Hell to Pay: A Novel
by George P. Pelecanos
List Price:
Our Price: $7.67
You Save: $17.28 (69%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.24 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: George P. PelecanosEdition: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2002-02-28
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Book Reviews of Hell to Pay: A Novel
Book Review: Hell to read
Summary: 1 Stars
I picked this book up because I am a big fan of The Wire, a TV series that Pelecanos serves as a head writer for. I was hoping for a great crime novel with overlapping plotlines, memorable characters and thought-provoking themes like the TV series. Instead I got a boring, disjointed novel full of tripe dialogue, gratuitous refrences to music that the author probably cribbed off the Billboard top 100, boring moralizing, and lousy sex scenes.
His hereos and villians are one dimensional in the extreme and his use of slang is at-times ludicrously incorrect. As an example I'll focus on the mecahnics of the drug trade described in the novel. The main villian, Garfield 'Death' Potter, is a big time 'hydro' dealer, but doesn't appear to have any sort of hydroponic marijuana operation set up (there's a reason it's called 'hydro'), relies on a midget street dealer to distribute dimes and nicks, and spends most of his time in the novel stealing cars and shooting recalitrant customers (and since when can you find an 'oz' for $100 on the east coast?). What kind of drug dealer is that? A bad one that would definitely not be running the streets of DC. If this were real life, as Pelecanos would obviously like to have the reader believe, Potter would barely be making his money back or in debt to dealers that actually knew what they were doing. I felt like I was reading an after-school special from the early-90s.
Worse, I think Pelecanos thinks he is saying something important with this book, and he constantly tries to remind readers that young people have no respect for life because they listen to rap music instead of classic soul and "blues-metal." The novel is trite in the extreme. Stick to The Wire.
Suspense Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Suspense Books
The Street Lawyerby John Grisham
Random House UK Ltd; Published: 1999-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.95
Price in other shops:
Fire and Ice: A Beaumont and Brady Novel (Beaumont and Brady Novels)by J. A. Jance
William Morrow; Published: 2009-07-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.03
Price in other shops:
Life Sentences: A Novelby Laura Lippman
William Morrow; Published: 2009-03-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
Day of the Deadby J. A. Jance
Harper; Published: 2010-06-29; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Dying for Mercy: A Novel of Suspenseby Mary Jane Clark
HarperLuxe; Published: 2009-08-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.62
Price in other shops:
Nemesis (Harry Hole)by Jo Nesbo
Harper; Published: 2009-01-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $70.58
Hit and Runby Lawrence Block
Harper; Published: 2009-06-30; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.25
Price in other shops:
Final Accountby Peter Robinson
Avon; Published: 2004-09-28; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.75
Price in other shops:
Vapor Trail (Mysteries & Horror)by Chuck Logan
Harper; Published: 2003-04-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.79
Price in other shops:
Amazoniaby James Rollins
HarperAudio; Published: 2002-03-21; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $16.98
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Soul Circusby George Pelecanos
Vision; Published: 2004-02-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
Drama Cityby George P. Pelecanos
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2006-04-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.45
Price in other shops:
King Suckermanby George P. Pelecanos
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 1997-08-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.95
Price in other shops:
The Sweet Foreverby George P. Pelecanos
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 1998-08-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.95
Price in other shops:
A Firing Offenseby George Pelecanos
Back Bay Books; Published: 2011-06-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.91
Price in other shops:
Shame the Devil: A Novelby George P. Pelecanos
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 2000-01-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $36.00
Hard Revolution: A Novelby George Pelecanos
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 2004-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.67
Price in other shops:
Soul Circusby George P. Pelecanos
Little, Brown; Published: 2003-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops:
Right As Rain: A Novelby George P. Pelecanos
Little, Brown; Published: 2001-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.88
Price in other shops:
Right as Rain (Derek Strange/ Terry Quinn)by George P. Pelecanos
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2002-02-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.95