THE NIGHT GARDENER
George Pelecanos
The Night Gardener
Publisher: Orion
ISBN: 0-75287-541-8
24th August, 2006
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THE NIGHT GARDENER
Written by
GEORGE
PELECANOS
George Pelecanos, without doubt, is one of crime fiction’s finest
exponents, revered by readers and writers alike. With his latest novel,
The Night Gardener, it is not difficult to
understand why. Packed with gritty realism and a straightforward sense
of streetwise credibility, Pelecanos has delivered a stylish book of integrity
and moral undertone that never seeks to lecture.
They never found the killer. All they knew, back in the winter of 1985,
was that someone was taking teenagers, killing them and leaving their
abused bodies in public parks. Three victims in all, with no link between
them except a oddity of their names. They read the same back-to-front
- Otto, Ava and lastly Eve. A lot has happened in the twenty years since.
Detectives Gus Ramone and Dan Holiday - two of the leads on the case
- have pursued very different paths. Gus has climbed to the heights
of Detective Sergeant and built himself a reputation as a very good
cop, whilst Dan has been drummed out of the force - his sleaze finally
getting too much for his superiors. However, their paths cross again.
A boy named Asa - a close friend of Gus's teenage son - has been found
in the public park, his skull shattered by gunfire. Now it seems that
both men are once again in the path of this disturbed serial killer.
Dark and brooding in places and yet
lit by significant bursts of sun, George Pelecanos clearly is an author
who understands the concept of balance. The pace of the novel, whilst
never blistering, is constant and carries the plotline along with enough
diligence and cares to maintain the book’s tension.
In Holiday and Ramone, the writer has
created two characters that, though morally opposite, fit together like
wine and cheese to develop a rapport so utterly convincing and deeply
satisfying, its like watching two old friends get together for the first
time in years. As is the case with the equally as strong peripheral
characters such as T C Cook, Ramone’s wife, Regina, and Diego,
Ramone’s troubled son. All of which is underpinned with credible,
lively dialogue, satisfying subplots and descriptive prose that seep
from the page and into the reader’s subconscious like the scent
of fresh bread at the end of a long day.
Does the story have any weaknesses?
Not really. Perhaps Ramone as an individual could be a little lighter
and perhaps his partner, Rhonda, could be a little less “right”
all the time, but these are very minor quibbles indeed.
This is my first George Pelecanos experience
and on the strength of The Night Gardener,
it certainly will not be the last.
Order this book online - Linghams Booksellers
break the rules as I see fit.” - Chris High 2003.