Drama City Book

Drama City is one of the least gloom-laden of George Pelecanos' excellent thrillers about the underside of Washington DC, not because it lacks his usual high-energy scenes of mayhem and betrayal, but because, for once, there are some vestiges of hope left here. Lorenzo was a gang-banger and went to jail for crimes less serious than some he had committed--now he works as an enforcer for the Humane Society, busting people who mistreat their dogs, and he has genuinely got his life back on track. Rachel Lopez is his probation officer, a good and conscientious public servant, and an alcoholic whose personal life is spinning out of control. Lorenzo's friend Nigel is still in the life--a dealer in drugs and violence; yet even he gets a chance to do the right thing and takes it. This panoramic view of slums and drug dens and dog-fighting pits is as thoroughly peopled as Pelecanos' other books, and makes us invest in those people even more seriously than ever before. This is thriller as social comment and spectacularly intelligent about precisely why drugs still have a hold on people without hope. --Roz KaveneyRead More