The Turnaround

WHEN THE PAST CANNOT BE BURIED

Who among us hasn't done something dumb and lived to regret it? Hopefully none of our blunders have been as blindly, irrationally stupid as the act of three young white men, Alex Pappas, Pete Whitten, and Billy Cachoris. Their decision sets the stage for one more haunting, richly configured story by George Pelecanos 'The Night Gardener'. Alex is in the backseat when Pete and Billy decide that a sure cure for their boredom is to go over the tracks into the black area of Washington, D.C., and cause some trouble. They get more than they bargained for when they find themselves in a dead-end facing a tough trio - Charles Baker and brothers Raymond and James Monroe. Perhaps the devil-take-the-hindmost interlopers didn't know that they'd been preceded by other white boys who got their jollies by shouting racial epithets and tossing garbage at residents. Tired of this treatment one of the black boys had something new - a gun. It was fired and lives were irrevocably changed. Skipping ahead decades we find Alex, still bearing the facial scars of that night, has married and taken over his father's lunch business. Raymond had served time for the shooting but is now employed as a Walter Reed Hospital physical therapist. Life had not been kind to Charles nor was he kind to life - he became a full-time dangerous criminal. Pete is now an attorney, and Billy who died that night is long in his grave. Some are trying to forget the past, one wants vengeance. What happens when two who were once enemies meet again? Dion Graham, whom we know from HBO's The Wire, delivers a powerful narration, artfully relating the dreadful night as well as what the years will bring. - Gail Cooke

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

The Turnaround

This is the third novel of George Pelecanos that I have read , and it had just confirmed my belief that he is the greatest crime writer today. I really like his crime novels because he doesn't just stick with cops, detectives, or P.I's (not that I don't like these novels, in fact, I love them), but they're about regular people who are pulled into a world of crime. I loved the novel and all I will say is that it's about who an incident involving three white kids and three black kids in the 70's, and how, in the present day, they reform their lives or go on down the wrong path.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

This stand alone urban thriller hooks the audience from the opening joyride

In 1972, three suburban teenage white friends (Alex Pappas, Billy Cachoris and Pete Whitten) are stoned having smoked marihuana and drank alcohol. As high as they ever been, the trio cruises D.C in a Torino stopping in a poor black neighborhood where they challenge three local males (brothers James and Raymond Monroe and Charles Baker). The ensuing brawl leaves Billy dead and Alex severely battered.----------------- In 2007, Alex grieves the loss of his son, a combat casualty in Iraq. He owns and runs the Pappas and Sons Coffee Shop that his father established in 1964. At Walter Reed Raymond Monroe, one of the three blacks involved in the deadly fight, recognizes Alex¿s name. Raymond thinks maybe he can put somewhat behind him the mess that has haunted him for thirty-five years by talking with Alex so he contacts the coffee shop owner Alex too needs clsoure. At about the same time, Baker who destroyed Alex¿s face has just left prison with a plan to blackmail the participants in the ¿72 race war.------------ This stand alone urban thriller hooks the audience from the opening joyride and never let¿s goes as the audience wonders whether Alex and Raymond will find liberation from their overwhelming guilt for their respective roles in the fight or a second war. The key cast members are fully developed so that the reader understands what they need and what they could lose if they risk THE TURNAROUND of redemption and ignore the extortion. George P. Pelecanos writes a great tale that will be on everyone¿s short list for thriller of the year as the DC area has rarely seen as imposing as it does in 1972 and 2007.------------ Harriet Klausner

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Captivating story

I attended a book signing on a Sunday when Mr. Pelecanos was in town, and I finished this book after dinner on Tuesday. The characters had depth, and the story was strong and powerful. A definite must-read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Premise

I'm torn on how to rate this one. On writing alone, Pelecanos is a 5+. He instantly breathes life into his characters. The dialogue has a perfect rhythm and sounds real. He brings more than entertainment, by tackling a difficult topic and never shying away from the dirt within.

What I had a problem with was the volume of characters and the constant game of leapfrog from one to another. Because there were so many characters, as a reader I was never able to truly latch on to one and invest completely in that person's story. The characters all eventually connected, their lives interweaving in both the past and the present. But the jump in time, combined with the number of characters involved, for me, took away that emotional investment I like to have in a story.

Not for me

I only got through the first quarter of this book. The beginning is very slow. I hear it picks up a little from there, and I almost went ahead with it, but I was also a little ooged out by the obscenities. I realize that the obscenities are part of the characters; but those, combined with the slow start, just turned me off.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Consistently great

I could go on and on with a review, but I'm not a reviewer so I'd just be making up reasons why I loved this book. So I'll stick with one word: SUPERB. And one phrase: In a League of Its Own.

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