The title refers to a series of murders in 1985 that forms the back story to this novel. Popular music is the subject of much discussion among the male characters in the night gardener. The night gardener by george pelecanos 2006, hardcover. Pelecanos drama city delivers a dignified, characterdriven epic that succeeds as both literary novel and pageturner. Twenty years after a string of unsolved teenage murders in washington d. The victim is a 14yearold girl, and the police are all over. The night gardener is a 2006 crime novel by george pelecanos. It is a great book for the same reasons that the wire, for which pelecanos wrote, is a great television show. Pelecanos is the author of eighteen novels set in and around washington, d. The night gardener kindle edition by pelecanos, george p download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
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. He is also an independentfilm producer, an essayist, and the recipient of numerous international writing awards. The night gardener by george pelecanos hachette book group. The turnaround won the hammett prize for literary excellence in the field of crime writing. It opens and closes in 1985, at the latest horrific crime scene of a serial killer with a unique mo. George pelecanos the author of several critically acclaimed and bestselling books, george p. 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 best american comparison, in fact, is james lee burke, who also keeps writing the same churning book over and over and. Pelecanoss last book, drama city, is a masterpiece of american crime fiction. You can take pelecanos out of his two dc series starring nick stefanos shame. The latest from george pelecanos drama city, soul circus is a literary mystery titled the night gardener. Author pelecanos has also written and published several short fiction stories in a number of magazines and anthologies.
George pelecanos books, ebooks, audiobooks, biography. Ramone wonders if the night gardener has returnedand why he might have. Cook tends to the scene, observed by two nearrookies. 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. Pelecanos is the author of the martini shot, the night gardener, hell to pay and d. The night gardener by george pelecanos, paperback barnes. The night gardener by george pelecanos 2006, hardcover trending price. Ramone wonders if the night gardener has returnedand why he might have been inactive for all those years.
How does the city shape the events of the night gardener. The prologue to george pelecanoss new book, the night gardener, is set in 1985. 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. He worked as a line cook, dishwasher, bartender, and womans shoe salesman before publishing his first novel in 1992. He worked as a producer, writer, and story editor for the hit hbo series the wire. The victims were all teenagers, their bodies found in public gardens. The unsolved murders from two decades before expose the fault lines that run through the d. Again, i think readers here should definitely read a pelecanos novel or two, including drama city, before picking up the night gardener. The past folds around the present in the night gardener, a novel whose central mystery stretches across two decades. Excellent pelecanos book withstands being abridged would you listen to the night gardener again. This was one of my favorite books and now i want to read all of george pelecanos books. Aside from being an author, pelecanos also works as a. The night gardener kindle edition by pelecanos, george p.
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. Pelecanos is also an independent film producer, awardwinning journalist, and essayist. 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. It is set in washington, dc and focuses on homicide detective gus ramone, and excops dan. Janet maslin, new york times the night gardener can be read as a police procedural. Like drama city it is heartinyourthroat gripping from beginning to end, the night gardener is another of mr. 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. You can take pelecanos out of his two dc series starring nick stefanos shame the devil, 2000, etc. The night gardener by george p pelecanos, 9780316056502, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. The night gardener can be read as a police procedural hipper but just as good as those of the late, great ed mcbain.
By doing so, he emulated author michael connelly, who used this idea first. The other thriller i read for this genre week was the night gardener by george pelecanos 2006. Pelecanos is an american novelist of detective fiction. See all books authored by george pelecanos, including right as rain, and the big blowdown, and more on. The night gardener, by george pelecanos, little, brown, 372 pp. 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. 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. I really enjoyed this and would highly recommend to anyone who likes.
In 2006, author pelecanos wrote the night gardener, which depicted a major change in writing style and also depicted his own cameo. The night gardener 2006 read online free book by george. The night gardener npr coverage of the night gardener by george p. 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. Review of the night gardener by george pelecanos, plus backstory and other interesting facts about the book. Twenty years later, a murder with the same telltale characteristics occurs. George pelecanos books list of books by author george. Pelecanoss beautifully delineated moral tales, filled with gutwrenching turns of fate and razorsharp, boisterously vivid characters. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the night gardener by george pelecanos. 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. This is one of the two principal themes of george pelecanos 14th book, the night gardener.
What other book might you compare the night gardener to, and why. When the body of a local teenager turns up in a community garde. The hard truth that solving a murder does not undo or right the irreversible wrong of the act of killing. The night gardener by george pelecanos books hachette. 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. George pelecanos sets his fiction in and around washington, d. 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. The prologue to george pelecanos s new book, the night gardener, is set in 1985. 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. 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.