George P. Pelecanos

Audio book narrated by the author.
3.5*** (4**** for the book / 3*** for the audio)

Detective Gus Ramone thinks he recognizes a signature in the body of a local teen found shot in a community garden in a middle-class area of Washington DC. Twenty years ago, when he was just a rookie, Ramone and his partner Dan “Doc” Holiday” assisted veteran detective T.C. Cook in the investigation of several murders. The serial killer, dubbed “The Night Gardener” because the bodies were left in show more gardens, was never found. Now Ramone must wonder whether the murderer is back, or whether this is a copycat. Cook is long since retired, but the case still haunts him. Holiday is no longer on the force, having quit under a cloud of suspicion, and now operates a limousine service. But this boy’s death will bring all three men together in an effort to finish the work begun decades previously.

Pelecanos writes a tight, suspenseful mystery/thriller. I was completely drawn into the story and there were enough complexities to the plot to keep me guessing all the way through. The action is fast but he still takes time to carefully draw his characters, slowly revealing one layer at a time and demonstrating that the line between right and wrong, truth and justice, good guys and bad guys is frequently blurred. This is my first Pelecanos, but it won’t be my last!

Had I read the text, I would have rated this higher because the quality of the writing merited 4-stars. However, Pelecanos read the audio book himself. His lack of voice-over training means that most characters sound the same and with a fast moving plot it was sometimes hard to distinguish who was speaking. On the other hand, perhaps he was purposely going for that “jaded cop” quality. Audio gets only 3-stars. show less

While I was initially surprised to get a novella (clearly I didn't preview the title in as much detail as I thought), the story is a very interesting read as it is written from Buster's point of view. Throughout, it felt like the author was in tune with his doggy persona, and either is or perhaps was a pet owner himself. Buster's experiences feel authentic to how a dog might feel given the different circumstances of the story. The author also adds excellent color to the story of the show more neighborhoods, with different smells and sounds that take you deeper into the story. Throughout, you feel as if you are experiencing and feeling what Buster did. While I know nothing of life in D.C., the story felt believable knowing how the different neighborhoods in my city feel. It is also authentic to my own experiences that while a dog may love the whole family, it does choose a person that it belongs to. All together, a good read for any animal person. show less

I'm a huge fan of Pelecanos' work, have lived in the DC area for many years, and am a dog lover, so this book immediately drew me in. It's a remarkable work that is distinct from his other work but will seem very familiar to Pelecanos' long-time readers. This is a novella told from a dog's perspective. That could have been silly or twee, but because Pelecanos is such a strong writer, it's not. This is a vibrant, suspenseful, and, yes, poignant, story about a dog named Buster (a boxer) who show more grows up in a loving family but then over the course of his life gets passed from owner to owner and ends up in the pound for a time. Buster has agency--it wouldn't be much of a story if he didn't--but he's also just a dog who is often at the mercy of the humans around him. Pelecanos is able to help the reader experience what that mixture of agency and powerlessness must be like. Pelecanos' use of time in the story, since it is told from Buster's perspective, was especially interesting, and rang true to me. In a dog's life, there must surely be some key vignettes and experiences that stand out, interspersed between long periods of routine where nothing much happens out of the ordinary. Here, we're able to follow Buster from puppyhood through to old age, all in what feels like a fairly short book.

This novella is not, of course, just about the life of a dog. It is also about the people of Southeast DC and their struggles to survive in an area stricken with crime and poverty. Buster's life shares a number of parallels with those of many young black men in DC who grow up without fathers, without a lot of hope, having regular brushes with the law and violence. Pelecanos has told similar stories for many years but this story of Buster allows him to come at those all-too-familiar problems from a new angle.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one and recommend it to anyone who loves dogs and is interested in stories about life on the street. show less

I’ve been a fan of Pelecanos ever since I found out he was one of the creators of The Wire (I’m surely not the first person to tell you to watch that show), and I actually liked this book a little more than the last couple of his I’ve read. It’s still set in the Washington D.C. area, which he does such a great job bringing to life, but it’s not so focused on an "issue". I don’t mind a good issue-focused novel, but sometimes I just want a good crime story. Now don’t get me show more wrong; this crime story isn’t issue-free. Lucas is an Iraq veteran, and Pelecanos does have a lot to say about veterans and their post-war treatment. But at its heart, this is a story about drugs.

Lucas is a private investigator who specializes in finding things that are lost. He’s also not very particular about which side of the law he’s working on. When the client of a lawyer he normally works for needs some help recovering some "property", Lucas agrees to help. Soon he finds out that the story is much bigger than he could have imagined, and not only is he in danger, but people that have helped him are too.

I liked the character of Lucas. He’s an adopted kid in a mixed-race family, and I liked seeing those dynamics as much as I enjoyed seeing him in the weeds. It’s hard to dislike a man who loves his momma. There’s a strong theme of family relationships throughout the book, whether it’s Lucas and his family, the young man who helps him and his absentee mother, or the father & son crime duo.

I think one of Pelecanos’s strengths is his ability to create complex characters, and Spero Lucas is one I am anxious to read more about. show less