Created by George P. Pelecanos
(1957–)
“There are certain bars I don’t hang in… I’m not gonna sit around and have drinks with people who are, you know, ironic.”
— Lucas in The Cut
With The Cut (2011), crime writer George Pelecanos introduced Iraq war vet SPERO LUCAS, a 29-year old man adopted by Greek-Americans. It’s Pelecanos’ latest troubled young man; another battered soul who’s already seen far too much, and is still trying to figure out how to make his way in the world without being crushed by it.
Lucas thinks maybe he’s found a way, working occasionally for a hot-shot defense lawyer in Washington, D.C., doing “special” investigations. But what he really does is retrieve lost or stolen property.
Sometimes from some not very nice people.
On behalf of some not very nice people.
No questions asked.
Lucas’ cut?
Forty percent.
For those of you who’ve followed Pelecanos’ work faithfully since the beginning, you know what a big deal this is, and what a blast it could be: a new P.I.-type character from one of the very best writers working the gumshoe genre these days — and one who for too long has been pursuing other, non-P.I. writing goals.
Not that Pelecanos’ standalones like The Night Gardener or his awesome work on HBO’s The Wire and Treme haven’t been appreciated, but gee, George, it’s good to have you back where you belong.
And Spero, it turns out, is a real treat, a genuine product of his time; a post 9/11, pre-social media and pre-Trump time slot that seemed, in retrospect, rife with possibilites. Too bad Spero doesn’t fit in.
He’s definitely not your grandfather’s gumshoe. Lucas will occasionally sketch something in a small notebook, but mostly he dictates notes right into his ever-present iPhone (so much so, that I wonder if Apple co-sponsored the book), and is quick to use it to take photos as well. Nor does he sit in dives in his off hours and work on his elbow-bending — nope, he works out, and bicycles and goes for long walks all over D.C., and he enjoys good food, the local music scene and the company of women.
And that, for the most part, is his life. He doesn’t seem to have many long range plans.
He’s a recently returned vet from Iraq who’s just fallen into his present occupation, almost as if by accident. As he explains it, “When I came back from the Middle East, I did a little security work. Limo companies, driving celebrities and dignitaries, like that. I also silent-bounced at a couple of clubs. One night at the bar I met a woman whose boyfriend had stolen her jewelry before he broke up with her. She was a nice person and this guy was a bully; he’d fucked her over… I agreed to try and get her stuff back. She asked me what my fee was, and forty per cent came into my head. I don’t know why… Her jewelry was worth a lot of money, and my take was substantial. I thought, I can get used to this.”
You gotta love THAT voice. A former altar boy who still believes; a young man who makes a point of visiting his mom and having supper with her and his brother (a black high school teacher) and attending church on a regular basis on the one hand, and on the other, a seasoned combat vet who’s more than willing to get his hands bloody, if that’s what he’s gotta do.
Somehow, Pelecanos has crawled right into Lucas’ head, and given us a totally unique voice we haven’t heard from yet. Sure, at times the tidal wave of 20-something pop culture references may seem a little forced at times (Pelecanos is my age), but there’s no doubt he’s really tapped into something that seemed fresh and new at the time — a long walk from the semi-alcoholic, cynical, brooding middle-aged private eye loners we all grew up on.
Ebook readers of The Cut got an extra: “Chosen,” a short, non-crime story detailing the history of Lucas’ Greek-American parents and their multi-racial adopted family (much like Pelecanos’ own). Not essential, perhaps, but it set up a world and a life, and I wondered, at the time, how the author would develop and grow.
The answer came in The Double (2013), which found Lucas still at loose ends with the world, finding refuge in a case that seems simple enough: retrieve a valuable painting that his married client’s ex stole from her. But it turns out the ex is a violent gangster with a small army of thugs at his disposal. Even worse, her begins a steamy affair with his client, even though she’s married.
It was a rock ’em/sock ’em read, a angsty existentialist cry from the heart, with Lucas caught in between what he wants and what he wants to be.
Sadly, the lucrative world of television beckoned, and Pelecanos’ literary output has slowed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
George Pelecanos a producer and an Emmy-nominated writer on the HBO hit series The Wire, Treme, and The Deuce, and the author of several bestselling novels set in and around Washington, D.C. He’s also the creator of Washington D.C. eyes Nick Stefanos and mismatched gumshoes Derek Strange & Terry Quinn. He lives in Maryland.
THE EVIDENCE
- “I find things for people… I retrieve things that were lost or stolen.”
UNDER OATH
- “… perhaps America’s greatest living crime writer.”
— Stephen King - “Pelecanos is incapable of writing a book that isn’t gripping, and the dialogue is of a brilliance comparable only with Elmore Leonard and George V Higgins.”
―The Times on The Cut - “Pelecanos keeps readers on their toes with a series of twists that confound stereotypes, drilling the plot along with breakneck prose, sassy dialogue and even shifting into a serious analysis at modern society in all its flawed glory. Exceptional.”
―The Big Issue on The Cut - “It’s astonishing all the good stuff Pelecanos can pack into one unpretentious book: meaty substance, multiple story lines, vital characters, choice dialogue and all those descriptive details … that make the story so rich.”
― Marilyn Stasio on The Double (New York Times Book Review) - “Pelecanos’ work has antecedents in the books and films of Richard Stark (Donald Westlake), John D. MacDonald, Elmore Leonard and Don Siegel but also a spooky magic all his own — thanks to the utter believability he maintains.”
―Tom Nolan on The Double (Wall Street Journal)
SHORT STORIES
- “Chosen” (2011, The Cut)
Available in digital editions of The Cut, this mini-vignette tells the story of Lucas’s parents, and their adopted multi-racial family. Not a bit of crime in it, but absolutely awesome.
NOVELS
- The Cut (2011) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
- The Double (2013) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
- Dennis Lehane and George Pelecanos: Hard-Boiled Buddies
Illuminating interview conducted by Crescent Blues, featuring Pelecanos and fellow crimewriter Dennis Lehane at a joint reading and book signing at the Mystery Bookshop in Bethesda, Md., in June 1999. Now lost. - George Pelecanos: Hard-boiled Family Values
Biography and interview conducted by Jennifer Schuessler. A lot of background details on his life prior to writing the Stefanos series. “I thought writers were WASPy guys… not Greek kids like me who worked in carryout shops.” (January 2000, Publishers Weekly) - It’s All About Soul
The January Magazine review of Hard Revolution by Thrilling Detective Web Site editor Kevin Burton Smith. - Capitol Crimes
Washington D.C. Eyes & Other Hard-Boiled Fiction
Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
