Drama City
by George Pelecanos
Published by Warner Books
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Reviewed by Kim Reis
Ex-con Lorenzo Brown is doing well on the outside, working as a Humane Society officer. His parole officer, Rachel Lopez, isn't doing as well. She is fighting alcoholism and tries to hide it from those she deals with on the job.
When a gang turf war breaks out in Lorenzo's old neighborhood, he is afraid of getting sucked back into the life he wants to escape. But then Rachel and Lorenzo each get drawn in for different reasons. Can they help each other escape with their lives?
Though the characters were well defined and quite human, the background of each of them and the buildup of the story took so long I struggled to keep reading. The book is listed as a suspense novel but I didn't think it was very suspenseful. This is my first book by this author and I probably won't seek out others. This novel was an Edgar nominee for Best Novel so obviously a lot of other people liked it.
Armchair Interviews says: Interesting take on ex-cons and parole officers.