Reviews

• 衝撃的な結末

  とにかくこのPelecanosによるStrange/QuinnシリーズはRight as Rain、Hell to Pay、そしてこのSoul Circusと立て続けに読まれることをお薦めする。 Pelecanosの凄いところは各作品どれもただのサスペンスとして終わらせているのではなく、巧みに人種差別に対しての見解、貧困層が生き残る為の術を、恐れることなくリアルに描写しているところだ。そうした現実に直面しながら、StrangeもQuinnもいかにして周囲そして自分らをも満足させるかを荒削りにだが常に考え、同時に必死に生きて行く事への虚脱感も随所に感じている。読者はそれによって人間の持つ本能、葛藤とは何かを深く考えさせられるのだ。特にこのSoul Circusを読み終えた直後は、フィクションでありながらもあまりにもエンディングが衝撃的で、PelecanosにWhy？と問いかけたくなった程だ。 何故PelecanosがまだHousehold Nameになっていないのか不思議な位だが、熱烈なファンにとっては、このまま知る人ぞ知る存在のままでいて欲しいような気もしないでもない。

• good book

  Enjoyed reading this book

• Best so far

  The Derek Strange and Terry Quinn books are great reading, and Soul Circus is the best so far. I couldn't put it down. The people in this book were real. The title may be a bit misleading, and I won't explain why, but you can't go wrong with this one.

• Pelecanos can do no wrong!

  Derek Strange is hired to find evidence to keep Granville Oliver from getting the chair. Terry Quinn is helping his girlfriend find a missing girl. How will their cases intersect with a brewing turf war between two gangs? In this Strange and Quinn outing, Pelecanos explores the gang life in Washington DC even deeper than he has in the past and Strange and Quinn are drowning in it. Strange is tracking down evidence that could keep a known gangster alive out of guilt for killing the man's father when he was a cop. Quinn's helping his girlfriend Sue Tracy find a missing girl. Dewayne Durham and Horace McKinley are heading toward a confrontation that can only end in violence. Dewayne's loser brother Mario touches a spark to a trail of gunpowder with an act of thoughtless violence that sends everything into motion. Soul Circus has all the Pelecanos hallmarks: pop culture references, philosophical talk about the nature of guns, violence, and life in DC, and of course, Nick Stefanos. Things start getting tense once Mario finds himself in the soup and they don't let up until a couple bloody moments near the end. The antagonists in Soul Circus are among Pelecanos' best I've read so far. Dewayne's crew and McKinley's crew are all much more developed than the heavies in most detective fiction. Monkey's feelings toward Juwan and his reluctance to harm the kid and Dewayne's feelings for his loser brother made the gangsters seem very real to me. Foreman and his code of ethics and love for his girlfriend made him surprisingly deep for a gunrunner, much more than I thought originally. Strange and Quinn were true to themselves throughout. Strange and Quinn don't actually accomplish much in this book but the detecting is there, as is the violence. Too bad Pelecanos hasn't written more Derek Strange books since I only have one left.

• Gritty characters and terrific story .

  This author immerses you in the characters and the city so well you feel like you are there. The story conclusion is not predictable but appropriate and completes the narrative.

• Book by Pelecanos

  This book is in good condition, and came quickly.

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