Rating: 
Summary: A poignantly fine novel
Review: In 1995 Washington DC, May's Pizza Parlor is the scene of a massacre in which three employees, the getaway driver, and a little boy are dead. Additionally, Officer William Jonas is badly injured when he exchanges bullets with the criminals. Though he has no remorse over four of the dead, CEO (criminal executive officer) Frank Farrow escapes with his booty, but feels rage over the death of his brother.Frank decides he must return to DC to kill the cop who killed his sibling. However, Frank is not the only person filled with overflowing anger from the pizza parlor incident. Dimitri Karras wants to get even with Frank for running over his little five-year old boy when he evaded the local police. Other relatives of the dead also suffer from deep grief and their efforts to share their feelings have minimally eased some of the ache. Dimitri learns from private investigator Nick Stephanos that after three torturous years have passed, Frank has returned to enact his own vengeance, unaware that his victims have individuals seeking him out to get their own form of vengeance. SHAME THE DEVIL is an inner city tale of grief and revenge. The story line centers on the survivors struggling very poorly with the '95 slaughter. The plot shifts among several deteriorating neighborhood locales in which the characters meet to discuss the aftermath. Fans who enjoy a character-driven, angst-laden tale will want to read George P. Pelecanos' poignantly fine novel. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: PELECANOS HAS DONE BETTER!...
Review: In my humble openion Pelcanos has done better in some of his other books. The first thirty three pages of this one was great, then about the next hundred pages were so slow and boring in was hard to keep on reading. Frank Farrow and Roman Otis do their bad deeds in the first part of the book. The families and friends left behind bond together and meet once a week. Farrow and Otis decide to come back to town to do another robbery and to kill an ex-cops son. Will they get away with it? Someone is waiting for them with fury in his heart, he is determined to kill them both. But, can he? Take out the middle part of the book and it is a five. Hard not to have a middle part though.
Rating:
Summary: A shotgun-blast of a novel!!!
Review: Like the fast-paced lifestyle of our nation's Capitol, "Shame The Devil" may be the defining thriller of a generation. Equal parts Elmore Leonard and Mario Puzo, Dennis Lehane and Phillip K. Dick, George P. Pelicanos shoves this inner-city timebomb of a book right down your throat with dizzying dialogue, snappy scene changes, and by-the-seat-of-your-pants action. When Frank and Richard Farrow enter Washington D.C., they have more than sight-seeing on their minds. They are looking for easy money--and they think they've found it with a restaurant holdup that they heard about. Money is never as easy as it should be, and no one finds that out faster than the Farrow brothers. When the heist goes horribly awry, the entire restaurant staff gunned down in cold blood, and Richard Farrow bleeding to death from a massive gunshot wound on the city street, Frank Farrow flees the scene, stopping only long enough to retrieve his brothers body. He vows revenge on the cop who killed his brother, and goes into hiding to carefully plan his return. Pelicanos creates a gritty, urban thriller with "Shame The Devil". Hailed as the new master of the suspense thriller, Pelicanos lives up to his press easily and with great aplomb...generating not only incredible novels, but legions of new fans everyday. Count me as one of them!
Rating:
Summary: Pelecanos best book yet
Review: One thing that is sure about George Pelecanos, he gets better with each new book. Shame the Devil is the final book to use the cast of characters that center around the Washington D.C. bar, The Spot, where recurring character Nick Stephanos is the bartender (when not working as an unlicensed detective). This book offers fast paced action as well as satisfying character portrayals and, more than any other of his books, probes fundamental human issues of faith and life's meaning in the face of arbitrary violence and cruelty. One of the things that make Pelecanos so popular with the D.C. audience is also protentially a problem for readers elsewhere; his books are so detailed with references to streets and neighborhoods that would mean nothing unless one knew them personally that readers might wish for some exposition to explain where and 'what' Georgia Ave. or Anacostia are. Still, the sense of place is fundamental to his writing and his stories come alive because they are about real people in a known setting. He is almost alone in creating Washington stories that don't focus on the President or some Senator or one of the Federal law enforcement agencies. Pelecanos's books are peopled by blue collar workers, common criminals, D.C. cops, and a sprinkling of hard working attorneys and small businessmen. This book starts with a bang - an armed robbery that goes wrong and ends up with multiple victims - and it progresses to a dynamite conclusion in which revenge is is coupled with self-discovery and redemption. A really thrilling and satisfying reading experience.
Rating:
Summary: Some parts good, some parts not so good
Review: Pelacanos does some things quite well. He knows how to write an action scene, and he knows how to keep the pace of the book moving. Unfortunately, he needs a lot of work on the stuff that comes between the action scenes. We get way too much detail about how a restaurant kitchen operates. I don't really need to read about how the meatloaf was prepared. The worst part about the book was the incessant references to songs and Pelacanos' (or his characters') opinions about the songs. This went from tedious to annoying by the time the book was half over. I had the feeling the author was trying way too hard to come across as cool. There also are a few sloppy points in the plot, most notably that the killer sends a threatening letter days before he learns where the letter receiver lives. But if you're looking for a quick, light read (albeit a bit violent in places), this one should work.
Rating:
Summary: Fan-freakin'-tastic!
Review: Pelecanos does it again. The life paths of two old friends intersect in the non-power corridors of Washington DC. Nick, the PI, drinks a bit too much but never loses his sense of when something doesn't look right. Dimitri is deeply depressed and haunted by the memory of his little boy, killed by a getaway car. The years go by, the crime remains unsolved. Until the killers come back to town, ready to try one more spectacular robbery. Ready for just about anything...except these two wily Greeks. The plotting is superb, the characters jump off the page at you. You know these people. You care about them. You might want to close your eyes at the scary parts. Shame the Devil is a masterpiece of crime fiction that will leave you wanting more.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent wrap up of the series
Review: Pelecanos ends his DC quartet (or so he has said) with a thoroughly satisfying tale about one man's search for redemption. Some may be disappointed with the lack of emphasis on characters from the previous entries in the series, but there is no doubting that this novel's deliberate pacing pays off in the end. A terrific read.
Rating:
Summary: The man
Review: Pelecanos is simply the best thing out there. The most honest writer I've ever read. And growing up in DC, he knows it so well. Read and learn.
Rating:
Summary: A real novel disguised as a thriller
Review: Revenge and redemption. Faith and lost faith. Even the inner workings of a diner. Most important: Real people caught up in events that have their own momentum. Good white guys, bad white guys. Good black guys, bad black guys. The bad ones (except one plus one minor character) with redeeming characteristics, the good ones with their own vices and their own ghosts. And, incidentally, in a Washington that's rarely written about... Pelecanos is a 100 times better than the author who won the Edgar this year, which tells me that not only are publishers dumb but so are the authors who vote for empty prizes.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Interesting And Well-Written!
Review: Shame The Devil is the first book I've read by George Pelicanos -- but it certainly won't be the last. As a matter of fact, I've already bought his latest mystery, Right As Rain. Shame The Devil is chocked full of the qualities you want in a book -- interesting main plot and sub-plots, very well-developed "good guys"(particuarly Nick Stefanos)and "bad guys", lots of action, strong, realistic dialogue and a writing style that makes you want to turn the pages as fast as you can. The only quality that I found to be a bit unrealistic is the degree of knowledge so many of the characters have about different styles of music. At this point, Dennis Lehane is my favorite mystery writer but Pelicanos has the potential to be his equal. Do yourself a favor and get a copy of Shame The Devil. Enjoy!
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