Rating: 
Summary: Nick Ain't Happy
Review: The three Nick Stefanos mysteries (of which this is the second) follow the linear descent of their hero from rebellious career stiff to hard drinking private eye to hopeless alcoholic. Along the way, Nick bares his soul more completely than do most first person narrative P.I.'s. His stories are also among the most darkly violent and gritty that I've come across in the genre. "Nick's Trip" is better than "A Firing Offense," the first Stefanos book, if only because it is more plausible and more focussed. Along the way, Nick reunites with an old friend who has become an obnoxious yuppie and whose wife has disappered. He also manages to lose his girlfriend and become a surrogate father. The whole book has an overwhelming feeling of lonliness to it, like a late night country song. It is definately NOT for readers of light mainstream fiction. Overall, a must read for fans of authors such as James Crumley and Andrew Vachss and anyone else who likes their P.I. fiction truly hard boiled.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Noir; very good local (D.C.) color; good read
Review: This is a better version of "Sleepers" but it has not been discovered yet. I recommend reading the first book in the series "A Firing Offense" as a prequel but that is not critical. This is a really good book.
Rating:
Summary: Might Be The Best Book By Pelecanos
Review: This was the first Pelecanos book I ever read, and it had me snared from the very beginning. This guy is so talented, so funny, and so adept at capturing the raw feel of average daily life for a simple bartender who occasionally plays private detective. I found myself in awe of the writing in this book; so original, so humorous...with characters so real that you can't help rooting for them. Pelecanos has now gone on to write books which are far more serious and not nearly as good, in my opinion. His first three books, featuring PI Nick Stefanos, are really fantastic and to me, this is the best of the three. A far cry from the usual tale of the down-and-out PI who drinks too much and cries in his beer all day. This book is truly original, a real gem, and fans of PI fiction (and blue-collar literature) will love it.
Rating:
Summary: Might Be The Best Book By Pelecanos
Review: This was the first Pelecanos book I ever read, and it had me snared from the very beginning. This guy is so talented, so funny, and so adept at capturing the raw feel of average daily life for a simple bartender who occasionally plays private detective. I found myself in awe of the writing in this book; so original, so humorous...with characters so real that you can't help rooting for them. Pelecanos has now gone on to write books which are far more serious and not nearly as good, in my opinion. His first three books, featuring PI Nick Stefanos, are really fantastic and to me, this is the best of the three. A far cry from the usual tale of the down-and-out PI who drinks too much and cries in his beer all day. This book is truly original, a real gem, and fans of PI fiction (and blue-collar literature) will love it.
| 
