Right as Rain [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

Strange is hired to investigate the shooting of her son, Chris Wilson, leading him to Quinn, who works in a little used bookstore in Silver Spring (Like all the locations in the book, the store really exists, it's a few blocks from my office and I sometimes swing by on my lunch break). The two men fall into an uneasy partnership as this discover more about he events that led to Quinn's killing of Wilson. They make an engagingly effective odd couple as they verbally spar with one another about race, underneath their respective flaws, they're good men. At the same time, both men are struggling to make relationships work, Strange with his divorcee secretary, and Quinn with a Latina student/waitress. As with most of Pelecanos's men, they often make selfish or simply clumsy moves in looking for love. And like most of those same guys, they have well-defined tastes in music, cars, movies, and books.

Following the tone of Pelecanos's previous work, what is gradually revealed is a sordid tale of drugs and corruption, with some powerful drug pushers, and a few violent rednecks. All this unfolds in a world instantly recognizable to Washington natives, where drug dealers work in the open, neighborhoods revolve around local restaurants, and corruption has spread to even the upscale oases (the well-known high-end restaurant Red Sage being one example). As we have come to expect from Pelecanos, everything comes together in a cinematic violent climax offering some attempt at justice. If you've read and enjoyed previous books of his, you're likely to enjoy this one as well. It's got two great new characters, and is a bit more explicit in examining racism, but is otherwise very much in keeping with his previous work.

"Right as Rain" is the second book of his which I read, and most likely the last. On a rather flimsy plot, we are made to amble around the city with a taxi driver's descriptive driness, to endure a DJ's self-important opinion of whatever is playing wherever it is playing (and God knows it IS playing everywhere...), and to yawn at a garage mechanic's description of cars which only another garage mechanic would love.

The plot moves slowly, everybody guzzles galons of beer (Tsingtao, for Chinese color; Heineken for that touch of elegance; Bud for beaten up, soulful characters who have had it "bad"), smokes and solves most conflicts with beatings and shootings. Characters, except for those with a white hat, are caricatures, clichés. And, of course, there's that racial moral high-ground, with lots of 60's "flower children cum Harvard professor" posturing.

As for style, this book is obviously written to ease the pain when it shall have to become a TV or movie script. Almost all one has to do is change chapter numbers and little paragraph separations by "Scene number" and...voilà ! another Gooding/Pitt mold has been poured.

"Right as Rain" is wrong as drought.

In Right As Rain, Derek Strange is a 50 something
ex-cop who now has his own investigation agency. Terry Quinn is a 30
something ex-cop who now works in a bookstore. The shooting death of
black cop Chris Wilson at the hands of a white cop will bring these
two together as the white cop and shooter was Terry Quinn. Strange is
hired by Wilson's mother to clear her son's name since Quinn said he
acted in self-defense in shooting Wilson. The investigation will lead
Derek Strange to a drug trafficking ring originating out of Florida
and supplying the D.C. dealers with enough drugs to make everyone
rich. The middlemen in D.C. are lowlifes and their connection is even
worse. Pelecanos explores the lives of the junkies, the dealers, the
bad cops involved and some good cops trying to come to terms with
urban life in D.C. as well as their own prejudicial agenda. This
isn't the Washington, D.C. you see on CSPAN. The author states that
there are "more violent criminals there, per capita, than in any
city in the country." Yet it is quite obvious that George
Pelecanos loves this city and knows its good points as well as its bad
ones. His research is extensive and I've heard he's been known to
drive around with D.C. cops at night to further understand the inner
workings of the beat....after signing stacks of liability releases I'm
sure.

The story comes to a cataclysmic end as all roads lead to one
and everyone's story becomes connected. It was at this point in the
book that I truly became nervous wondering how it would all end up.
This is the true sign of a good mystery writer -- one who can keep you
on the edge of your seat.

Pelecanos makes some very good points on
social reform yet he doesn't lecture you as some other authors might.
He just throws his thoughts out there perhaps hoping they'll stick.
He's also obviously a music lover and aficionado of books with a
western theme as most every scene in the book has accompanying music
mentioned as well as many western book titles being read in the
bookstore where Quinn works. Lovers of music and westerns will eat
this up.

The teaming up of Derek Strange and Terry Quinn is one that
definitely works and this reader hopes to meet up with them again in
another Pelecanos' offering. If you've yet to check out George
Pelecanos, I'd suggest starting with this one since you'd be hard
pressed not to enjoy it. I know that Pelecanos is being compared to
many other authors out there right now. Believe me, there's no
comparison -- he's in a class of his own.