Rating: 
Summary: Pelecanos is a Master
Review: Just finshed Sweet Forever and it blew me away. This is not only the best crime fiction book I have ever read, but it is one of the best books period. Pelecanos puts you right in the middle of D.C. in the mid 80s, and you actually feel like you are there. Do yourself a favor and read this book you will not be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: It's only rock 'n roll . . . .
Review: Pelecanos is one of those elusive writers who avoids (either by design or subject matter) the spotlight. Like James Crumley, his body of work is substantial and applauded by those who continually seek him out. He seemingly has yet to break into the Top 40, to coin a music phrase he would probably agree with, but it seems inevitable.Marcus Clay, up from mean streets, is a successful record store owner. Actually four record stores. So successful, Pelecanos points out, his wife Elaine has left him. Right there is an extraordinary subtlety. Pelecanos paints his black characters with the same confusing mish-mosh of emotional color as he does his white characters, saying, 'we are all the same, all confused, all looking for love, losing it, trying to recapture it.' Marcus resists the encroachment of drug dealers in the location of his stores and that resistance turns not surprisingly to bloodshed. Karras, his colorblind Greek friend, suffers the moral dilemma of his own drug habit and recognition of the consequences of his acts. Very compelling; very noir. Highly recommensded. The only caveat I might suggest is that you may want to read some of the earlier works to get a better grip on the personality of the characters. Kudos.
Rating:
Summary: Hard-Boiled with a Heart
Review: Pelecanos should be big, fat, and rich right about now, because everyone should be buying these books, major studios should be optioning these scripts, and A-list actors should be knocking on his door to play these parts. I don't know how I heard about King Suckerman, but I did, I bought it, I loved it, so I bought The Sweet Forever, and I loved it even more. Pelecanos splashes his novels with hard boiled action and violence, but it is the "human" action and the emotions that carry his novels to another plane. His characters are so touching, so stupid, so kind, so terrible, and so real. I am glad I found you Mr. Pelecanos. You've got my dollar. If there were an IPO on your career, I would be "all-in". Oh, and that movie with McQueen and Robinson...one of my favorites, "The Cincinnati Kid". Thanks for throwing in the reference, I will watch it for the 100th time tonight.
Rating:
Summary: BEST BOOK EVER
Review: Quite simply put this is the best novel I have read. I liked King Suckerman, but this book just blows it away. Pelecanos is more in tune with his characters this time around as he captivates us on how life was in that part of town in the late 80's. Although I did find the book a little bit slow at times, one I hit the middle it was explosive. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes crime and is looking for a good or should I say amazing story. On a brief side note: Mr. Pelecanos came around again in the summer with Shame the Devil. I was egar to read this book as soon as it hit the shelves. However, I was not eggar to drop 30 bucks on it. This note is basically directed to the people at the publishing company. If you want more buyers then lower those freaking prices. As for me, i'm saving myself for the paperback.
Rating: 
Summary: At the top of his genre...
Review: Set in Washington DC in the last 1980s, this is a very well done cops and robbers genre detective novel - but then it is much more. Part of why I loved this book was because it was set in a city I know so well that it was a little like being at home. The characters in Pelecanos' story are dirty cops, drug runners and pushers, a couple of record store managers, a couple of street kids (who might or might not go bad), and a backdrop of March Madness in a city that was cheering on the magnificent Len Bias (at U Maryland) the year he suddenly dropped dead (weak heart + cocaine) at the tender age of 22. The book opens with a number of interesting witnesses to a horrible car crash on U Street in which the driver (a drug-runner, we later learn) is decapitated, and the bag containing all his money is snatched impetuously out of the back seat by a bystander who regrets it later. The tale weaves in and out of, primarily, Marcus Clay's (the record store owner) and his buddy, Dimitri Karras's (the manager of the stores) lives during these events. The prose is excellent for a crime novel, and I am eager to continue reading Pelecanos.
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Summary: The Streets of Washington DC in the 80s
Review: Set in Washington DC in the mid-1980s, the drug of choice has now changed from marijuana to cocaine. Dimitri Karras and Marcus Clay are featured again, as in King Suckerman, but Nick Stefanos (both the older and younger) make appearances. To avoid confusion, it is highly recommended that before reading this book you try reading a couple of Pelecanos' earlier books, particularly The Big Blowdown and King Suckerman which are the earlier of this particular series. In this book, a drug car smashes and bursts into flames outside Marcus Cray's Real Right record store. Someone waiting outside the record store walks over to the car and takes a pillowcase filled with money out of the burning car. When the local gang-leader, and owner of the money, finds out about the theft of his dough, he's not very happy and seeks to regain his money. Dimitri and Marcus are drawn into this fight because of their proximity to the original accident. Once again, the mood of the book is set by the use of street talk by the characters, the description of the music they listen to, and the ongoing NCAA basketball tournament of the day. As with all Pelecanos books, the drug culture is strongly featured and appears to have gripped Dimitri pretty tightly now. This is the third of a series of four books, with the fourth title being Shame the Devil.
Rating:
Summary: Sometimes five stars aren't enough
Review: So many books get five-star reviews. Then one like The Sweet Forever comes along and I want to go back and downgrade everything else. Pelecanos' characters come alive. The plot whips around like real life. And the action pops. What a book. This guy just gets better and better.
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Summary: Bitter sweet portrait of a community in decay.
Review: The author manages to juggle a great story with a sizable group of interesting characters. The flaws of the heroes sometimes make them hard to distinguish from the villians. Some characters are both. You never know which direction the players are going to turn in and that keeps you interested to the last.
Rating:
Summary: Well Done and Engrossing
Review: The Sweet Forever is a well done and engrossing crime novel. Pelecanos' story shifts from the Washington DC gang members to the corrupt cops to honest people just trying to get by and back again. It's not really about one crime, like a murder that must be solved. Rather it concerns a chain reaction of events which occur after a bag of drug money is taken from a flaming car. The characters are real and will stay with you after you put the novel down. The resolution is satisfying--nothing canned or predictible here. The Sweet Forever is an enjoyable, engrossing read.
Rating:
Summary: Well Done and Engrossing
Review: The Sweet Forever is a well done and engrossing crime novel. Pelecanos' story shifts from the Washington DC gang members to the corrupt cops to honest people just trying to get by and back again. It's not really about one crime, like a murder that must be solved. Rather it concerns a chain reaction of events which occur after a bag of drug money is taken from a flaming car. The characters are real and will stay with you after you put the novel down. The resolution is satisfying--nothing canned or predictible here. The Sweet Forever is an enjoyable, engrossing read.
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