The Night Gardener [Paperback]

Detectives Gus Ramone, "Doc" Holiday, and T.C. Cook come together to solve a twenty year old mystery. In 1985 three teenagers were murdered in what was called The Palindrome Murders. Twenty years later another teenager is murdered in the same fashion, which leads the three detectives to believe the killer is on the move again.

The story takes place around the Washington, D.C. area, where the author describes the places and events in a way that makes the reader feel they, themselves, are invisible spectators within the novel.

The book is filled with the raw dialogue of opposing cultures--the tough talking homicide detectives and the street-smart criminal gang types. Although, this is primarily a man's book with lots of macho bantering, it is an exciting modern mystery that can be thoroughly enjoyed by all. It's a page-turner from beginning to end! I would definitely give this one 5 stars.

I can't call this book a thriller. It is so much more. It is, simply, the best crime novel I've read in several years. This book was my first introduction to George Pelecanos, and already I've added several more of his books to my TBR pile.

The Night Gardener begins in 1985, at the scene of a homicide committed by a serial killer known as "the night gardener"who has been targeting teenage victims. It is here that we are first introduced to three police officers: patrolmen Gus Ramone and Dan Holiday, and detective T.C. Cook. We are offered only a brief glimpse before the novel jumps to 2005. Gus Ramone, now a detective, divides his time between work and family. Dan Holiday is a cop no longer, but provides chauffeur services with security to the wealthy. T.C. Cook, now retired, is haunted by the faces of the serial killers victims, and longs to bring the killer to justice. The discovery of another homicide that bears remarkable similarities to the unsolved cases of twenty years ago brings these three men together.

Let me start my review with a warning. The dialogue in this book is extremely raw, including almost constant profanity and vulgar references. That being said, Pelecanos writes some of the best dialogue I've ever read. Personally, I wish the language could have been cleaner, but it might not have felt so authentic if that had been the case.

The Night Gardener really surprised me, in a good way. I was expecting a page-turning murder mystery which would resolve itself in a tidy black and white ending by the last page. Instead, I found a book which was almost a constant shade of gray, and which compelled me to keep reading because of the powerful questions it made me ask myself. I was especially impressed with the ending of the novel. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll simply say that for me I don't feel that it could have ended any other way.

I also appreciated that Pelecanos avoided so many of the typical plot devices that are present in so many crime novels. For once, I appreciated reading about a police officer who was a devoted husband and father, as opposed to a self-destructive hero. I was also fascinated by Pelecanos presentation of the racial tensions that are present in Washington D.C., and I appreciated that he was able to present more than one viewpoint. Pelecanos has made a fan of me with this one.

If you are looking for a crime novel with true substance, you can't do better than this. Just don't say I didn't warn you about the potty talk.

This book is classic Pellecanos: deep characterizations of both people and places, real and raw dialog and situations, and a plot with multiple tracks running through it. This is a well-worn genre, but this novel, rather than being yet another facile and slick crime novel or thriller, is a very frank and nuanced exploration of a time and place in a very real city that is alive with the forces of poverty, crime, gentrification, race and sexuality. The author employs simple, blunt language in service of a radical realism that is detailed down to the brands worn and driven, the bands listened to, and place-names of the settings. The book uses the structure of a police procedural to draw the reader in, but ultimately upends expectations and leaves one with a lot to think about that goes far beyond the murder mystery that is initially presented.

The book is easy to read through at a fast pace--I finished it in about a day, but it is far from breezy entertainment.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 8 reviews  4.1 out of 5 stars