George Pelecanos Night Gardener

Night Gardener

George Pelecanos

Little, Brown, Aug 2006, $24.95

ISBN: 0316156507

Washington DC Police Department Violent Crime Detective Gus Ramone has been a good cop for over two decades, but the latest case assigned to him hits home personally on two fronts. First the victim Asa Johnson is a friend of Gus' teenage son; second the crime scene data and related information reminds him of a serial killer never caught when Gus was in his second year on the force.

Adding to his feel of d j vu is who found the corpse. Back in 1985, Gus was watching renowned Detective T.C. Cook with an over 90 per cent resolution rate work the now cold case with another second year cop Dan Holiday watching like Gus in awe. Dan, who left WPD under a cloud of alleged misconduct, found the current corpse. He and Cook see this latest homicide as a chance for redemption and inveigle their way into Gus' investigation while the lead detective feels the passion flow that he has lacked in years.

The three cops make George Pelecanos' latest tale a must read police procedural as the author takes the theme of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly into 2005 DC. The action-packed story line is driven by the differing self actualization needs of the threesome, which is deftly interwoven into the investigative plot. THE NIGHT GARDENER will be on everyone's short list for sub-genre book of the year as the True Grit sleuths seek solace with stopping a serial killer returned from their failed past.

Harriet Klausner