Maslin for Mystery

As expected, La Maslin is absolutely gaga for George Pelecanos’s latest novel, DRAMA CITY:

Grippingly and inexorably, “Drama City” moves toward the moment when

Lorenzo’s honor will become impossible to sustain. And this story is so

well constructed that it creates enormous suspense about the prospect

of disaster. Although Mr. Pelecanos has been known to write

prescriptively about curing social ills, this time he makes his

concerns an integral part of the story, in ways that illustrate his

thinking rather than merely articulating it. “Drama City” transports

the reader directly into its characters’ struggles and gives a visceral

sense of each little challenge or victory.

The book’s most

frightening thought is that the story’s predators are endlessly

replaceable, and that pessimism in their community is justified. “Nigel

liked to pick the most promising, most intelligent ones out and take

them under his wing,” Mr. Pelecanos observes about drug-world protégés.

“It never did work out.”

Although a downhill trajectory seems

inevitable, “Drama City” leads up to a daring and unexpected finale. In

one sense, Mr. Pelecanos takes an easy way out. But in a much more

important one, he is true to the book’s essential message. “Drama City”

ultimately offers its characters a brutal twist of fate. But it rescues

them from the plight of the caged dog on its cover.

Of course, she’s pretty much right about everything, but it’s amusing to see her fall all over certain authors and patently ignore others. Though today, she at least gives a few other notable names their due in the latest installment of her popular books feature. Getting their due are Ken Bruen, Phillip Margolin, Lawrence Block, Scott Frost, Linda Fairstein, Rupert Holmes, Greg Iles, Michael Robotham and James Swain.

And once again, the male: female ratio is appallingly skewed…