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Product Details
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Picking up where Hell to Pay left off, we find Strange working in Soul Circus on behalf of Granville Oliver, a manipulative black mobster charged with murder and racketeering, who faces the death penalty. To help his client knock that sentence down to life imprisonment, Strange will have to find a nail salon worker named Devra Stokes, who used to be the girlfriend of Phillip Wood, a former associate of Oliver's and now the prosecution's chief witness against him. Stokes had sworn out an abuse complaint against Wood, and might testify that he was behind at least one of the killings Oliver is said to have planned. But, fearing for her own safety and that of her young son, she wants no part of Oliver's defense. Meanwhile, Quinn--against his better judgment--helps a homely, unpredictable gangsta-wannabe, Mario "Twigs" Durham, locate his girlfriend, who supposedly went missing, but in fact skipped out with his drug stash. Even as the threads of this yarn come together amid a deadly gang conflict, Pelecanos stays focused on his characters--not only his intriguingly troubled sleuths, but also a deftly nuanced cop-turned-gun dealer, Ulysses Foreman. Buttressed by Pelecanos's street-slangy prose, Soul Circus delivers an un-blindered perspective on urban life (and death) that manages to be both frightening and hopeful. Not so unlike the city in which it's set. --J. Kingston Pierce --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Read For A Detective Novel,
By Sal Paradise "ethanallen95" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Soul Circus (Mass Market Paperback)
I usually don't read books about gumshoes since I didn't have an interest in the genre. But I read this book because it takes place in Washington, DC, and the author is also a Washingtonian. I throughly enjoyed this book but I don't think the character Terry Quinn was well rounded. He just seemed like a stereotypical angry white male who can't seem to understand "street life". It's not like living in Beirut when you live in Anacostia nor is it a place you want to get caught in walking at night when you're not from around there. Though I found Quinn more interesting than the protagonist Private Investigator Derek Strange, mostly because Quinn played an oddball. He was made out to be at least somewhat knowledgable in what he was doing since he was a former District cop. Then again I was mystified as to why he couldn't figure out how to navigate the urban territories to find this missing girl he was looking for. I found this a little annoying, I mean you don't walk up to people with a gun when you don't plan on shooting them. His death (or possible death?) could've been avoided if he wasn't so stupid in the end. Overall I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading another book with Derek Strange as the main character.
3.0 out of 5 stars
a seemingly very derivative Pelecanos novel...,
By lazza (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Soul Circus (Mass Market Paperback)
Firstly, I have read just about all books by George Pelecanos through 'Soul Circus' ... and so I can be described as one of his fans. I eagerly awaited the publication of 'Soul Circus' in paperback form. Having just finished I am sad to say I was disappointed.Oh, it has all the hallmarks of his other works: gritty urban crime, drugs, and despair in Washington, DC. It also has one of Pelecanos's regular characters, the self-employed private eye Derek Strange (..he was also in 'Hell to Pay' and 'Right as Rain'). Yet somehow the story seems vaguely similar, sort of a blend of his prior novels. Could I be suffering from 'Pelecanos burn out'? No, this is the first of his books I've read in several months. Bottom line: for those who haven't read anything from Pelecanos, skip this book at go to 'Right as Rain', 'Hell to Pay', or one of the several books leading with the Nick Stephanos character.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Uneven at best,
By Glen McKee (Sun City, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Soul Circus (Mass Market Paperback)
I know I'm in the minority here, but I found this book to be mostly boring, with not much to distinguish it from the one that came before it. There are too many similarities: Strange has to get his [hair] correct a few times, multiple unnecessary mentions of music choices, gratuitous conversations between Strange and Quinn. For me, the repeated music references were particularly grating. They seem like the author's way of telling you how hip and varied his music tastes are, and often don't seem to serve much purpose in the story. There is still plenty of good stuff in here, but you have to wade through the bad to get to it.
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