A Firing Offense (Five Star Title) - Softcover

Pelecanos, George

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1852427159 ISBN 13: 9781852427153

Publisher: Serpent's Tail, 1999

Synopsis

As the advertising director of Nutty Nathan's, Nick Stefanos knows all the tricks of the electronics business. Blow-out sales and shady deals were his life. When one of the stockboys disappears, it's not news: just another metalhead who went off chasing some dream of big money and easy living. But the kid reminded Nick of himself twelve years ago: an angry punk hooked on speed metal and the fast life. So when the boy's grandfather begs Nick to find the kid, Nick says he'll try. A Firing Offense, Nick Stefanos' debut, shows why, as Barry Gifford puts it, 'To miss out on Pelecanos would be criminal.'

About this title

Review:

George P Pelecanos has forged a deserved reputation for mixing the classical with the new: hard drama and atmosphere along with a plentiful supply of pop culture references and a dash of social conscience. His creation of hard-livin' Washington DC appliance salesman Nick Stefanos is a welcome addition to the varied pantheon of put-upon gumshoes. Technically, Nick isn't even a P.I, he just happens to be very good at acting like one. Who better, then, to head the search for missing stockboy Jimmy Broda, recently fired for bad attendance and last seen in the company of two dangerous drug-dealers? For what is essentially a thin tale, Pelecanos superbly executes the splendid irony that being a private eye will offer Nick more satisfaction than the rampant corruption that occurs in the legitimate world of retail. With A Firing Offense, Pelecanos has wonderfully laid the groundwork for what would become the staple of his later works, a perfect lure for both existing fans and newcomers. Slight, but engaging, this opening gambit oozes with the potential that is now routinely consolidated. --Danny Graydon

Review:

A contemporary classic... A Firing Offense is full of virtuoso scenes of imaginative sex and substance abuse, suspenseful action, and brooding meditation on a newly lost generation (Washington Post)

George Pelecanos has broken with tradition in so many ways, it feels as if he has launched a category of his own...here is your first turn-of-the-century crime writer (Charlie Gillett)

Pelecanos puts together a slam-bang climax that contains all the requisite elements?action, tragedy, victory, and random death. It's a terrific start for a quality series (Mostly Murder)

About this edition

• Publisher: Serpent's Tail
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1852427159
• ISBN 13: 9781852427153
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224