Soul Circus (Derek Strange/Terry Quinn): Amazon.de: George P. Pelecanos, Richard Allen: Englische Bücher

Amazon.co.uk

With Soul Circus, George Pelecanos brings his sequence of novels about black Washington private eye Derek Strange and his partner Terry Quinn to the late 1990s and some sort of closure. The city they grew up in has changed but, as Strange continues to point out to the angry white Quinn, not as much as all that. It is just that asking the wrong question in the wrong tone of voice can be more dangerous when young men have guns and drug-fuelled short tempers. Young gangsters such as Strange's client Oliver have poisoned their own communities with heroin, crack and an equally addictive cult of machismo. Strange's work for Oliver is sparked by opposition to the death penalty, even for a creature like him.

Even more than usual with Pelecanos, this is a thriller with an agenda--we watch close-up how the availability of semi-legal guns becomes the occasion for a sequence of bloody deaths. This is an intelligent, wistful book that tries to understand violence as much as to condemn it. Strange has become one of the most interesting detectives in modern crime fiction simply because his conscience, his sense of history and his love of sweet soul music are so tightly intertwined. --Roz Kaveney -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verf�gbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

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George Pelecanos's Washington, D.C., is a place rife with high-living drug dealers, easily obtained guns, and a generation depleted by ignorance, excessive machismo, and misplaced trust in the equalizing power of violence. Yet PI Derek Strange "did love D.C.," as Pelecanos acknowledges in Soul Circus, his third novel (after Right as Rain and Hell to Pay) to feature this mid-50s black detective and his younger white partner, Terry Quinn. Strange's optimism may be running at even higher gear than normal here, following his marriage to his longtime secretary, Janine Baker, and his determination to be a good stepfather to her son.

Picking up where Hell to Pay left off, we find Strange working in Soul Circus on behalf of Granville Oliver, a manipulative black mobster charged with murder and racketeering, who faces the death penalty. To help his client knock that sentence down to life imprisonment, Strange will have to find a nail salon worker named Devra Stokes, who used to be the girlfriend of Phillip Wood, a former associate of Oliver's and now the prosecution's chief witness against him. Stokes had sworn out an abuse complaint against Wood, and might testify that he was behind at least one of the killings Oliver is said to have planned. But, fearing for her own safety and that of her young son, she wants no part of Oliver's defense. Meanwhile, Quinn--against his better judgment--helps a homely, unpredictable gangsta-wannabe, Mario "Twigs" Durham, locate his girlfriend, who supposedly went missing, but in fact skipped out with his drug stash. Even as the threads of this yarn come together amid a deadly gang conflict, Pelecanos stays focused on his characters--not only his intriguingly troubled sleuths, but also a deftly nuanced cop-turned-gun dealer, Ulysses Foreman. Buttressed by Pelecanos's street-slangy prose, Soul Circus delivers an un-blindered perspective on urban life (and death) that manages to be both frightening and hopeful. Not so unlike the city in which it's set. --J. Kingston Pierce -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verf�gbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

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A Gritty Urban Thriller Complete with Tragedy, Humor & More 3. M�rz 2003

Von JC - Ver�ffentlicht auf Amazon.com

Format:Gebundene Ausgabe

The popularity of George Pelecanos is on the rise, and with good reason. Soul Circus is the third installment of his Derek Strange series, and it more than meets the high expectations set by the previous two. Pelecanos is to Washington, DC as Robert Crais and Michael Connelly are to Los Angeles. He knows the streets, the people, and the culture and his writing reflects the knowledge of an insider. His depictions of urban youth, gang violence, and drug culture are on the mark and he pulls no punches.

Character development seems to be a strong suit of Pelecanos, as Derek Strange is one of the best around. There is not a reader around who will dislike him. He is not perfect - in fact, he is quite flawed. He's married, but he's reluctant to fully immerse himself in family life. He opposes the death penalty and hates the drugs that plague his neighborhood, but at times resorts to violence and illegal activities himself. He is constantly trying to help the younger men with whom he comes in contact, but realizes that he can only go so far.

Terry Quinn is his partner, and he is just as flawed as Strange. He does not believe in stronger gun control laws, and hates when he is 'punked' due to the fact that he is white. He is prone to violence and has a temper. He often steps over the line, but he is just as loveable as Strange and brings a great deal to the story.

Soul Circus is a novel filled with violence and the death of the young. It is at times brutal, and Pelecanos does not flinch when he relates the reality of murder to his readers. He does not, however, portrey all those involved in the drug trade as evil thugs. No character in this book is drawn so black and white as to be wholly good or bad. From Mario Durham, who is constantly laughed at for wearing a pair of used 'ordans,' to the feared Granville Oliver on trial for his life, everyone has their flaws, and all have redeeming features.

This book can be read as a stand-alone, but readers would probably maximize their enjoyment of this novel by reading Right as Rain and Hell to Pay beforehand. They are both excellent as well.

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EXCELLENT!! 30. April 2003

Von Glenn - Ver�ffentlicht auf Amazon.com

George Pelecanos is one of todays best crime writers. Ive read all of his novels and I can honestly say that Ive never been disappointed. In his latest novel, Soul Circus, Mr. Pelecanos returns us to the Washington D.C. of Derek Strange and Terry Quinn. Its a Washington that most of us dont know about. Drug dealers, gangs, guns and violence abound, but thats not all these neighborhoods are about. Mr. Peleconos takes us deep into our capitols neighborhoods and culture.
If youve been keeping up with Mr. Pelecanoss writing youll know that, Harriet Klausner pay attention here, this is Derek Strange and Terry Quinns third appearance and Mr. Pelecanoss 11th novel.
As I said before Ive enjoyed every one of his novels but the ending to Soul Circus is a surprise that I wasnt prepared for. It may just signal the end to Derek Stranges stories. I guess well just have to wait and see.
If youve read Right as Rain and Hell to Pay then pick up this novel as soon as possible. If you havent..What are you waiting for?

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A THINKING MAN'S THRILLER VERY WELL READ 9. April 2003

Von Gail Cooke - Ver�ffentlicht auf Amazon.com

Format:H�rkassette

With his 11th novel bestselling author George Pelecanos offers another powerful, disturbing and highly readable story set on the mean streets of Washington, D.C. Private investigator Derek Strange with the aid of Terry Quinn again takes center stage as turf battles erupt in violent grabs for territory and money.

Accomplished voice performer Richard Allen adds just the right amounts of menace and bravado to his reading, ably inhabiting the skins of both good and bad guys.

When a D. C. crime boss is captured and imprisoned he seems a shoo-in for the ultimate punishment. Lawyers representing the gang leader hire Strange to help in getting a lighter sentence. A witness is needed to cast doubt on testimony against the drug lord, and that witness might just be an angry former girlfriend. After all, hell hath no fury like a you-know-who.

Meanwhile with the crime boss in jail two young drug dealers are jousting for the apparently up for grabs neighborhood and profits to come. It is, as Pelecanos makes clear, a vicious circle that goes round and round in an amoral neighborhood where fear rules and friendships are forsaken.

Pelecanos writes thinking man's thrillers, as his legions of fans will attest.

- Gail Cooke

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