George P Pelecanos

"Whether they're cops or conmen, savage killers or creative types, gangsters or God-fearing citizens, George Pelecanos' characters are always engaged in a fight for their lives. They fight to advance or simply to survive; they fight against odds, against enemies, even against themselves. In this, his first collection of stories, the acclaimed novelist introduces readers to a vivid and eclectic cast of combatants."--Provided by publisher.

"Washington, D.C., 1972. Derek Strange has left the police department and set up shop as a private investigator. His former partner, Frank "Hound Dog" Vaughn, is still on the force. When a young woman comes to Strange asking for his help recovering a cheap ring she claims has sentimental value, the case leads him onto Vaughn's turf, where a local drug addict's been murdered, shot point-blank in his apartment. Soon both men are on the trail of a ruthless...

A gang war breaks out between drug dealers in Washington after one man insults another. The protagonists are two drug-dealing friends, Dimitri Karras, a Greek, and Marcus Clay, an African American. Part crime novel, part analysis of our violent society.

"The job seems simple enough: retrieve the valuable painting--"The Double"--Grace Kinkaid's ex-boyfriend stole from her. It's the sort of thing Spero Lucas specializes in: finding what's missing, and doing it quietly. But Grace wants more. She wants Lucas to find the man who humiliated her--a violent career criminal with a small gang of brutal thugs at his beck and call. Lucas is a man who knows how to get what he wants, whether it's a thief on the...

Spero Lucas has a new line of work. Since he returned home after serving in Iraq, he has been doing special investigations for a defense attorney. The first in a new series of thrillers featuring Spero Lucas, "The Cut" is the latest confirmation of why Pelecanos is "perhaps America's greatest living crime writer" (Stephen King).

In the midst of a brutal courtroom battle during which a Washington, D.C., crime overlord faces the death penalty and his rivals vie for his territory, private investigator Derek Strange struggles to protect the life of a witness.

An old high-school friend drags Nick Stefanos into a complex and deadly conspiracy involving drugs, theft, intrigue, and murder.

"Ever wonder what goes on in the mind of a dog? Buster is the story of one dog's lifelong journey, as told by the animal himself. A strong and proud boxer, he spends his early days with a loving family in a public housing complex in Washington, DC. Abruptly, he is taken away by an abusive, alcoholic man, plunging Buster into a challenging, nightmarish existence. Over the course of his life, he will experience homelessness, tragedy, a harrowing stay...

At a mother's request, Derek Strange investigates the killing of one police officer by another in the D.C. underworld, where police officers and criminals operate by their own secret laws, and where human life is sometimes of less consequence than cash, drugs, and other forms of currency."--Jacket.