MADreads

Turnaround

October 13th, 2008 Mary K. - Central

As an audiobook reviewer for Library Journal, I am often given books to review that I would not normally pick up on my own. The Turnaround by George Pelecanos was one of those and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it.  Pelacanos has a way with the gritty urban experience as evidenced by his writing for the very popular HBO’s series The Wire.

The Turnaround is a well written, complicated, and engrossing story, one that shows the results of youthful indiscretions, and how adults recover (or don’t) from those youthful mistakes. It is set in Washington D.C. and begins in 1972 when three teenagers drive a car into a black neighborhood and set off a chain of events that leaves one person dead.

Fast forward to 2007 and one of the white victims, Alex, is running his father’s diner.  Alex has a wife and family and a son recently killed in Iraq. His world begins to intersect with the Monroe brothers, 2 of whom were involved in that long ago crime. James has served a prision term for killing a young man and his brother Raymond is a physical therapist. Another figure fromt he past is Charles Baker.  Charles is the man who beat up Alex.  He has also been in and out of prision and, unlike the Monroe brothers, is still pursuing a life of crime.

The book is read by a veteran actor, Dion Graham (who also acted in The Wire).  Graham does an excellent job with the different characters and creates just the right ambiance. So much so that I am now interested in looking for some of Pelecanos’s early books.

Entry Filed under: Mystery, Thriller