Police crime fiction is not my usual genre but I’m headed to DC for vacation and wanted some books to read while there. This one was on the list because it takes place in and around DC.

I listened to the audio version which is read by the author. Nothing wrong with the narration; I do like when the author reads because they intone how it was written, but he’s no voice actor if you catch my drift.

From the start I was not in love with this book; too many characters to keep track of for one and the “cop” lingo/language was kind of irksome. In the end it was revealed a little why the author chose to have them speak like this but it was a bit much for my taste.

I do like NCIS and Law & Order SVU but those are 30 min. shows that I might binge one day and not watch again for years. This book would have been a good show but as a book it was just okay and I found myself “checking out” a lot. It held my attention enough to finish it and I do appreciate the author wrapping it all up nicely in the end.

Audio book narrated by the author.
3.5*** (4**** for the book / 3*** for the audio)

Detective Gus Ramone thinks he recognizes a signature in the body of a local teen found shot in a community garden in a middle-class area of Washington DC. Twenty years ago, when he was just a rookie, Ramone and his partner Dan “Doc” Holiday” assisted veteran detective T.C. Cook in the investigation of several murders. The serial killer, dubbed “The Night Gardener” because the bodies were left in gardens, was never found. Now Ramone must wonder whether the murderer is back, or whether this is a copycat. Cook is long since retired, but the case still haunts him. Holiday is no longer on the force, having quit under a cloud of suspicion, and now operates a limousine service. But this boy’s death will bring all three men together in an effort to finish the work begun decades previously.

Pelecanos writes a tight, suspenseful mystery/thriller. I was completely drawn into the story and there were enough complexities to the plot to keep me guessing all the way through. The action is fast but he still takes time to carefully draw his characters, slowly revealing one layer at a time and demonstrating that the line between right and wrong, truth and justice, good guys and bad guys is frequently blurred. This is my first Pelecanos, but it won’t be my last!

Had I read the text, I would have rated this higher because the quality of the writing merited 4-stars. However, Pelecanos read the audio book himself. His lack of voice-over training means that most characters sound the same and with a fast moving plot it was sometimes hard to distinguish who was speaking. On the other hand, perhaps he was purposely going for that “jaded cop” quality. Audio gets only 3-stars.

I spotted this book in the budget box of our local charity shop, and because every now and then I like to read books by authors I have not read, or even heard of, I thought I would give it a try. I started it that same day, and I have to confess that I almost gave it up after a couple of chapters. The writing style, a kind of "street" style, was completely new to me, and I found it difficult to adjust to. But I am so glad that I persevered, because it turned out to be an absolutely super read.
Once I became used to it, the writing style became really appealing, and combined with a great storyline, I didn't want to put the book down.
There are two unrelated subplots here, each one with great characters, most of them not very likeable, and the two stories are well intertwined.
Highly recommended for lovers of police procedural novels.

Although the book was an easy read due to short chapters, it did not make good use of the 370 plus pages and could have been much shorter. The book also covered far too many characters, many of them erroneous to the plot, making it difficult to remember who anyone was. I thought the writing was mediocre and at times even cheesy.

There are some redeeming factors of the book, including it bringing attention to race, economic, and relationship issues present in the District. But, even with this in mind, I probably would not recommend it