What It Was. George Pelecanos (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
Gritty hard-boiled mystery. Set in 1972, Derek Strange is a private investigator. He formerly was a DC cop and uses his connections to the force to help solve the case of a missing ring which is entwined with the murderous rampage of criminal Red Fury. The ring is a Macguffin in the story; the true concern of the novel is the pursuit of Red Fury, a mixed race African American hood and his girlfriend, Coco (a madam). I didn't care much about the characters or the plot. There were many references to classic cars, music, and fashion of the period, which also did not interest me. The treatment of the female characters reduced them to sex objects (mainly prostitutes) or mother figures. It was a very "manly" novel that portrayed smoking, drinking, numerous sexual partners, and violence as part of a man's world. The storytelling is very cinematic and I easily envisioned it as a film or tv show. Pelecanos was a writer for the TV show, The Wire, and this novel is similar to that show and will appeal to readers who enjoyed the show. I thought this book was extremely well written. It is set in Washington DC in 1972 and really brought back a lot of memories! The descriptions of the music, the car models and the different brands of cigarettes were choice! I liked the main characters and thought they were clearly defined. Most of the characters were black and much of the slang was foreign to me so it was a bit confusing at times. Parts of it were pretty brutal.I plan to read more by this author.
What do You think about What It Was. George Pelecanos (2012)?
I usually like George Pelecanos and the Night Gardener was excellent. This just didn't meet the bar.
—aroha
Good DC atmosphere and I should know, but too much easy violence as a way out.
—h1563009
