Tangled Web UK Review June 2007
The Night Gardener by
George Pelecanos
pbk out August 07
(Phoenix)
at £6.99
They never found the killer. All they knew, back in the winter of 1985, was that
someone was taking teenagers, killing them and leaving their abused bodies in public
parks. Three victims in all, with no link between them except an oddity of their names.
They read the same back-to-front - Otto, Ava and lastly Eve. A lot has happened in
the twenty years since. Detectives Gus Ramone and Dan Holiday - two of the leads on
the case - have pursued very different paths. Gus has climbed to the heights of
Detective Sergeant and built himself a reputation as a very good cop, whilst Dan has
been drummed out of the force - his sleaze finally getting too much for his superiors.
However, their paths cross again.
George Pelecanos, without doubt, is one of crime fiction's finest exponents,
revered by readers and writers alike. With his latest novel, The Night Gardener, it is
not difficult to understand why. Packed with gritty realism and a straightforward
sense of streetwise credibility, Pelecanos has delivered a stylish book of integrity and
moral undertone that never seeks to lecture.
Dark and brooding in places and yet lit by significant bursts of sun,
Pelecanos clearly is an author who understands the concept of balance. The pace of
the novel, whilst never blistering, is constant and carries the plotline along with
enough diligence and care to maintain the book's tension.
Does the story have any real weaknesses? Not really. Perhaps Ramone as an
individual could be a little lighter and perhaps his partner, Rhonda, could be a little
less "right" all the time, but these are very minor quibbles indeed.
For fans of Pelecanos old and new, this is crime fiction at its best.
(
Chris High
Chris High - Author Multi-media Promotion Service www.chrishigh.com)
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