- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Serpent's Tail; New Ed edition (27 Aug 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1852427167
- ISBN-13: 978-1852427160
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 385,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Tending bar at The Spot in Washington DC, Nick Stefanos spends his days cultivating a deep, dependant relationship with one Mr. Jack Daniels. This, and dalliances with drugs and easy sex, make Nick a numb but happy boy. Sometimes, his wallet flips open and he sees his private-eye licence, reminding him of his calling. Ending up by the Anacostia River in an alcoholic stupour, Nick hears a murder being committed, mere feet away. An excellent hangover cure, he stumbles back to his car, sees his wallet and the case begins. Teaming up with headstrong amateur Jake LaDuke, Nick plunges headlong in to the depraved ghettos of DC, with violence lurking in every shadow. The third of his Stefanos novels, Pelecanos displays his ease with the genre, certainly knowing what the word "hardcore" means. The violence is graphic, some characters unfathomably evil and many situations uncompromising. He intrinsically understands that our affinity with Nick is accentuated by our sharing of his innermost perceptions. Such character study is marvellous: despite his proficiency at detection, he is plagued by the horrors it represents; "I don't want to see any more death. They kill and we kill and it doesn't stop and nobody wins." However, just like all great detectives motivated by private angst, Nick will eventually see his true face (in his wallet)--a reminder of reality and redemption when the alcoholic fog clears. --Danny Graydon
Product Description
'You already been a punk. Least you can do is go out like a man.' Then a dull popping sound and a quiet splash. That's how Nick Stefanos gets drawn into the murder of Calvin Jeter. An investigation that takes him through the roughest part of the nation's capital and the blackest parts of the human soul. Down by the River Where the Dead Men Go is the third volume in the Nick Stefanos series - which establishes George P. Pelecanos as the rightful heir to the noir tradition of James Cain, David Goodis and Jim Thompson.
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First Sentence
Like most of the trouble that's happened in my life or that I've caused to happen, the trouble that happened that night started with a drink. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Like most of the trouble that's happened in my life or that I've caused to happen, the trouble that happened that night started with a drink. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have read all the books that Mr Pelecanos and have yet to find one that has disappointed me. 'Down by the River' is the third in the initial trilogy written by the author, but the character does appear in most of the other books, as always Pelecanos's main-character is not so much a hero as an anti-hero, muddling his way through till eventually he does the right thing, usually involving large amounts of alcohol, numerous references to new wave bands, and swift and brutal violence.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Nick Stefanos returns in the third book of the series. If Nick had a small drinking problem in “Nick’s Trip”, it’s developed nicely into full-blown alcoholism by this book. It was while on a bender one night that Nick passes out in a public park, only to be wakened in the early hours by a man being shot to death and dumped in the water. Due to some strange feeling of guilt or responsibility over the murder, Nick feels he should investigate what went on.
Once again George Pelecanos has produced a typically hard-bitten look at the seedier parts of Washington D.C. and paints the picture of a lonely man who can’t seem to quite get his act together. The big development in this book is that Nick picks up a partner, a fellow private investigator who doesn’t smoke and doesn’t drink. He is probably the perfect foil for Nick’s excesses, but he is a bit of an enigma with some closely guarded secrets about his personal life.
Just a word of warning while you are reading this book. Don’t get too close to the pages or you’ll run the risk of waking up the next morning with a doozy of a hangover, the Old Grand Dad and Bud does get a bit of a workout.
Format:Paperback
Pelecanos' writing oozes style. His characters are well drawn and believable. His dialogue is crisp and evocative. His plots are dramatic and riveting. This novel is a good model of his abilty to produce a tense mystery drama that speaks in a unique voice that is a highlight of American crime writing.
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