Right as Rain
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4.2 • 80 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
In this thrilling noir, ex-cop Derek Strange is hired by the mother of a slain police officer to investigate the killing, and quickly stumbles across a cop filled with guilt after being involved in the incident.
Derek Strange is a black ex-cop in Washington DC who now makes a living running his own private detective agency. He is hired to investigate the killing of an off-duty black policeman by a white police officer—a killing that was supposedly accidental, but that has opened difficult questions about racism on the force. In the course of that investigation the white officer, Terry Quinn, becomes Strange's friend and then his partner.
Together they try to uncover what really happened that night, when Quinn came upon a confusing and treacherous crime scene. Along the way they confront the kingpins of a flourishing drug trade and some of the most implacable, dead-eyed killers ever to grace the pages of a novel.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nearly a decade after Pelecanos (Shame the Devil; Nick's Trip) introduced Nick Stefanos to the private eye scene, the hard-boiled specialist has come up with a new urban gumshoe who's just as tantalizing to watch in action. Derek Strange, a black ex-cop in his mid-50s, walks the same Washington, D.C., streets as Stefanos, yet does so with far more experience under his belt. In his debut, Strange is hired to answer nagging questions about the death of black police officer Chris Wilson, who was killed by another cop in a shootout. Police investigators cleared Terry Quinn, the white cop who killed Wilson, but Strange soon discovers several hidden issues that may put a different spin on the case. Quinn confirms that he shot Wilson in self-defense, but admits he remains disturbed by the actions of the other people present at the scene of the conflict. Strange enlists his aid in the investigation and the case takes both men deep into the worlds of drug dealing, police corruption and racism. The plot rolls along in a workmanlike, almost predictable fashion. Yet as is usually the case with Pelecanos, it's the characters who give the story the gritty, dark twists that have become the author's trademark. The cast is wonderfully varied, yet Pelecanos also manages to capture the essence of most of his characters with just a few descriptive licks. It's Strange, however, who steals the show. He's a mature man with a highly defined sense of who he isDan aging private eye who knows that his best weapons these days are his wits and wisdom.
Customer Reviews
A promising start to a series from a seasoned writer
This is well plotted out. I’m new to Pelecanos, but obviously he’d already been at it for a while. Cleverly plotted. Deft and skillful handling of delicate racial issues. Interesting local color in what would be called D.C. noir. I wouldn’t quite say it’s a masterpiece, but it’s still a significant achievement for this writer. I would definitely be willing to check out subsequent books in the series. I don’t quite fully relate to the protagonist Derek Strange as well as other sleuths in the hardboiled genre, but he’s still an engaging well developed character.
I wanted to like it so bad…
I had high hopes, being a big fan of The Wire, but it was unfortunately boring. It’s a lovely story about how two guys become friends, with very little action and an excruciating amount of details that did not contribute to the story in any way…”they rode north to Washington St, then turned right and kept on until they hit 5th, then they took another left passing the movie theater, until they hung a right on Pennsylvania Ave, where a man recognized them and waved, and then they turned right on Main and parked by a news stand” when you could have just said they were headed to the bar.
Right as Rain
Couldn’t get past halfway point. Way too much everyday detail that really didn’t add anything to the plot.