Shame the Devil by George P. Pelecanos Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Shame the Devil
Book Review: Overrated
Summary: 2 Stars
I don't understand how so many people liked this book. The characters were bland, the ending was beyond predictable, and Pelecanos is (despite what critics say) horrible at street slang. His Greek and Jazz references are tedious and forced, and the whole story was chopped up just to give the illusion of a fast pace. Very disappointed, especially since I am such a big fan of his writing on The Wire.Book Review: PELECANOS HAS DONE BETTER!...
Summary: 3 Stars
In my humble openion Pelcanos has done better in some of his other books. The first thirty three pages of this one was great, then about the next hundred pages were so slow and boring in was hard to keep on reading. Frank Farrow and Roman Otis do their bad deeds in the first part of the book. The families and friends left behind bond together and meet once a week. Farrow and Otis decide to come back to town to do another robbery and to kill an ex-cops son. Will they get away with it? Someone is waiting for them with fury in his heart, he is determined to kill them both. But, can he? Take out the middle part of the book and it is a five. Hard not to have a middle part though.Book Review: PELECANOS-ELMORE LEONARD MOVE 5 Stars
I caught Mr. Pelecanos being interviewed on NPR the other day, and decided to purchase one of his paperbacks. Lucky for me, Shame The Devil was selected.....Do you know the feeling when you find a new author who has written numerous books, and you realize that his style of writing, descripions, etc., strike a chord within you, and you realize you now have numerous hours of enjoyment reading? It is a time of great joy! This is how Shame The Devil affected me. As a born and raised native Washingtonian, I can attest that his descriptions of bars, homes, etc. are exactly how they are in DC and surrounding parts, and as retired law enforcement officer, who now does investigations and process serving in all areas of DC, I can vouch for his first hand descriptions of the streets of the DC area. When Mr Pelecanos creates his characters, the reader is treated to all aspects of their persona, including weaknesses and strengths, their ability and inability to deal with tragedy, and a sense of what motivates each person. He delivers great insight on black/white prejudices, and how people survive in a sometime hostile, deadly enviroment. The murderers in this story are mean and nasty enough, and the victims will warrant sympathy. His use of music, naming songs and artists that the characters are listening to on the radio also add to the atmosphere. Mr. Pelecanos has lived a lifetime farther than his 44 years on this earth. He truly is a student/observer of human behavior. I believe his use of his characters' inner mental dialogue is very similiar to another of my favorite writers, Ken Follett. Do I suggest you buy this book? I suggest you buy all 10 of his books. I did. I gotta go now, it's time to read.Book Review: Pelecanos is a genius at writing about bad guys
Summary: 5 Stars
I would almost rate this a 5 star book based only on the descriptions and the dialogue of the bad guys in it. I don't know how an author could develop such an intriguing way of writing about bad guys and their interaction. Has Pelecanos spent time in prison or has he been an active criminal? I doubt it, but he had to have some way to sharpen his writing skills beyond just reading others' books and watching movies, etc.In addition to the virtues of the book which are mentioned above, there's a pretty good story going on here as well. Maybe not as good as in some other Pelecanos books, but good enough to keep me wondering what was coming. My only reservation about the book was that there were so many characters that I could have used a character list to help me keep track of who's who. That's a feature I've seen occasionally and would like to see more often.
Overall, I'd rate this an outstanding work by an outstanding writer. I can't wait to get into another one of his books.
Book Review: Powerful, gritty storytelling
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm new to George Pelecanos with this book, but it seems like the world at large is now getting to know him through his involvement in the HBO series The Wire (writing and producing). Shame the Devil is an interesting character study that becomes tremendously suspenseful in the 2nd half. I enjoyed the shifting focus, back and forth from Nick Stefanos the ex-cop and PI, to Dimitri Karras and the other members of the survivors group, and of course to the bad guys. There was no single lead character in this book, but I was glad just to go with the flow of the story. This is also a tale that builds grippingly to a grim conclusion. It was literally a page-turner -- I had to force myself to slow down and not skip anything. I picked this up as a bargain book, and feel grateful to be introduced to an author whose other works I will seek out.