective procedural with lots of local color thrown in for those of us familiar with DC and the surrounding counties." Read more
Customers find the characters well-developed and flawed. They also appreciate the reasonable plot.
"...exist there, I would say the story is nicely plotted and inhabited by real characters that give it a strong sense of legitimacy...." Read more
"...Right as Rain has a cast of well-defined characters, even the most secondary of them...." Read more
"...Derek Strange is a more well-rounded character for one thing...." Read more
"...Strange and Quinn are both very well developed characters...." Read more
Customers find the writing style easy to read and engaging. They appreciate the simple prose and dialogue that keeps the story moving along. The characters are well-developed and the mystery is well-crafted.
"He writes a great book, one you can believe and believe in. Reminds me of Elmore Leonard, and I’ll ed his work." Read more
"...While I think Strange is a well-drawn, complicated, feels-true character, I never felt the same about Quinn...." Read more
"Mr. Pelacanos shows why he is a great mystery writer and story teller with this book...." Read more
"...It is a well written book and the ends on a believable note...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the book's readability. Some find it an effective novel with good content, while others find the Kindle edition poor and the dialogue hard to understand.
"...It didn't stay at that lofty level, but it was an effective novel nonetheless...." Read more
"...Great, page-turning read for fans of the "gritty" detective fiction, and (Kindle edition) priced cheaper than what I could have bought it for at my..." Read more
"I'm currently about 2/3 of the way through the book. While the content is OK, I'm frustrated with the quality of this ebook...." Read more
"...Very interesting tale that spins and twists from start to finish. Great series and I continue to look forward to the next contribution...." Read more
Customers have different views on the pacing of the book. Some find it well-executed and engaging, while others feel it's slow and boring.
"...As a dark morality tale with drugs at the root of all evil, this book works pretty well ... Except for a certain preachiness Strange displays in the..." Read more
"...This does not hold up. Slow, boring, not really about the case at hand, more the author grandstanding his views and trying to show he can write..." Read more
"...This is a simple story, simply told and wonderfully executed. Everyone is, by now, familiar with Pelecanos's writing credits in print and on TV...." Read more
"Starts out slow but delivers a good thriller in the end." Read more
Customers are unhappy with the hyphenation. They say many words have hyphens in non-hyphenated words, and the software used to convert it could not distinguish dashes from hyphens.
"...What annoys me are the multiple hyphens and/or dashes between words that do NOT need to be hyphenated!..." Read more
"...Many words have hyphens in non-hyphenated words...." Read more
"...Whatever software was used to convert it could not distinguish dashes from hyphens. Thus a word like cut-off is written cut--off, with a hyphen...." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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When I first started reading this book, I thought I was going to be getting Richard Price without the beautiful language. It didn't stay at that lofty level, but it was an effective novel nonetheless.
The main characters here are an older black PI and a white ex-cop who shot and killed an off-duty black police officer, which caused a media mushroom cloud in D.C. (where the action takes place).
Strange, the PI, is hired by the slain officer's mother to clear her son's reputation and get his name on a memorial downtown for officers who have died in the line of duty. After Strange approaches Quinn, the ex-cop (he left the force after the storm his shooting caused, though he was found to be in the right), Quinn slowly starts to aid Strange in the investigation.
Unlike a lot of other reviewers here, I liked the story Pelecanos tells in "Right as Rain." It's not "The Maltese Falcon," but it's surely not an episode of "Scooby-Doo," either. Considering that Pelecanos clearly wanted to make this a story about what has become of D.C. and the racial tensions that exist there, I would say the story is nicely plotted and inhabited by real characters that give it a strong sense of legitimacy.
I think the one flaw of this book is that at times it deals with the racial tensions in mature, honest ways, and then at other times Pelecanos spouts off cliches and hits you over the head with a sledgehammer. I found that Pelecanos holds his white characters to an impossible standard. And he never examines the racism from the other point of view -- of blacks toward whites.
While I think Strange is a well-drawn, complicated, feels-true character, I never felt the same about Quinn. I don't think you get to know him that well. And constantly in the book people meet Quinn and say he's "disturbed," but where is the evidence of this? I just don't see what they see.
Overall, though, Pelecanos keeps his prose simple and his dialogue humming. Strange's eventual acceptance of Quinn is what this book is really about, and it's their relationship that I enjoyed the most.
There was definitely enough good in this book to make me want to read the next Strange/Quinn saga.
The thugs and drug addicts, the dealers, bent cops and everyone else in this book are well-conceived and come fully to life. There's great tension in the narrative that keeps the reader glued to the page. And everything seems to have been set in place for a sequel--which I would buy and read without hesitation. But I'll be hoping the author doesn't use another leading character as a vehicle for sermonizing, but rather allows the characters to speak for themselves, in their own voices. This detracted from an otherwise fine book.
Top reviews from other countries
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
5.0 out of 5 stars First rate novelist
5.0 out of 5 stars Another fine novel by George Pelecanos
5.0 out of 5 stars Derek Strange, P.I.
Hier die zusätzlichen Informationen: Strange ist schwarz, Quinn weiß. Der Mann, den Quinn erschoss, war schwarz und beugte sich mit einer Waffe über einen Weißen.
Als Strange und Quinn sich besser kennenlernen, gewinnen sie so viel Vertrauen zueinander, dass Quinn schließlich bei den Ermittlungen Stranges mithilft. Ziel ist es nun, die Ungereimtheiten aufzuklären, die sich immer noch um besagte Todesnacht drehen. Zwar war Quinn von jeglichen Vorwürfen befreit worden (alles sei 'right as rain' gelaufen). Dennoch nagt die Nacht noch immer am Westernfan Quinn. Sein Gewissen scheint nicht rein zu sein.
Nebenbei werden Strange und Quinn immer weiter in die Tiefen der Welt der Drogenabhängigen und Drogendealer gezogen. Quinn und Strange kämpfen beide mit ihren jeweiligen rassistischen Vorurteilen. Sie leugnen sie, fallen ihnen zum Opfer und suchen einen Weg, damit umzugehen. Jede Seite dieses Buches nimmt ein Klischee auf, hält es dem Leser vor Augen und fordert ihn auf Stellung dazu zu beziehen.
Eingebettet sind all die Themen, die Rassismus, Drogen und Gesellschaft streifen, in George Pelecanos soliden Plot. Neben interessanten und tiefgründigen Charakteren hält die Geschichte auch glaubwürdige Schurken, hervorragende Schilderungen von Washingtons Problemvierteln und hintergründigen Humor für ihre Leser bereit. Schmankerl sind die Verweise auf Westernklassiker, sei es als Buch, Film oder Filmmusik. Am Ende ist auch dies wieder eine Variation des Westernthemas komplett mit erfahrenem Gunslinger, heißblütigem Cowboy und finaler Schießerei. Fünf ganze Sterne.





