Shoedog

No one writes noir better than Pelecanos, and Shoedog is an excellent entry into his bibliography. All of the elements are there, among them a woman in need, a slew of the criminal element, and a moral imperative for the protagonist that is sure to put him in mortal danger. More importantly though, they're there in the right amounts and presented at just the right times. A solid narration brings it all together for a great listen to a great story.

This is a terrific stand-alone Pelecanos heist novel. I guess every crime writer probably wants to write one of those (I know I certainly do), and this is his.

Shoedog was a fun book. The plot involves a drifter named Constantine who essentially randomly finds himself caught up in a scheme to rob two liquor stores nearly simultaneously. Constantine's fellow ne'er-do-wells are engaging written and the pace of the novel is action-packed. Shoedog doesn't involve any of Pelecanos' other signature characters (Nick Stefanos, Derek Strange, etc.) in a significant way, which is too bad, but the protagonists are interesting enough that you shouldn't mind too much. It is, however, set in Washington, DC, as are the rest of his books.

This was one show more Pelecanos' first novels, but his writing is still as polished as ever. I actually ended up reading this book after I had read all of his other, better known books and found myself enjoying it more than some of his latest. One very minor quibble: the title is a bit of a misnomer, because the "Shoedog" character is not actually the most developed -- the "Shoedog" character plays a decidedly second fiddle to Constantine, the protagonist.

The book ends with one of Pelecanos' traditional big finale shootouts, but is still entertaining for all that. I would highly recommend this book to any of Pelecanos' current fans, as well as anyone interested in reading a fun, engaging book about a heist that goes wrong (don't they all?).

Review copyright 2008 J. Andrew Byers show less

A gritty and fairly violent modern noir where a drifter, Constantine, gets caught up in a heist when he hitches a ride with Polk, an old Vietnam vet who's heading to Florida. He's just got one stop to make before he goes. He needs to collect an old debt he's owed from local DC hoodlum, Grimes, who's a little reluctant to part with the $20k. Grimes talks Polk into one more job where he'll get his money and much more besides, readily accepting that Constantine will be part of the crew. Ulterior motives see the bullets and blood fly when the liquor store robberies go down leading to the final confrontation itself.

A pretty decent book that is a very quick and easy read. It should appeal to fans of Lee Child's Jack Reacher series especially show more if you like a little classic noir such as Jim Thompson. show less

A standalone novel from Pelecanos originally published in '94 but reprinted to capitalise on the name recognition afforded him by his involvement with "The Wire". This reminds me of two things one being Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" involving as it does a heist gone wrong but also showing the background of the participants and how they're brought together and the interaction between them driven by their own circumstances. It also reminds me of James Sallis' "Drive" but executed much better here. The usual Pelecanos trademarks of being centred around DC and frequent namechecks to the music of the characters' eras are all present and correct. If you're a recent convert to Pelecanos this dip into his back catologue is well worth the effort.

SHOEDOG was the first George Pelecanos novel I ever read. I was completely blown away. If you like noir with an edge this book is for you!