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The Way Home

3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 · rating details · 1,238 ratings · 211 reviews

Christopher Flynn is trying to get it right. After years of trouble and rebellion that enraged his father and nearly cost him his life, he has a steady job in his father's company, he's seriously dating a woman he respects, and, aside from the distrust that lingers in his father's eyes, his mistakes are firmly in the past.

One day on the job, Chris and his partner come acro...more

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published May 12th 2009 by Little, Brown and Company (first published 2009)

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Aug 26, 2009 D. Pow rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: noir-crime-murder

The Way Home is another stellar effort from George Pelecanos, one of the greatest working writers in America today.

Though Pelecanos works under the aegis of crime writer his novels have become vastly more encompassing than that, so acute at displaying American Dreams, lost & found, and so spot on in the rare and exact eye he puts on the working class and under class of the Washington DC area that it becomes increasingly apparent that his work is serious and lasting literature, and that he...more

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Jul 14, 2010 Larry Bassett rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, crime

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. According to the list in the front of the book, this is Pelecanos' 16 book. I have read quite a few of them and come back for more every time I remember to look if he has a new book. I read slowly and my recent trend is to read non-fiction books which automatically slows me down even more. I have just begun reading some novels again and am enjoying the fact that I can read some shorter novels in just a few day.

...and they lived happily ever after. Pelecanos' take is: "If storytellers told it tru...more According to the list in the front of the book, this is Pelecanos' 16 book. I have read quite a few of them and come back for more every time I remember to look if he has a new book. I read slowly and my recent trend is to read non-fiction books which automatically slows me down even more. I have just begun reading some novels again and am enjoying the fact that I can read some shorter novels in just a few day.

...and they lived happily ever after. Pelecanos' take is: "If storytellers told it true, all stories would end in death." On the other hand, he might say that Life Goes On.

Pelecanos does seem to have a formula in many of his books that I have read. There is the initial background story, time passes (10 years will do), and the experience from the background story comes back on some way or another. And it is usually all men who play the major roles. Women are wives or mothers or waitresses or girlfriends and most of them are pretty good looking as Pelecano often points out. And often sex objects. In this book a homicide detective shows up a woman! And it seems like maybe a woman will have a significant. But "She was a slow, deliberate mover anyway, what with the extra weight she was carrying these days in her hips, belly, and behind." I guess she is not good looking but at least she is a mother and it turns out to only appear a couple more times briefly so is not a significant character.

The code of not being a rat (or a stool pigeon as Pete Seeger might say) is held to pretty firmly here. But it does seem like it does lead to bad consequences. At the end Chris does break the code and call the police in a scene that suggests that he has finally come around to the right way.

If you ever have taken a writing class, writing a descriptive paragraph is always one of the assignment. George Pelecanos would get an A+ in being descriptive. It is one of his trademarks and I think it is kind of fun although I do not always know the referenced product. GP is a name brand kind of guy. No generics for him. "Lawrence wore a LRG T-shirt with a matching hat, and Nikes edged in red to pick up the red off the shirt."

Pelecanos displays his thoughts about child rearing clearly noting early and lasting damage from environment and primary care providers. Locking kids up in juvenile detention is not a good solution. "I wasn't so bad when I went in. But they cured me of any goodness I had by the time I came out." Plenty of places for characters to fall prey to their past or escape to a better future. "Time for you to make your move or you ain't never gonna get out," one of the characters says to his young nephew. These kind of messages are throughout the book but I am not sure I would call Pelecanos' book a change agent. What would people who disagreed with message think of his books? Would they read it start with and would they finish it?

And my biggest inability to suspend disbelief is (I guess some think this is the spoiler) not taking the $50,000. Now come on! There are many things you could do if you found a large stray bunch of money. But putting it back doesn't seem to me to be high on the list of possibilities. Sorry, George.

ADDED LATER
I would call this a suspense or mystery book and I did feel the surprise (for me) ending fit the book. I was surprised about how much emotion I felt in the last 50 or so pages. I am not quite sure if that was coming from me or from the book. (Sometimes I enjoy being jerked around by a book. As a guy, feeling emotions is a good thing and good practice.) I may have to read it again to see if I can figure that out. In the meantime, I would be interested to hear if others found this book to be emotional, especially at the end.(less)

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Jan 30, 2013 James Thane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-fiction

This is a solid effort from George Pelecanos, but it suffers by comparison to some of his better books. Its principal themes involve the relationship between fathers and sons and the inadequacies of the juvenile justice system. But you get the feeling that Pelecanos is so determined to focus on these issues that he occasionally allows the story suffer for it.

The main protagonist, Chris Flynn, lost his way as a teenager, but for reasons that aren't entirely clear. He comes from a solid, two-paren...more

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Dec 30, 2012 C.E. rated it 4 of 5 stars

This one's a bit of a departure from Pelecanos' usual formula. Fortunately, it is as good as anything he's written. Essentially the story of Chris Flynn, a middle class kid whose trouble gets him thrown into a juvenile detention facility, the novel becomes a reflection on how choices and environments predict so much of what happens to people in the future. As the title suggests, there is redemption but also much tragedy, large and small and even though most of the story takes place years after F...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Alex rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a review of this audiobook.

All of the usual ingredients of Pelecanos are here. There's plenty of crime, of course, and examinations of family, machismo, class, revenge, the justice system, district landmarks (not stuff like the Washington Monument), and the differences (and similarities) between flawed people and evil people. They're all here, but somehow it didn't quite come together to me in the emotionally honest and brutal way his other few books did.

The novel centers on Chris Flynn,...more

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Feb 25, 2011 Jake rated it 2 of 5 stars

Just a note: There's a spoiler in the final third of this review, but it shouldn't matter to you because it is an annoying spoiler and part of the reason you shouldn't read The Way Home. ON WITH THE REVIEW!!

I expected more from one of the writers of The Wire. I guess this is unfair to George Pelecanos. I mean it's not his fault that the other fiction writers associated with The Best Show Ever Aired are all gods of the crime-fiction realm. Not everyone can be Dennis Lehane, Richard Price, or even...more

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Nov 15, 2010 Ian Mapp rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There is a lot to admire in this short, punchy, cross genre book. I genuinely dont think anyone does charaterisation as well as George..... Everyone is so well rounded and real.

This book tells the story of Chris Flynn and his relationship with his Father, Thomas. They are white, working/middle class family. At the start of the book, we see Chris going off the rails - as he gets into fights, drugs and ultimately gets sent to a young offendors facility, where he is one of the few boys there. The c...more

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Jul 25, 2010 trickgnosis rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Lean and mean don't begin to describe the stuff Pelecanos is churning out these days. His narrative voice is so focused and assured that I find him narrating my thoughts while I'm reading his novels. This one felt like a liminal sort of novel. He's moving in new directions but isn't quite there yet. He's clearly had enough of the same old mystery genre ghetto but he hasn't quite found his new turf. Which leads me to my qualms with this book: the television writing is rubbing off on him. The stor...more

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Apr 04, 2010 Christy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Although Thomas Flynn never attended college, he became a successful entrepreneur. All he wants for his son, Chris, is to see him go to college and succeed in life. But Chris has no interest in school and drifts toward a life of drugs and petty crime. Placed in a juvenile facility until 18, Chris takes a job with his father once he graduates high school. Although Flynn is disappointed in Chris and Chris resents his father’s plans for his future, the two learn to work together without conflict. T...more

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Nov 11, 2009 Amy Meyer rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who enjoys crime fiction and good writing

Recommended to Amy by: I won it

Title: The Way Home
Author: George Pelecanos
ISBN: 978-0-316-15649-3
Pages: 323
Release Date: May 2009
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Genre: Literary Crime Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary: Hidden beneath the floorboards in a house he's remodeling, Christopher Flynn discovers something very tempting-and troubling. Summoning every bit of maturity and every lesson he's learned the hard way, Chris leaves what he found where he found it and tells his job partner to forget it, too. Knowing trouble w...more Title: The Way Home
Author: George Pelecanos
ISBN: 978-0-316-15649-3
Pages: 323
Release Date: May 2009
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Genre: Literary Crime Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary: Hidden beneath the floorboards in a house he's remodeling, Christopher Flynn discovers something very tempting-and troubling. Summoning every bit of maturity and every lesson he's learned the hard way, Chris leaves what he found where he found it and tells his job partner to forget it, too. Knowing trouble when he sees it-and walking the other way-is a habit Chris is still learning.
Chris's father, Thomas Flynn, runs the family business where Chris and his friends have found work. Thomas is just getting comfortable with the idea that his son is grown, working, and on the right path at last. Then one day Chris doesn't show up for work-and his father knows deep in his bones that danger has found him. Although he wishes it weren't so, he also knows that no parent can protect a child from all the world's evils. Sometimes you have to let them find their own way home.

My brief review: This is not a thriller or a traditional whodunnit but a story about a boy growing up and trying to find his way in the world and his place in his family. There's is a crime but it is more of a vehicle to illustrate several points including that of the role and result of punishment as doled out by the juvenile justice system. Arguably for some it is a deterrence, for others it is not.

At the heart of this novel is a father son relationship. It's a fractured relationship that was once strong and invigorating to father and son. Thomas Flynn and Chris love each other but have lost respect for each other as Chris grew into a teenager and are no longer able to communicate. Growing up is a difficult time in a young person's life. There are a myriad of pressures to contend with from parents, friends, school and society. Chris rebels against the rules, authority and his father's expectations. Poor judgment and stupid decisions made under the guise of being cool eventually land him in Pine Ridge Juvenile Detention. It might end up being one of the best things that happens to Chris. But not his dad. Thomas Flynn is too concerned with what the neighbors will think and too blind-sided by his determination to make Chris into the son he thinks Chris should be. But even after Chris sheds his bad boy image, starts working for his dad and maintains a low profile, Thomas isn't happy. Chris doesn't understand his father and finds it easier to stay away from his family despite wanting to be able to talk to his father. But he's also thinking about starting his own family.

The values and beliefs both Thomas and Chris hold tightly will be tested. They will be forced to reconsider their views of life, each other and human nature. Chris is still young and may be able to build a life he can be proud of that includes his mother and father. Thomas needs to reconcile the things that desperately upset him and come to terms with life before it is too late. And father and son will soon realize how important are the small and large decisions you make for yourselves, your family and your friends. George Pelecanos has given us a captivating story about life and relationships and how the decisions we make in our own lives will effect the lives of those we love.(less)

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Aug 04, 2009 Darrell Reimer rated it 5 of 5 stars

I’m skeptical whenever a critic claims a genre writer “gets better with every book.” Most writers I’ve followed (including, perhaps especially, the high-falutin’ types) work steadily until they find their groove. Once established, they return to the groove and work it until it becomes a rut. George Pelecanos came on the crime fiction scene just over 15 years ago, and immediately proved himself as someone worth reading. And, dammit, he gets better with every book. He definitely has his groove, bu...more I’m skeptical whenever a critic claims a genre writer “gets better with every book.” Most writers I’ve followed (including, perhaps especially, the high-falutin’ types) work steadily until they find their groove. Once established, they return to the groove and work it until it becomes a rut. George Pelecanos came on the crime fiction scene just over 15 years ago, and immediately proved himself as someone worth reading. And, dammit, he gets better with every book. He definitely has his groove, but it is gaining depth and breadth.

Some of the pleasures I take from Pelecanos’ books:

�1)It’s A Working Man’s World. Pelecanos’ perspective isn’t just resolutely masculine, it’s resolutely blue-collar — involving guys who have learned how to do a job they can take pride in, whether it’s run a diner, work a chop-shop or install flooring. Even when he introduces a minor character, he takes pains to accurately portray the work they do. This approach is something of a revelation, and certainly a welcome change from the artists, free-spirits and flakes who populate other books.

�2)Attribution. GP has cited movies as his chief source of narrative inspiration, but his books are filled with other tip-offs. The early books were often written with an accompanying soundtrack (one novel even came with a CD). Characters carry paperback copies of books with them, standing in as the author’s list of recommended reading, which is worth following up. Pelecanos hopes to join a particular company of authors who, in turn, have provided company and encouragement for a very particular audience (see above).

�3)Literary Self-Improvement. GP’s template gets wider with every book. In The Way Home Pelecanos spends the first 100 pages getting into the head of a self-destructive, self-centered late-adolescent punk who, through circumstance, very slowly begins to get a clue — tiresome reading in the hands of a lesser, more self-infatuated novelist, but I couldn’t put it down. Mortal peril is eventually thrown into the mix (something else I always appreciate about GP’s books) but the larger question is will this kid make it to the end of the book and become a man?

This is one of those books I immediately donate to the public library, so that readers in my town get the chance to discover it for themselves.
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Jun 05, 2009 Tony rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-mainstream

Pelecanos, George. THE WAY HOME. (2009). **. This is a well-written book in a pedestrian kind of way, but it is not what I expected from a hard-boiled thriller writer of Pelecanos’ talent. It is more of a novel of crime and punishment and redemption of a young boy who is placed in a juvenile detention center and is expected to rehabilitate himself. It is a screed against the inhuman aspects of such detention centers and a call to arms to change the system. Rather than being issued as a novel for...more

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Dec 01, 2009 Gaby rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: detective-and-mystery, thriller

The Way Home draws you in quickly and deeply. I couldn't help but sympathize with and become invested in what happened to Chris Flynn and his friend Ben Braswell. Complex and flawed, Chris comes across so clearly and authentically. His regret, his uncertainty and his desire to change make Chris one of the most interesting characters that I've come across in a while. Unlike most of his fellow inmates in the juvenile detention center, Chris came from a supportive middle class family. Upon his rele...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Chris Flynn went down the wrong path as a teen, ending up in juvenile detention instead of college. He made some friends there that he stayed friends with after he got out, and went to work for his father as a carpet installer.
One day, he and his partner discover a stash of money under the floor when replacing carpet in a house. Chris has a bad feeling about it and insists they leave it where they found it, and they do.
But Chris is right and the money is trouble and Chris and his friends' lives...more

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Feb 21, 2010 Lanier rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Lanier by: Sean

2-18-10
pg. 200
Sean recommended this along with another of Dennis Lehane-whose "Shutter Island" comes out tomorrow! "Home" is an easy read, though I'm not feeling it. The Juvi-Detention Center seemed too soft, from every real account of JDCs I've read, this one seemed tame. Also, the way the writer handled a character's death at the hands of Chris's friend. I thought that could've been a great sub-plot where Ben feels even more responsible for causing this slow burn. After all Ben is an instituti...more

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Oct 16, 2009 Erik rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-crime, fiction

The power of George Pelecanos is in his deeply realistic characterizations of his protagonists and his characters' dialogue, which is some of the best I have ever come across in any genre. You feel for them, feel like you know them, and love and hate them. In this respect, this book is vintage Pelecanos. That said, there is a Pelecanos formula for plot that he rarely deviates from, which is there are some good guys, there are some bad guys, and then the good guys debate whether to go above the l...more

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Sep 15, 2009 Christian rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-fiction, fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 11, 2009 Laura de Leon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, review-copy

I was expecting a gritty mystery. It was a mystery. It was real, and not always in a pleasant way. But more than that, it was a character study of a young man and his father. It was a look at the juvenile criminal justice system, and how it affects the young men who end up there.

I was very much pulled into the story. The men in the book (and it was a book about men, the women were all peripheral to the story) all were completely foreign to me, and yet I understood Chris's youthful stupidity, and...more

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Aug 30, 2009 Lars Guthrie rated it 5 of 5 stars

In his past three novels, 'The Night Gardener,' 'The Turnaround,' and now 'The Way Home,' Pelecanos has gone from being a great crime novelist to a great novelist without losing any of the attributes that made him such a master of crime fiction: an ear for authentic dialogue, a feel for the details of life in the nation's capital and its suburbs, a connoiseur's appreciation of pop music and culture, and a gift for portraying splendid villains who are unrepentingly evil. The deliciously bad-to-th...more

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Nov 04, 2009 Jenn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

I heard a recommendation for this book on NPR sometime over the summer while on a long drive to a social work home visit. I don't remember the specifics of the review, but I guess it left enough of an impression because I put a hold on the book at my local library. It has been months since I heard the review and placed the hold, and now after reading it, I can't figure out what was the draw. There is quite a bit of profanity in this book that didn't seem particularly malapropos or overly excessi...more

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Jun 30, 2009 Chad Showalter rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was the first Pelecanos novel I've read, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. Crime with a twist. A young man with a storied, criminal past has finally escaped the 'old life' and is living a decent life as a carpet installer. But the past has a way of catching up with you. When Chris and his friend (also an ex-juvenile offender getting a second chance) find a bag of cash under the floor they're installing carpet on trouble ensues.

Overall, the book is about a father and son, their re...more

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Apr 21, 2009 Kathy (Bermudaonion) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shortly after they were married, Thomas and Amanda Flynn had a baby girl, Kate, who lived for two days. After a few more years of trying, they finally had a boy, Chris, who never could quite live up to the image of Kate that Thomas had in his mind. Thomas would always think about what Kate would be doing, had she lived. Chris quit trying to please his father and got into trouble for stealing, using and selling drugs, fighting and reckless driving. He was finally sentenced to Juvenile Detention w...more

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Jun 01, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: july-aug-2009

Pelecanos received mixed reviews on his latest thriller. While some critics complained of the clich»d hidden bag of money, others countered that Pelecanos's clever writing, sympathetic characters, and nuanced portrayal of a difficult, heartrending father-son relationship offset an otherwise hackneyed plot device. His vivid descriptions of Washington, D.C., and its racial and social tensions rise above the genre and pose important questions about the nature of loyalty and what it means to be a ma

...more

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Feb 19, 2011 Jim Ament rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-thriller

The Way Home (2009), by George Pelecanos, is the third novel I've read by the author, also a producer of the HBO series, The Wire. The first, read several years ago, was The Big Blowdown, a rough crime novel in the mold of gritty Loren D. Estleman, although I haven't read Estleman in ages. Then last year I read Shoedog, about a drifter, and one of his early books, similar in its uncompromising toughness.

The Way Home is different, at least for the first half of the book. It's about a teenager, Ch...more The Way Home (2009), by George Pelecanos, is the third novel I've read by the author, also a producer of the HBO series, The Wire. The first, read several years ago, was The Big Blowdown, a rough crime novel in the mold of gritty Loren D. Estleman, although I haven't read Estleman in ages. Then last year I read Shoedog, about a drifter, and one of his early books, similar in its uncompromising toughness.

The Way Home is different, at least for the first half of the book. It's about a teenager, Chris—the good Chris and the bad Chris—who gets into deep trouble and ends up in a juvenile detention center, the only white kid in there. And he's from a good family. But he's tough; he tells his father, a middle class businessman with a carpet business, that he "knows how to jail." His parents are depressed over Chris not caring, especially the father.

The story jumps ahead. Chris is older, out of prison, and running a carpet installation crew for his dad with his prison friend, Ben, a big easy-going young man. He's still not trusted by his father but he is trying to play life straight. One day, while tearing up the old carpet in an empty house (to install a new one for a real estate agent who wants to flip the house as the owner died), they find a hole in the floor with $50,000 in it. Chris and Ben decide to leave it there, not touch it or say anything about it—it's trouble, especially for them.

Unfortunately, in a moment of weakness fueled by drugs and alcohol, Ben later tells another former prison friend who has no intention of leaving it there. The friend breaks into the place and steals the money. Then two hard-case criminals show up at the house along with the agent, looking for their loot and find none. They hassle the agent, scaring the piss out of her—literally—and go looking for the carpet installers.

The device here, as I see it, was to get the reader caring about these guys—Chris, Ben, the family, a few others. Chris now has a girlfriend; life is turning around for him. But now some killers with nothing to lose are on the hunt, and because you care about the protagonists, the tension builds. I won't reveal how it continues, but it's more typical Pelecanos, an easy gripping read with deadly consequences.

One additional thing: I actually learned a few things about the necessity and possibilities of a more effective criminal justice system, particularly regarding youth. See www.sentencingproject.org for more information.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 James Ament(less)

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May 25, 2009 Margot rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-fiction

Tom and Amanda Flynn believed that if you raised a child in a comfortable home, good schools, church and with two loving parents, it should be what a child needs to be successful in life. It didn't seem to work for their son, Christopher. By the time Chris was sixteen his grades were down, he stopped playing sports, started shoplifting, fighting, smoking marijuana and was headed for jail.

A stretch in a juvenile jail worked for Chris. He grew up and learned what he had to do to stay out of jail....more

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Jun 30, 2009 Julie Failla Earhart rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Way Home is the latest suspense/thriller from bestselling author George Pelecanos. I’ve heard lots of good things about Pelecanos, but I’ve never read anything by him.
In this outing, Pelecanos explores that delicate balance of father-and-son relationships. Chris Flynn is a pretty good kid, rather normal in fact, until puberty hits. Then something in his brain goes haywire and he snaps. He no longer cares about anything, especially anything his father Thomas is interested in. The first secti...more The Way Home is the latest suspense/thriller from bestselling author George Pelecanos. I’ve heard lots of good things about Pelecanos, but I’ve never read anything by him.
In this outing, Pelecanos explores that delicate balance of father-and-son relationships. Chris Flynn is a pretty good kid, rather normal in fact, until puberty hits. Then something in his brain goes haywire and he snaps. He no longer cares about anything, especially anything his father Thomas is interested in. The first section of the book is titled “Bad Chris.”
Chris becomes interested in all things illegal which sets him on a collision course with the law. Before too long, he is incarcerated in a juvenile detention center in Maryland, the only Caucasian in a predominately African-American institution. His parents are worried for him, but he seems to get along just fine.
After he is released, Chris and a friend from prison, Ben, join the elder Flynn’s D.C. carpet business as installers. Now 26, Chris is ready to take his place in the world. He doesn’t feel he needs that college education his parents so wanted for him. He is happy making thirty grand a year. He needs little and wants little.
The guys are sent to install some new carpet in a home where the homeowner recently passed way, leaving no descendants. The realtor has bought the property to flip. As the guys do their job, they come across an old concealed duffel bag containing fifty thousand dollars; a life-changing sum. The boys must decide if they want to return to a life of crime, or continue to walk the straight and narrow.
I was extremely disappointed in The Way Home. It was hard to feel any empathy for Chris or his friends nor his parents. There is a lot of repetition---information given multiple times--- that slows down the action and dissolves what little tension there was in the book. The story picked up speed about page two hundred and eighteen. But in a three hundred twenty-three page novel, it was way too late.
Review originally appeared on www.armchairinterviews.com.
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Sep 01, 2012 Benjamin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

the crime stuff is undercut by the redemption thing that the title gives away. if it wasn't for the title, you might expect pelecanos to leave everyone dead or ruined, but c'mon, it's called the road home, you can see the happy end from miles away. then what really puts pelecanos in another level is his class analysis and social conscience, for lack of a better word, and in this case, he undercuts that by harping on individual choices, as if to say, yeah, the game is rigged but If You Work Hard...more

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Jan 11, 2010 Bondama rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the very best of Pelecanos' books -- It's not the usual mystery-thriller format, but rather a compulsively readable story of the journey a young man in juvie takes to find his way back to real life, and away from crime, petty or otherwise. The climax of the book is so tense, and the writing so very good, that it's not until the last bit that the reader knows which fork in the road the protagonist will take.

Pelecanos, as you may know, is responsible for one of the finest televisio...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Podga Podga rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There were too many themes in this book, none of them explored to any depth, so in the end I was left wondering what, if any, message Pelecanos was trying to send.

Although the blurb on the jacket of the edition I read makes much of the bag full of cash, in my opinion this is not a crime novel (even after the bag of cash finally appears, 1/3 into the book, there are long segments describing actions and supposed motivations of even the most incidental of characters). The most consistent theme app...more

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Feb 12, 2011 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Anyone who has watched either of two fabulous TV series -- “The Wire” and “Treme” – should recognize this author’s name. He is a writer for each of these and a producer for “The Wire.” Pelecanos knows how to tell a spellbinding story whether for watching or reading.

“The Way Home,” set in the author’s hometown of Washington, D.C., explores family dynamics among the Flynns and others son “White Boy” Chris meets when he does prison time as a teen. Pelecanos combines a profound look at relationship...more

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About George Pelecanos

George P. Pelecanos (born 1957 in Washington, D.C.) is an American author of detective fiction set primarily in the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C. He is also a film and television producer and a television writer. He has worked extensively on the HBO series The Wire. His novels use an ensemble cast of characters, following their exploits across several generations. While there are...more

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title link	preview: The Way Home
avg rating	preview: The Way Home Goodreads rating: 3.58 (1238 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6004660-the-way-home?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344271419l/6004660.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6004660-the-way-home?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Way Home by George Pelecanos[/url]

The Way Home

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