Derek Strange and Terry Quinn are ex-cops turned private detectives in Washington, DC. Hired to investigate the death of an off-duty black police ...
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Dec 17, 2009
Stew
rated it: 
Pelecanos is one of my standby favorites. Aside from being a writer on HBO's "The Wire", he's the only author that I bother to read in hardback. His stories are set in the District of Columbia and its surrounding counties, but have little to do with the bustling Federal City and its corridors of power. Pelecanos writes about the dispossessed of DC, those who scratch out livings in Anacostia and the Northeast. Hard-boiled fiction from a city that always seems on the edge of boiling
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Sep 25, 2008
Dan
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this is a real-deal page turner. i can't remember the last time i read a book this quickly. i flew through all of its 360-ish pages in a day and a half.
beyond that, it was the perfect remedy for the withdrawl i've been feeling since hbo's the wire (which pelecanos wrote for) came to its conclusion. like the wire, this novel is full of complex, three-dimensional characters dealing with complex, three-dimensional circumstances. it also shares the tv show's sensitive (but not touchy-fee More...
beyond that, it was the perfect remedy for the withdrawl i've been feeling since hbo's the wire (which pelecanos wrote for) came to its conclusion. like the wire, this novel is full of complex, three-dimensional characters dealing with complex, three-dimensional circumstances. it also shares the tv show's sensitive (but not touchy-fee More...
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Nov 21, 2007
Jen
rated it:
Derrick Strange sets out to investigate the shooting death of off-duty officer Chris Wilson, at the request of Wilson's mother. Wilson was shot by a fellow police officer, and the DC police force had already investigated and cleared Terry Quinn, the officer who shot Wilson, but Wilson's mother is not satisfied with their findings and doesn't like the way her son was portrayed through the official investigation. Strange not only uncovers new details in this unfortunate death, but he also uncove
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May 07, 2008
Cullen
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This is the first Pelecanos novel I have read, and I immediately want to go find some more! Highly cinematic style that includes structuring chapters into short segments that feel like "scenes," particularly when they are "cross-cut" at moments of great suspense so as to seem simultaneous, as well as great attention to music (almost every "scene" has a song that Pelecanos calls attention to). Pelecanos smartly doesn't draw just from noir, and in fact the movie feels
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Aug 25, 2008
Kellie
rated it: 
(#1 in the Strange Series)- Derek Strange is an ex-cop who now runs his own private detective agency. The mother of a young police officer killed by another cop hires him to clear up the lingering doubts surrounding her son's death. Although Terry Quinn, the other cop, has been cleared in the official investigation, his guilt torments him. After Strange interviews him, Quinn joins the investigation, even though in part he is investigating himself and whether his own prejudices led him to pull t
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Dec 16, 2011
Amy
rated it: 
I just discovered Pelecanos, and I’d like to issue him a challenge, because I think he’s a very talented writer. Mr. Pelecanos, someday please write a buddy novel about, say, a middle-aged woman detective and the gay former football player she teams up with. I think you could do it, maybe even have fun with it. To make it even more of a departure, start the story out someplace bland like Old Town Alexandria.
“Right as Rain” is the first in a series about two former cops in Washing More...
“Right as Rain” is the first in a series about two former cops in Washing More...
May 18, 2010
Ann
rated it:
George Pelecanos has been compared to Dennis Lehane and Dennis is a big fan of George Peleconos. It is easy to see why. Lehane writes of Boston, Pelecanos writes of Washington DC -- both take you into the neighorhoods and into the lives of long time residents. The worlds they describe are gritty and dangerous and harsh. Right As Rain knocked me for a loop at the end. WOW. What a book. Hardboiled and violent, yet with deeply complex characters/ Pelecanos shows several sides to events from the dif
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Dec 26, 2009
Christian
rated it:
This book is probably my favorite by Pelecanos to date.
If you have read any Pelecanos novel, you are familiar with the area he writes about and the type of world his characters inhabit. His plots are intricate without being overwhelming, the dialogue is sharp and realistic, his characters are human and relatable and the resolutions are realistic, satisfying in some respects and frustrating in others.
I also appreciate how the books can tie together very subtly. I read More...
If you have read any Pelecanos novel, you are familiar with the area he writes about and the type of world his characters inhabit. His plots are intricate without being overwhelming, the dialogue is sharp and realistic, his characters are human and relatable and the resolutions are realistic, satisfying in some respects and frustrating in others.
I also appreciate how the books can tie together very subtly. I read More...
Jul 13, 2009
Sibyl
rated it:
Gritty hardboiled realism? I would not say the gravitational pull to this type of reading comes naturally to me, but when it is by the screenwriter (or maybe producer, I'm not sure) for the series "Wired", and authors quotes say things like "Those in the know read Pelecanos," and ".... is flat-out the best PI novel I've read this year--a massively entertaining, high-octane page-turner from George Pelecanos, one of our best writers", I tend to get interested. Georg
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Nov 08, 2011
Elaine
rated it:
Black ex-cop turned P.I. Derek Strange is hired by the mother of a young black cop who was killed by a white cop who has since left the force. That “white” ex-cop is Terry Quinn who joins forces with Strange because the way Quinn tells it, the killing was an accident. He believes wholeheartedly he wasn’t wrong on that shooting though he wishes it hadn’t happened.
Dirty cops are involved in a D.C. drug trade business. As Strange starts piecing together events from clues he uncovers, More...
Dirty cops are involved in a D.C. drug trade business. As Strange starts piecing together events from clues he uncovers, More...
May 17, 2009
Thomas
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Jul 28, 2008
Larry
rated it:
Excellent P.I. novel. Derek Strange, D.C. private investigator, is hired by the mother of a slain police officer to clear his besmirched name. Along the way, Strange is joined by the white ex-cop who did the shooting, and they uncover a world of drugs, murder, and corruption. What sets this apart is the quality of the writing - the characters breathe, and they have depth. A quality read.
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Jan 06, 2008
Susan
rated it:
Derek Strange is a PI in Washington, DC and is hired by a dead cop's mother to find out the real circumstances of her son's death and clear his good name. I "read" this book with my ears and while the story was ok and the plot was ok, the reading was magical. Richard Allen is the narrator and he is amazing. It was like listening to a radio play. A truly wonderful experience.
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Dec 11, 2010
Jim
rated it: 
Another disappointing novel from an author who I initially thought was a real contender, up there with James Lee Burke and Elmore Leonard. But he's at least a division below, relegated there with this story of a "good black ex cop" and "good-ish white ex cop" getting their relationship together through mutual respect. Pass the sick bag George, as the white boy brings his black father figure obscure Motown vinyl (of course) recordings from his record boutique.
I also didn' More...
I also didn' More...
Nov 10, 2010
Larry
rated it:
George Pelecanos has his fingerprints all over this book. He has written 16 books and Right As Rain is the ninth. In this book Derek Strange and Terry Quinn are introduced for what turns out to be a three book series. He published his first novel in 1992; Right As Rain was published in 2001. As you can see, he writes about one book per year.
You know it is Pelecanos because there are cars, music and location. Let’s check it out!
You know it is Pelecanos because there are cars, music and location. Let’s check it out!
Strange sat low behind the wheel of his white-oveMore...
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Jun 16, 2007
Bill
rated it:
The first of the Strange-Quinn mystery series, with a black and white pair of former cops working as private detectives in the D.C. area. It is an effective and violent thriller, and deals perceptively with issues of race.
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Dec 25, 2011
Rosemary
rated it:
The Derek Strang Trilogy features Strange, ex-cop and private detective working in the 'mean streets' of Washington D C. He ends up with a white Irish ex-cop, troubled because he had shot another cop. You feel like you almost know some of the streets, the good restaurants and certainly western movies (and books) and music, music, music that plays constantly in the three books. Also 'Hell to Pay' and 'Soul Circus'. Derek is an older man but with great wisdom. He's not perfect and is sometime
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Sep 19, 2010
Ana
rated it:
Great detective novel, better than most Grisham, and I can see why this guy worked on The Wire. Good writing, interesting plot, kept it moving, nicely. Very quick read. Interesting takes on racial interactions, preconceptions, and misconceptions, however, I was not really able to understand or feel for a lot of it, being a white suburban girl who is now solidly middle class and may end up upper middle class.
Good quick read, enjoyed it, but couldn't relate as well as I'd like with More...
Good quick read, enjoyed it, but couldn't relate as well as I'd like with More...
Jul 29, 2011
Derek
rated it:
This is an exciting and well-plotted crime story grafted onto a sociological study of urban neglect, the drug trade, and the problem of race prejudice in the US. The main characters are deftly captured, with some very well drawn supporting characters and a limited but vividly illustrated set of milieus. Most horrifying of all the shooting gallery in a disused block somewhere where the only cops who patrol are those on the drug boss's payroll. The final scene of the book, after the action is conc
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Jul 16, 2008
Daniel
rated it:
Gritty and makes me want to drink.
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Aug 03, 2011
Rolando
rated it:
George Pelecanos uses the conventions and archetypes of the crime genre to explore issues of the urban soul.
In his novels, the criminal is not just a gun-wielding fiend. Pelecanos asks the questions: how did this individual get to this point? How does evil come about in urban societies?
"We didn't choose it, it chose us," says a character, talking about--what? His professions, his environment, everything--the ugly and the pretty--that surrounds him.
How is More...
In his novels, the criminal is not just a gun-wielding fiend. Pelecanos asks the questions: how did this individual get to this point? How does evil come about in urban societies?
"We didn't choose it, it chose us," says a character, talking about--what? His professions, his environment, everything--the ugly and the pretty--that surrounds him.
How is More...
Jul 14, 2009
CT
rated it:
George Pelecanos is simply a genius! Most readers, outside of D.C., have never heard of Pelecanos; those who have probably know him as one of the writers of the highly acclaimed television series, The Wire. As Michael Connelly’s blurb on the cover states: “Those in the know read Pelecanos.” For years, critics, such as Patrick Anderson of the Washington Post, have heralded him as one of today’s top crime masters. Right as Rain is the first in his four-book series featuring D.C. private eye Derek
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Dec 27, 2011
R.a.
rated it:
I've always been a fan of private eye novels and TV dramas, the modern cowboy who is always on the outside battling The Man.
They become scarce in recent years, particularly on TV as writers and directors became enamored of police procedurals and cop dramas that feature SWAT teams and other paramilitary units that trample all over civil rights. Might makes right in modern America.
As private detective novels go, Right As Rain features a couple of interesting characters and was
They become scarce in recent years, particularly on TV as writers and directors became enamored of police procedurals and cop dramas that feature SWAT teams and other paramilitary units that trample all over civil rights. Might makes right in modern America.
As private detective novels go, Right As Rain features a couple of interesting characters and was
Jan 10, 2012
Stephen
rated it:
This is the second Pelecanos book I read (after Drama City) and I definitely enjoyed it more than the first. Anyone who knows anything about Pelecanos knows he writes crime books with a load of social commentary. In Right as Rain, he balances the two quite well. The crime/detective elements are solid and exciting and the commentary elements don't beat you over the head with the author's perspective on how things should be (well, except for one monologue by Strange late in the book).
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Dec 17, 2009
Megnificentfig
rated it:
As another writer of the best television series of all time (The Wire), I was drawn to Pelecanos. This book--the first in the series of the Strange/Quinn duo--is a spot-on portrait of the gritty side of D.C. and its surrounding areas. He knows the city well, and as someone who grew up in D.C.'s suburbs, I loved the many references to local haunts. Pelecanos boldly takes on social injustice, blatant and underlying racism, the duality of man, and many other themes in this work, but it never feels
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Apr 03, 2008
Dfordoom
rated it:
A crime novel set in Washington DC which brings together an ageing black private investigator and a young white ex-cop. The plot is a fairly routine one involving drug dealers. The real strength of the novel is the way it explores issues of racism in considerable depth and with a great deal of subtlety. Terry Quinn, the white ex-cop, is a fascinating character with all kinds of conflicted motivations. He’s a man who has to face some unpleasant truths about himself, and he finds the courage t
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Aug 05, 2010
alex
rated it:
My first not only from the author but of the entire detective/crime genre. I'm one of many who was drawn to check out Pelecanos due to his involvement with The Wire, as the series is incredibly well-written (and there are obvious similarities between the show and this book). It wasn't probably until halfway thru that I became committed to this one, but I was absolutely riveted for the final third as the storylines began to culminate. My one complaint is that Pelecanos tends to get too bogged dow
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Nov 19, 2011
Sarah Rice
rated it:
This book was good, not fantastic, but definitely readable. Some of the dialogue was awkward to me, but i still read this pretty quickly. I also felt like a lot of the detail was overdone. it's a crime novel set in DC and it's like the author was trying to communicate just how well he knows DC. I don't know, on the whole i don't think it added much to the story - it says more about the author.... also, i could have used some stronger female characters. maybe three stars is too much? whatever.
Dec 03, 2011
Gannonwb
rated it:
My first Pelecanos, for me it started slow and his style took some getting used to, I perservered and it was worth it. I lived in DC 3 years and was a 10 minute drive from this world and never looked into the "other side" of DC until I read this book. Insightful and thought provoking, these are not adjectives for your normal "crime procedural", I hope the rest are as good.....
Jun 05, 2009
Scott
rated it:
First in the Strange-Quinn series. I expected to like this much better than I did. I think I got bogged down w/ Pelecanos' lectures on race, modern policing, obscure soul and blues, and western novels. By the time you weed your way through all of that, you're left with a pretty decent story (which wouldn't have taken 250 pages w/o all the filler).
Of course, you have to mention Pelecanos' association w/ The Wire and that is where I found another aspect of this book that was a bit off More...
Of course, you have to mention Pelecanos' association w/ The Wire and that is where I found another aspect of this book that was a bit off More...
