In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a Pelecanos fan on a number of levels. he writes of Washington DC where I grew up, he writes some of the most literate crime fiction today getting compared to Robert Price and Michael Connelly, but stays a bit under the radar of most folks. I've read them all and would find it hard to have much bad to say about any of his work.
Thomas Flynn and wife Amanda have carved out a decent, if unspectacular life with a carpet installation business in NW Washington. A daughter, Kate died at 2 days and their son Chris seemed to get involved with the wrong kind and his history of petty crime and run-ins with the DC court system gets him sentenced to a couple years in the juvenile jail. As the only white kid in his unit, he has to stand up for himself for respect. Once released, he flounders a bit before getting on as a carpet installer on one of his dad's crews where he partners with one of his juve friends, Ben. They work hard, get girlfriends, apartments, and try to keep the fire that burns inside to a slow simmer. They are installing carpet for a snooty lady flipping houses and find under the floorboards, an old gym bag full of money. Chris gets Ben to put it back, but in a weak moment, Ben tells another juve alum, Lawrence, about the find and the money disappears. Not long after, the owners of the money want it back and now Ben, Chris, and Lawrence are drawn back into a life they tried so hard to leave behind. Each day for them is like a day in a 12 step program: Today, I will not be who I once was.
Pelecanos explores the small details and decisions that affect the lives of the DC that lives beneath the more visible government. Past stories have focused more on the crime and retaliation, but this one is more of a journey into the just-under-middle-class social structure and less on the violence (don't worry, that's there, too). He slowly unveils his characters as real people with real everyday problems and the small circumstances that can change one's life. We see Thomas wrestle with his failures as a father with Chris. We see Amanda trying to keep the family unit together by being a gentle mediator. We see Chris, trying to do the right thing, waiver and wrestle with a code from juve that when one of yours is wronged, you don't look for help-you handle it yourself. We see sacrifice, standing up for buddies, redemption and reconciliation on a number of levels. In some ways, this story is a little like the prodigal son (that says more about the father and less about the more visible son). While the old "found lost money" may seem like a trite plot point, Pelecanos makes it real and we feel the exhilaration and temptation at the found treasure, the remorse when they realize it will just lead to trouble, and even when the money is left, the anger that comes from attempts to right wrongs inflicted on friends. In the end, based on the title, you can guess the last couple pages, but that is about all you could guess. I would have titled it "Signal 13". You'll have to read this story to find out why. While it's not up to his best (e.g. "Hard Revolution", "The Lost Gardener"), and his easy way of drawing the reader into the characters might seem pedestrian to some readers, Pelecanos is still on top of his game and loyal fans, like me, will not be disappointed.
East Coast Don
p.s. I goofed on the Star Trek review. Karl Urban (McCoy) did appear in The Bourne Supremacy, but not the character I thought. He was the Russian security guy who chased Bourne all over Moscow in a high speed car chase and ended up getting crushed in that accident in the tunnel.
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