The Big Blowdown (Paperback)
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?Pelecanos has enormous strengths as a crime writer. He can?t write a dull sentence, his dialogue has great rhythm, his action scenes are ferociously effective? Observer ?Pelecanos has joined James Lee Burke and Lawrence Block at the high table of contemporary crime greats? The Times ?Stands head and shoulders above the output of better known writers. Superb? Independent on Sunday
Washington DC, 1946. For two local young men, Pete Karras and Joey Recevo, the easiest way to find work after the war is by providing a little muscle for a local boss who runs a protection racket with the Mafia. The trouble with Pete Karras is that he is just too soft on his fellow immigrants, and the last thing the boss wants is for his mob to get soft. The boys have to teach Karras a painful lesson that he won?t forget. Three years later Pete and Joey meet up once more and a final confrontation puts the meaning of friendship and honour to the ultimate test. The Big Blowdown is the first novel in Pelecanos?s acclaimed ?Washington Quartet?.
George Pelecanos
George Pelecanos was born in Washington, DC in 1957. He has worked as producer, writer and story editor for the acclaimed and award-winning US crime series, The Wire<i>; his writing for the show earned him an Emmy nomination. He is the author of fifteen crime novels set in and around Washington, DC. The Big Blowdown was the recipient of the International Crime Novel of the Year award in both Germany and Japan; King Suckerman was shortlisted for the Gold Dagger Award in the UK. His short fiction has appeared in Esquire and the collections Unusual Suspects and Best American Mystery Stories of 1997. He is an award-winning journalist and pop-culture essayist who has written for the Washington Post. Pelecanos has also been involved in the production of several feature films. Most recently he has written an adaptation of King Suckerman for Dimension Films, and was co-writer on Paid in Full. Pelecanos lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his wife and three children.