King Suckerman [Mass Market Paperback]

All of this lightly covers some heavier issues underneath the surface of King Suckerman; chiefly race, drugs, and violence in our nation's capitol. Marcus Clay is a black DC record store owner (Real Right Records) and Demitri Karras is a young white man with no clear direction in his life. The two play ball together on DC's famed city courts, and when a simple drug deal draws Clay into pulling a gun on a local dealer, Karras and Clay become the subject of the dealer's (and some out of town boys') revenge.

The novel follows a pretty tight storyline from there with the redneck goons tracking down Karras and Clay, ultimately leading to the novel's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly style climax on a DC bicentenial July 4th with fireworks exploding in the background!

As with other Pelecanos novels (Right as Rain, Shame the Devil, Soul Circus, The Sweet Forever), King Suckerman is a deeply moral novel where redemption and loyalty rises above ignorance and hatred. There is an interesting passage in Suckerman where Karras finds out that a young kid he's sold some dope to has died in an automobile accident, and for a time he seems torn, trying to choose between right and wrong, friendship and honor. At the end of the novel, Karras does have a focus and a responsibility, and through friendship, he comes to be a more mature character. It's the kind of ending that leaves you wanting to see what'll happen next in Karras's life, now that he has matured. Fortunately, that novel has been written (Shame the Devil) and is every bit as intense and powerful as King Suckerman. If you're new to Pelecanos, my best recommendation would be to read his more recents books (or to check out HBO's The Wire, for which he writing this season) and see if his style appeals to you. If it does, you'll eventually want to read King Suckerman because it is one of the brightest, funniest novels in Pelecanos's ouvre. I highly recommend this novel!

Stacey

In 'King Suckerman' the author spends a lot of time, arguably too much time, on waltzing through 1970s memory lane. Blaxploitation flicks and the music of the times dominate the book. Yes, there are some nasty dudes in this book, lots of drug dealing, but before long we realize the author isn't going to deliver anything special. George Pelacanos has done much better ('Shame the Devil', 'Right as Rain').

Bottom line: the author seems to be into more of a nostalgia trip rather than writing a crime novel. But for those craving a taste of pre-disco 1970s ambiance this book is "really baaad".