Rating: 
Summary: Tough, gritty urban thriller
Review: "Right As Rain" introduces private investigator Derek Strange, a middle-aged black ex-cop hired to investigate the death of young black cop Chris Wilson at the hands of young white cop Terry Quinn. The story takes place in the racially divided inner-city neighborhoods of Washington, DC, and the author places racial issues front and center throughout, adding to the tension inherent in encounters among characters existing on the fringes of society. The Washington streetscape is described in such detail that I feel like I would recognize every city block were I to find myself in Strange's neighborhood. It's not an idealized capital city but rather one in which vibrant ungentrified neighborhoods give way to filthy ruins dominated by the drug trade. The story is told in tough, spare prose, and even the good guys are men of action, not introspection. They place great importance on musical tastes, but otherwise are more likely to express their feelings by hitting someone, taking a drink, or visiting a prostitute. In the course of the investigation, Strange and Quinn develop a tentative friendship across generational and racial lines, and much of the book involves their negotiating boundaries of trust. Which leads to my complaint - there is an awful lot of driving around listening to music relative to the amount of plot and character development. Perhaps future installments, in which Strange and Quinn's relationship will already have been established, will have more real story.
Rating: 
Summary: an extremely well written modern crime novel..
Review: 'Right As Rain' is my first taste of the writing talents of George Pelecanos. I expected a moderately enjoyable yet forgettable crime novel. But I 'Right As Rain' is much more.George Pelecanos is from Washington DC, the setting of 'Right As Rain'. He captures the social difficulties of this racially mixed city, a city filled with murders, drug peddlers, and a few bent cops. The story is an exciting yet plausible one about a private investigator who is out to unravel the mystery as to why a white cop killed a black cop. Was it self defense or a racially motivated murder? The results are unexpected and totally satisfying. However it's the author's excellent characterizations and fine writing skills (prose) which makes 'Right As Rain' a modern crime classic. Bottom line: a very memorable crime story. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Understated, but hugely satisfying!
Review: After reading George P. Pelacanos last thriller, "Shame the Devil" (five stars, "A SHOTGUN BLAST OF A NOVEL!", review by Christian M. Lyons, Sept. 19, 2000), I expected another slam-bang nailbiter. I wasn't disappointed with "Right As Rain", Pelacanos' latest offering. This time around, he presents it in a much more understated and subtle style. This technique helps build the tension in increments instead of the in-your-face style of the previous book. Still written with the panache and knowledge of all of his previous work, Pelacanos delivers another excellent read! Former policeman-turned-private-investigator Derek Strange is happy with his world outside the police force. His business is doing well, and he thinks he might be in love with his assistant, Janine, though he's unwilling to make that necessary step and commit to her outside of their frequent sleepovers. When the mother of a recently murdered policeman hires Strange to find out the truth about her son's death, he slowly but inevitably he gets drawn in deeper and deeper to a massive coverup...putting his own life in danger. With a believable cast, "Right As Rain" sings like a high-tension wire in a thunderstorm, building to an incredible climax that kept me hooked until the very last word. I recommend reading this immediately, then running out and buying the others from the brilliant brain of George P. Pelacanos!
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Summary: Another author to add to my favorites!!
Review: After reading the reviews here on Amazon.com over and over again, I finally decided to check out "Right as Rain" for myself and see what all the fuss what about, and I'm so glad I did! George Pelecanos has a unique way of writing that's different than any author I've ever read. "Right as Rain" is an intriguing crime story that grabbed my attention from the beginning and didn't let go. Derek Strange and Terry Quinn are both ex-cops from different backgrounds who meet as a result of an investigation Strange is conducting. He's now a private investigator asked to look into the shooting death of a black police officer shot by Quinn. The story takes a lot of unexpected twists and turns once he reluctantly accepts help from Quinn and the two of them start getting closer and closer to the truth. It's an excellent novel, and will not be my last by Pelecanos. I'm hooked! I've already ordered the next two in this great series. Check it out for yourself, you won't be disappointed!
Rating: 
Summary: A Little Bit Annoying
Review: An earlier reviewer wrote, "I think that the constant reference to the music being listened to by the character sets the mood and tone as much as do the descritions of place." I can't disagree more. How does mentioning an album or song in a book set mood and tone? Unless you are familiar with the sountrack to "The Return of the Magnificent Seven" I doubt mentioning it will stir anything inside and unfortunately I didn't have that one layin' around. It gets so bad I found the constant mentioning of specific songs and albums annoying. So if you decide to read this book be sure to get the soundtrack of "Once Upon A Time in the West" first. And I thought it was the authors job to set mood and tone by his/her writing.....
In my opinion, Right As Rain is an average book. I probably won't go any further in the series as I didn't get drawn to either character, Strange or Quinn, and I'm not particularly attracted to the authors writing style. Maybe I will pop in some "Mind Bomb" by "the The" and decide to give him another chance.
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Summary: Strange Journey in Our Capital's Underbelly
Review: As a mystery writer with my first novel in its initial release, I feel George Pelecanos' RIGHT AS RAIN is among his finest works. In RIGHT AS RAIN, Pelecanos introduces a new lead character, PI Derek Strange. Strange, a black man approaching middle-age, is hired by the mother of a slain cop. Chris Wilson, a black cop, is shot and killed by Terry Quinn, a white cop. Quinn is eventually driven off the force, and, oddly, becomes allied with Strange. Together, the men search for the truth among Washington scenes tourists seldom see. Great book.
Rating:
Summary: Great read.
Review: As the other reviewers have stated, it's the story of a tough older black detective (mind you, he's no Danny Glover), and a younger white former cop working together to right some wrongs. This is a much more well rounded story with better defined characters than Pelecanos' previous work, Shame the Devil. The older black cop did tend to get a bit preachy, especially for a stereotypical "player," who sleeps around and kicks it wherever he can. Also was amazing how every character has a tape player in the car and a collection of really cool old funk. I used to work at a garbage transfer station near Rhode Island Avenue metro and I drove through the same neighborhoods, hung out at the Skylark, etc. and the people I knew weren't into cool old music. But then it is fiction and it is entertainment, so I still strongly recommend it.
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Summary: Tough, Gritty and Absorbing Reading
Review: Derek Strange is a fifty-something, small-time, African American private investigator. Most of the people he deals with are black, as are the majority of people living in DC. A grieving mother, Leona Wilson, hires him to find out more about the death of her son, a black beat cop who was shot by a white officer while off duty and apparently trying to arrest a white man for littering. Terry Quinn, the white cop, is now off the force and under no obligation to cooperate with Strange. However as Strange works the case the two find they have a common interest in finding out the full truth behind the shooting and what follows is a descent into barbarism, drugs, bad cops, racial hatred and violence. Pelecanos tells this story without gloss or heroics. The style is smooth, pared down and literate. The characters are complete human beings and he is not afraid to show his readers the emotional lives of the people he paints on his pages, which are often complex and sometimes unpleasant. This is tough, gritty and absorbing reading and I can't recommend it highly enough. Reviewed by Judith Ann Cole
Rating: 
Summary: Dead Boring
Review: Dull slow story, dull characters. I'd read Walter Mosley over this Pelecanos when it comes to stories involving black characters.
Rating:
Summary: Like Cosell, Pelecanos 'tells it like it is.'
Review: First of all, I enjoy Pelecanos more than any mystery writer I'm reading now. His dtories are gritty. It's Raymond Chandler with enhanced First Amendment Rights. It's a movie both by David Mammet and Jerry Bruckmeier. The writing is compact and concise. There's nary a wasted line or paragraph. The prose is tight. And heroes live from paycheck to paycheck. And girlfriends don't wait for good guys who are "works in progress." It's not Danny Glover and Mel Gibson. In "Right as Rain," Terry Quinn is a competant white police officer. One night in a semi-hostage situation, Terry kills a black man on the mean streets of Washington. The victim, who clearly put himself in harms way, was also a police officer, only tonight, his night off, he was wearing street clothes. All involved, IAD, most of his friends and the Police Department in general, exonerate Quinn. The killing, they sing as a Greek Chorus, was rightful. Given the overwhelming evidence that Quinn acted as any police officer would have acted, without the issue of race in any way being present, his shield and his gun are returned. But Pelecanos and the readers aren't quite sure. And I guess either is Terry Quinn, because he quits the force. These are several stories at once. Redemption. The death of denial. Self-awareness. Retribution. The attempt if not to do the right thing, to do the next right thing. And a lot of it has to do with members of two differing races that have harmed eachother so much, and the lack of a roadmap on how to end ignorance and begin breaking bread together. The victim's mother asks Derek Strange, an older, retired African American, now a private investigator, to help clear her son's name. Thus begins an intricate story, and the loose bond of friendship between Quinn and Strange. I think what's unique about Pelecanos is his uneasy sharing of things close to their race between black men and white men. Because we don't get along. And we have to. Some have criticized Pelecanos as sermonizing but I think he's just giving us his roadmap of how to get out of the tricky situation that we put ourselves in. Like Jerry Garcia used to say at the end of a Dead Concert, "You are the band." I think in a Pelecanos novel, to some extent, we are the story. An excellent read.
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