Hell to Pay: A Novel by George P. Pelecanos Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Hell to Pay: A Novel
Book Review: Hell, to pay for this book was wrong.
Summary: 1 Stars
I agree with the negative reviews. I found this book to be slow,disjointed and "un"-involving. There are more characters here than in a Robert Ludlum novel but in this case, none of them add to the plot, or plots, I should say as there are many sub-stories. I know the book is supposed to be a statement on how tough life in Washington D.C. is but the message gets lost due to a weak story-line. I saw this in the bargin bin at Barnes& Noble and gave it a shot due to the reviews here. But I feel even my $5.98 was too much. If I read Pelecanos again, I'll be looking on the library shelves.Book Review: Strange? No. Noir? Nein. Boring? Yes.
Summary: 2 Stars
I have to wonder at the nepotism of the authors on this book jacket, like Lehane, calling Pelecanos "one of the best crime novelists alive." Maybe it applies to earlier books, but with this as my first exposure to Pelecanos I'm not sure I'll find out. I laugh at this being called noir because he finds current cultural references to spit out. Just listen to these people talk--the most stilted dialogue I can imagine:
"What?" said Tracy.
"Nothing."
"You were staring at me."
"Sorry."
"I don't know why I mentioned my father."
"I don't either. Let's get to work, okay?"
This kind of uptight and forced dialogue goes on ad nauseam. Ouch. And Pelecanos obviously needs to fill space, filing whole scenes telling the reader about Pee Wee football, what the offensive play calls mean. Noir should not be stiff, and stiff is what Strange is. Lehane may not be always as current but he is fifty times more hip because he isn't out to prove knowledge of the latest rave club or music group. From the reviews here it appears this guy gets polarized reactions so I still encourage you to read him. But maybe start with a library book, like I did.