He worked as a producer, writer, and story editor for the hit hbo series the wire. The night gardener by george pelecanos, paperback barnes. The victim is a 14yearold girl, and the police are all over. It is a great book for the same reasons that the wire, for which pelecanos wrote, is a great television show. The title refers to a series of murders in 1985 that forms the back story to this novel. What other book might you compare the night gardener to, and why.
Janet maslin, new york times the night gardener can be read as a police procedural. Popular music is the subject of much discussion among the male characters in the night gardener. George pelecanos the author of several critically acclaimed and bestselling books, george p. The night gardener is a 2006 crime novel by george pelecanos. George pelecanos books, ebooks, audiobooks, biography.
Pelecanos is the author of the martini shot, the night gardener, hell to pay and d. He is also an independentfilm producer, an essayist, and the recipient of numerous international writing awards. Pelecanos is the author of eighteen novels set in and around washington, d. The best american comparison, in fact, is james lee burke, who also keeps writing the same churning book over and over and. Sometimes, youre reading a book and all you want to do is grab whoevers in the room and say, listen to this, and then read a patch of the writing out loud. The latest from george pelecanos drama city, soul circus is a literary mystery titled the night gardener. The hard truth that solving a murder does not undo or right the irreversible wrong of the act of killing. The prologue to george pelecanos s new book, the night gardener, is set in 1985. The night gardener 2006 read online free book by george. Again, i think readers here should definitely read a pelecanos novel or two, including drama city, before picking up the night gardener. Pelecanos is also an independent film producer, awardwinning journalist, and essayist. Of course, pelecanos has been writing these sorts of books for longer than the wire has been on the air, so i suppose the wire is very pelecanos esque. Pelecanos drama city delivers a dignified, characterdriven epic that succeeds as both literary novel and pageturner. It opens and closes in 1985, at the latest horrific crime scene of a serial killer with a unique mo.
The night gardener, by george pelecanos, little, brown, 372 pp. Ramone wonders if the night gardener has returnedand why he might have. Pelecanoss last book, drama city, is a masterpiece of american crime fiction. It is set in washington, dc and focuses on homicide detective gus ramone, and excops dan doc holiday and tc cook as they investigate the possible return of a serial killer. The night gardener by george pelecanos books hachette. This was one of my favorite books and now i want to read all of george pelecanos books. See all books authored by george pelecanos, including right as rain, and the big blowdown, and more on. Pelecanoss beautifully delineated moral tales, filled with gutwrenching turns of fate and razorsharp, boisterously vivid characters. Twenty years ago, officers gus ramone and dan holiday were brought together by the murder of eve drake, 14, whose palindromic first name marked her as the. Though it comes up a bit shy in both departments the novel is nonetheless a wellwritten, atmospheric, characterdriven epic that some will find to be an earbending thriller. George pelecanos is the author of several highly praised and bestselling novels, including the cut, what it was, the way home, the turnaround, and the night gardener.
Twenty years after a string of unsolved teenage murders in washington d. The past folds around the present in the night gardener, a novel whose central mystery stretches across two decades. Bigger and even more unstoppable than his previous thrillers, george pelecanos achieves in the night gardener what his brilliant career has been building toward. Ramone wonders if the night gardener has returnedand why he might have been inactive for all those years. The night gardener npr coverage of the night gardener by george p. In 2006, author pelecanos wrote the night gardener, which depicted a major change in writing style and also depicted his own cameo. It is set in washington, dc and focuses on homicide detective gus ramone, and excops dan. I really enjoyed this and would highly recommend to anyone who likes. George pelecanos sets his fiction in and around washington, d. Author pelecanos has also written and published several short fiction stories in a number of magazines and anthologies. The other thriller i read for this genre week was the night gardener by george pelecanos 2006. The night gardener kindle edition by pelecanos, george p download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Cook tends to the scene, observed by two nearrookies. Review of the night gardener by george pelecanos, plus backstory and other interesting facts about the book.
The night gardener george pelecanos grand central publishing paperback 464 pages august 2007. Like drama city it is heartinyourthroat gripping from beginning to end, the night gardener is another of mr. The victims were all teenagers, their bodies found in public gardens. The night gardener by george pelecanos 2006, hardcover trending price. Of course, pelecanos has been writing these sorts of books for longer than the wire has been on the air, so i suppose the wire is very pelecanosesque. By doing so, he emulated author michael connelly, who used this idea first. So, unlike the traditional crime mysteries where all is right with the world once the killer is apprehended, solving the cause of the death that is the heart of this story is no reason to rejoice. You can take pelecanos out of his two dc series starring nick stefanos shame the devil, 2000, etc. The night gardener, pelecanos 14th book after drama city and hard revolution, is a novel whose back story is the story. George pelecanos books list of books by author george. Twenty years later, a murder with the same telltale characteristics occurs. You can take pelecanos out of his two dc series starring nick stefanos shame. The night gardener by george pelecanos 2006, hardcover.
But it is also a wise, textured examination of life in urban america, as sophisticated as the best work of richard pricepelecanoss last book, drama city, is a masterpiece of american crime fiction. The night gardener by george p pelecanos, 9780316056502, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. This is one of the two principal themes of george pelecanos 14th book, the night gardener. Aside from being an author, pelecanos also works as a. The night gardener is george pelecanos stunning new crime thriller the story of two very different men united by the maliciousness of a deadly attacker. How does the city shape the events of the night gardener.
The night gardener is a book about crime, but its mostly a book about people those who commit crime, those impacted by it, those who look for its perpetrators. When the body of a local teenager turns up in a community garde. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the night gardener by george pelecanos. George pelecanos is one of the writers of the wire and the night gardener, while not actually set in the same universe as wed say in the scifi world, feels very much the wireesque. Pelecanos is an american novelist of detective fiction. The prologue to george pelecanoss new book, the night gardener, is set in 1985. The night gardener has a strong claim to be regarded as his most impressive indivudual work, john dugdale sunday times george pelecanos is a stunningly good chronicler of the mean streets of washington dc.
In the bygone age of 1985, detective tc cooke, with young cops gus ramone and dan holiday in tow, tried to save a string of murders dubbed the palindrome killer, aka the night gardener, and failed. The night gardener can be read as a police procedural hipper but just as good as those of the late, great ed mcbain. While it is set against the crime drama framework, underneath it is actually about something much larger than the crime being depicted. The unsolved murders from two decades before expose the fault lines that run through the d. The night gardener by george pelecanos hachette book group. Holiday, though hes been off the job for years, calls on longretired cook, who tells him of a suspect he could never quite bring to book, a suspect whos recently been released from prison after serving 19plus years. He worked as a line cook, dishwasher, bartender, and womans shoe salesman before publishing his first novel in 1992. The night gardener by george pelecanos gus ramone is good police, a former internal affairs investigator now working homicide for the citys violent crime branch. Excellent pelecanos book withstands being abridged would you listen to the night gardener again. Just listen to how this guy riffs on street life, you want to say. The night gardener, the fourteenth novel from awardwinning author george pelecanos, offers yet more evidence of a writer at the top of his game. The night gardener kindle edition by pelecanos, george p.
978 678 431 1308 1388 1523 532 589 1327 1178 1440 1349 1124 969 383 898 153 200 488 833 1510 1027 1186 1469 298 438 942 90 1533 651 1224 941 132 650 939 100 15 472 485 119 1449 1440 141 1037