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judithdcollins's review against another edition
5.0
A special thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Viking and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Neely Tucker returns with vigor, with his latest, MURDER, D.C. (Sully Carter #2), following the intense The Ways of the Dead (Sully Carter #1), a street-smart, fearless crime investigative reporter, who has been in war zones, now finds himself digging up connections in the underbellies of the drug world to solve a case.
Sully unravels deep dark secrets, racial injustice, slavery, and corruption -all the while, fighting against some high stakes-- from the politically connected, wealthy and powerful social circles; for a riveting razor-edge suspense mystery crime thriller of corruption, going back generations, from the southern states to urban streets of Washington, DC.
Having read The Ways of the Dead, was anxious to catch up with Sully, (love him), a journalist brought home from war in Bosnia and worn by loss, rage, and alcohol and his famous motorcycle. With his flaws and all, where he was involved in a deeply layered mystery, from the nation’s capital from the highest corridors of power to D.C.’s seedy underbelly, in the middle of violence and corruption. The saga continues . . .
As the novel opens, a few years later, Sully is living in a row house on Capitol Hill. It is spring of twenty-first century, and he finds himself on a fast boat pulling up to the waterfront channel, Frenchman’s Bend, when he sees a dead body pulled from the water. A few hours before deadline, his radar is up when he begins questioning the homicide cop.
For the last thirty years, the Bend, a park, scarcely acknowledged by the city--considered a drug park run. If Sully had not been raised in Louisiana, a state still haunted by slavery, he might have thought the Bend was poisoned or cursed. A city block of malignant soil so infected that it seeped into the souls of the living. The end had been claiming bodies for more than a century and a half. Sully has to think about where the slaves stood as they were pushed onto boats headed down to the Carolinas, Georgia, or Florida; Key West and back up to Mobile, Gulfport, or New Orleans.
The Bend, had been the District’s most notorious antebellum slave market, with long gone wooden pens, slaves brought from the farms lining the Potomac or Anacostia put on a platform and sold off onto ships bound for cotton plantations down south. It had opened long before Washington was the capital but stayed in business for decades, the shame of the city, slaves force-marched through the streets in neck shackles. Its stigma was so great that the land had never been built upon from Irish, Germans, and even blacks, Jews, not even in post WWII and the building boom.
Of course, just one more dead body in the middle of a drug haven, would most likely turn out to be another drug shooting in the middle of a city of drug wars; averaging almost a homicide every day, year round. An unsolved killing for John Parker, head of DC Homicide, and for Sully, a dead-end story which would take too long, coming up with nothing substantial. (Or, so he thinks at the time).
The murder victim turns out to be a young twenty-one year old African-American gay man, Billy Ellison with a bullet in his head. However, Ellison is the son of Washington, D.C's most influential African-American family. So he is gaining more media attention, than the norm. The family is wealthy and very politically connected. Billy was finishing his junior year at Georgetown and going into law like his old man. So unless he was caught up in drugs, why the murder, and is it connected to the Bend?
Turns out, Billy is the last heir of a prominent family in the nation’s capital. Gay and shot in the head at close range, indicating a drug deal, being what constituted most killings in the Bend and a strip of gay clubs nearby down on the O Street. Is there a connection between the place, and this high powered family? Sully is determined to find answers.
The cops are unable to uncover any leads; however, relentless Sully smells something dirty and feels the family’s law firm spokesman has something to hide. Why is he answering for the mother? Sully is obsessed with digging deeper, with his drug dealing connections, he attempts to uncover a string of deceit from the most prominent social circles to the back streets --and powerful giants who want their business to stay buried.
The Bend, located in the Southwest DC area near the brick walls of Fort McNair, small US army base running to the end of the peninsula—a place of prostitutes, drug dealers, and murders. Sully begins digging into other killings in previous years. Over the past year forty-four people had been killed in the Bend, a knoblike park of little more than an acre, and not one had been solved! It was where DC went to kill and be killed. Frenchman’s Bend was the murder capital of the murder capital. Three this year, and all three dumped in the channel.
The family background: 19th century family patriarch, Nathaniel Ellison made his fortune in banking, and extended down the generations. His son, Lambert, followed his father into the bank as manager, as did his son, Lambert II, until it was consumed in a merger with a larger bank in 1965, under the management of Lambert III. Delores Ellison (mother of Billy), his only child, now works as a strategist at the law firm of Sheldon Stevens, one of the most influential and power brokers in Washington. Of course, Stevens acts as a family spokesman, warning off Sully, with a restraining order, and had him escorted from the funeral by his PIs. Now Delores Ellison had a dead husband, a dead son and a lawyer, Shellie who wants Sully out of the way.
Sully is working with Sly for the key to finding out what is happening in the Bend. Whoever killed Sly’s mole, (Dee), may lead them to finding the killer of Billy. So Sully is about working what angles he has. Billy and Dee both died and now he may be the next victim.
Sully is threatened and warned to stay away from the story, not only from the higher ups, his boss, and the paper’s entire legal department, before this story breaks. After all, the paper paid him to deal with warlords and psychopaths and South African thugs abroad, so why not a few warlords here in the states? Now, three bodies in three week, this is no accident. Suspended so many time he cannot count. You have got to love Sully—you tell him he cannot do something, he will be even more determined to prove you wrong.
Wow, a complex, perfectly-paced, page-turner, crossing several genres, from crime, mystery, thriller, to historical fiction with investigative journalism at its grittiest! Tucker delivers witty, edgy, and razor-sharp dialogue, for a taunt, top-notch engrossing read, you cannot put down.
Fans of Michael Connelly, Greg Iles, Karin Slaughter, and fast-action crime thrillers will devour, and who better to deliver it than the author himself, with his extensive background! (have you read his bio?) Hello, take a look.
Neely Tucker draws heavily on his two decades reporting on crime and armed conflict from around the globe to create Sully Carter and his complicated moral realm in The Ways of the Dead and Murder, D.C.; Highly recommend both. You do not want to miss this series! Looking forward to the next.
JDCMustReadBooks
Neely Tucker returns with vigor, with his latest, MURDER, D.C. (Sully Carter #2), following the intense The Ways of the Dead (Sully Carter #1), a street-smart, fearless crime investigative reporter, who has been in war zones, now finds himself digging up connections in the underbellies of the drug world to solve a case.
Sully unravels deep dark secrets, racial injustice, slavery, and corruption -all the while, fighting against some high stakes-- from the politically connected, wealthy and powerful social circles; for a riveting razor-edge suspense mystery crime thriller of corruption, going back generations, from the southern states to urban streets of Washington, DC.
Having read The Ways of the Dead, was anxious to catch up with Sully, (love him), a journalist brought home from war in Bosnia and worn by loss, rage, and alcohol and his famous motorcycle. With his flaws and all, where he was involved in a deeply layered mystery, from the nation’s capital from the highest corridors of power to D.C.’s seedy underbelly, in the middle of violence and corruption. The saga continues . . .
As the novel opens, a few years later, Sully is living in a row house on Capitol Hill. It is spring of twenty-first century, and he finds himself on a fast boat pulling up to the waterfront channel, Frenchman’s Bend, when he sees a dead body pulled from the water. A few hours before deadline, his radar is up when he begins questioning the homicide cop.
For the last thirty years, the Bend, a park, scarcely acknowledged by the city--considered a drug park run. If Sully had not been raised in Louisiana, a state still haunted by slavery, he might have thought the Bend was poisoned or cursed. A city block of malignant soil so infected that it seeped into the souls of the living. The end had been claiming bodies for more than a century and a half. Sully has to think about where the slaves stood as they were pushed onto boats headed down to the Carolinas, Georgia, or Florida; Key West and back up to Mobile, Gulfport, or New Orleans.
The Bend, had been the District’s most notorious antebellum slave market, with long gone wooden pens, slaves brought from the farms lining the Potomac or Anacostia put on a platform and sold off onto ships bound for cotton plantations down south. It had opened long before Washington was the capital but stayed in business for decades, the shame of the city, slaves force-marched through the streets in neck shackles. Its stigma was so great that the land had never been built upon from Irish, Germans, and even blacks, Jews, not even in post WWII and the building boom.
Of course, just one more dead body in the middle of a drug haven, would most likely turn out to be another drug shooting in the middle of a city of drug wars; averaging almost a homicide every day, year round. An unsolved killing for John Parker, head of DC Homicide, and for Sully, a dead-end story which would take too long, coming up with nothing substantial. (Or, so he thinks at the time).
The murder victim turns out to be a young twenty-one year old African-American gay man, Billy Ellison with a bullet in his head. However, Ellison is the son of Washington, D.C's most influential African-American family. So he is gaining more media attention, than the norm. The family is wealthy and very politically connected. Billy was finishing his junior year at Georgetown and going into law like his old man. So unless he was caught up in drugs, why the murder, and is it connected to the Bend?
Turns out, Billy is the last heir of a prominent family in the nation’s capital. Gay and shot in the head at close range, indicating a drug deal, being what constituted most killings in the Bend and a strip of gay clubs nearby down on the O Street. Is there a connection between the place, and this high powered family? Sully is determined to find answers.
The cops are unable to uncover any leads; however, relentless Sully smells something dirty and feels the family’s law firm spokesman has something to hide. Why is he answering for the mother? Sully is obsessed with digging deeper, with his drug dealing connections, he attempts to uncover a string of deceit from the most prominent social circles to the back streets --and powerful giants who want their business to stay buried.
The Bend, located in the Southwest DC area near the brick walls of Fort McNair, small US army base running to the end of the peninsula—a place of prostitutes, drug dealers, and murders. Sully begins digging into other killings in previous years. Over the past year forty-four people had been killed in the Bend, a knoblike park of little more than an acre, and not one had been solved! It was where DC went to kill and be killed. Frenchman’s Bend was the murder capital of the murder capital. Three this year, and all three dumped in the channel.
The family background: 19th century family patriarch, Nathaniel Ellison made his fortune in banking, and extended down the generations. His son, Lambert, followed his father into the bank as manager, as did his son, Lambert II, until it was consumed in a merger with a larger bank in 1965, under the management of Lambert III. Delores Ellison (mother of Billy), his only child, now works as a strategist at the law firm of Sheldon Stevens, one of the most influential and power brokers in Washington. Of course, Stevens acts as a family spokesman, warning off Sully, with a restraining order, and had him escorted from the funeral by his PIs. Now Delores Ellison had a dead husband, a dead son and a lawyer, Shellie who wants Sully out of the way.
Sully is working with Sly for the key to finding out what is happening in the Bend. Whoever killed Sly’s mole, (Dee), may lead them to finding the killer of Billy. So Sully is about working what angles he has. Billy and Dee both died and now he may be the next victim.
Sully is threatened and warned to stay away from the story, not only from the higher ups, his boss, and the paper’s entire legal department, before this story breaks. After all, the paper paid him to deal with warlords and psychopaths and South African thugs abroad, so why not a few warlords here in the states? Now, three bodies in three week, this is no accident. Suspended so many time he cannot count. You have got to love Sully—you tell him he cannot do something, he will be even more determined to prove you wrong.
Wow, a complex, perfectly-paced, page-turner, crossing several genres, from crime, mystery, thriller, to historical fiction with investigative journalism at its grittiest! Tucker delivers witty, edgy, and razor-sharp dialogue, for a taunt, top-notch engrossing read, you cannot put down.
Fans of Michael Connelly, Greg Iles, Karin Slaughter, and fast-action crime thrillers will devour, and who better to deliver it than the author himself, with his extensive background! (have you read his bio?) Hello, take a look.
Neely Tucker draws heavily on his two decades reporting on crime and armed conflict from around the globe to create Sully Carter and his complicated moral realm in The Ways of the Dead and Murder, D.C.; Highly recommend both. You do not want to miss this series! Looking forward to the next.
JDCMustReadBooks
vll295's review against another edition
3.0
An intellectual thriller with murder mystery twist, this book follows the details related to the murder of Billy Ellison, a prominent DC individual. When the police decide they do not have any leads, the book follows Sully Carter’s investigation as he keeps digging to get the truth of what happened.
More information on my blog: http://hesaidbooksorme.blogspot.com
Disclaimer: I was awarded this book through a giveaway on Good Reads. While I did not pay for the book, the opinions are strictly my own.
More information on my blog: http://hesaidbooksorme.blogspot.com
Disclaimer: I was awarded this book through a giveaway on Good Reads. While I did not pay for the book, the opinions are strictly my own.
veronica87's review against another edition
4.0
"This was how your day went south without even trying."
When a relaxing lunch with some fellow news folks results in a high profile death landing in the lap of one Sullivan "Sully" Carter, the result is a story that is a worthy follow-up to the first book in the series. I like Sully and his brand of tenacious, investigative journalism. Though he has some serious baggage that manifests itself in some pretty major flaws, there is a glimmer of hope that Sully may finally be ready to address some of his demons head on. We see the return of some of the characters we met in the first book - one in particular I wish Sully would sever all association with - but we also get to meet Alexis, an old friend and a badass photojounalist who works for the same paper as Sully and who has covered some of the nastiest war zones abroad. I liked her immediately and hope we get to see her again. The investigation itself was pretty interesting but though I figured out one reveal fairly early on, another one took me by surprise. While this book can be read independently of the first, there are elements of Sully's past as well as his current personal life that form the backdrop of everything he does and to best understand him it's best to read the books in order. I'm looking forward to reading Sully's third, and hopefully not last, book.
"These many years later, half the world's war zones in his rearview mirror, he sat at his desk in an office in a violent city, his back purple, his leg aching, and a narrow dab of dried blood on his chin, writing from the same pit of emotion."
When a relaxing lunch with some fellow news folks results in a high profile death landing in the lap of one Sullivan "Sully" Carter, the result is a story that is a worthy follow-up to the first book in the series. I like Sully and his brand of tenacious, investigative journalism. Though he has some serious baggage that manifests itself in some pretty major flaws, there is a glimmer of hope that Sully may finally be ready to address some of his demons head on. We see the return of some of the characters we met in the first book - one in particular I wish Sully would sever all association with - but we also get to meet Alexis, an old friend and a badass photojounalist who works for the same paper as Sully and who has covered some of the nastiest war zones abroad. I liked her immediately and hope we get to see her again. The investigation itself was pretty interesting but though I figured out one reveal fairly early on, another one took me by surprise. While this book can be read independently of the first, there are elements of Sully's past as well as his current personal life that form the backdrop of everything he does and to best understand him it's best to read the books in order. I'm looking forward to reading Sully's third, and hopefully not last, book.
"These many years later, half the world's war zones in his rearview mirror, he sat at his desk in an office in a violent city, his back purple, his leg aching, and a narrow dab of dried blood on his chin, writing from the same pit of emotion."
nomadreader's review
5.0
The basics: Murder, D.C. picks up shortly after the events of The Ways of the Dead (one of my favorite reads of 2014), and it contains some spoilers from that novel. Here, Billy Ellison, the only son of DC's most influential black family is found dead in Frenchman's Bend, an unsavory part of town with deep historical roots. Veteran journalist and former war correspondent Sully Carter uses his connections to solve the crime and write the story.
The verdict: Murder, D.C. cements Neely Tucker as a not only a damn good mystery writer but also one concerned with social justice and history. Like The Ways of the Dead, Murder, D.C. is a compelling mystery with complicated themes. Thankfully, it works on both levels. It's riveting, informative, and it will leave you thinking.
Read the rest at http://nomadreader.blogspot.com/2015/06/book-review-murder-dc.html.
The verdict: Murder, D.C. cements Neely Tucker as a not only a damn good mystery writer but also one concerned with social justice and history. Like The Ways of the Dead, Murder, D.C. is a compelling mystery with complicated themes. Thankfully, it works on both levels. It's riveting, informative, and it will leave you thinking.
Read the rest at http://nomadreader.blogspot.com/2015/06/book-review-murder-dc.html.
taylakaye's review
4.0
The pace of this plot was a little slower than the first Sully Carter story, but I remain a loyal fan. Really interesting work in weaving historic fact and fiction.
civreader's review
5.0
My review is posted here (dual review of The Ways of the Dead as well): https://civilianreader.wordpress.com/2015/08/06/review-the-ways-of-the-dead-and-murder-d-c-by-neely-tucker-penguinwindmill/
raven88's review
5.0
Do you miss The Wire? Does the wait for the next George Pelecanos novel seem endless? Neely Tucker is a welcome find that will comfortably fill the void. His first thriller The Ways of the Dead featured veteran, war-scarred Washington reporter Sully Carter and was well received. Now the author builds on his growing reputation with Murder DC, transporting us once again to the less than savoury side of America’s seat of political power.
The book opens with the discovery Billy Ellison’s body in the Potomac river. He’s the son of DC’s most influential African American family, but he’s been discovered in a section of the Washington riverside widely regarded as a violent drug haven. With the implication that Ellison could have been involved in all manner of illegal activity, metro reporter Sully Carter starts asking some serious – and dangerous – questions. The police are singularly unable to find a viable lead, but Carter has a hunch that there is more to the story than a drug deal gone bad. As he digs deeper, he finds the story stretches far beyond the unfortunate victim and into the city’s most prominent social circles.
No doubt thanks to his own journalistic background, Neely Tucker delivers a razor sharp, tightly plotted thriller with not a word wasted or misplaced. Similar to David Simon’s depictions of inner city life in Baltimore, and those who have the power to change it, Tucker brings into focus the political power and wrangling inherent in Washington. He also spotlights the undercurrents of racial tension, urban crime and poverty that aren’t normally associated with the nation’s capital. By choosing a central victim from a family largely protected by the power base in Washington, but found dead in a renegade drug-dealing outpost, Tucker lets us see through Carter’s eyes and provides wider comment on a city that’s usually much better thought of, and he does it beautifully. The extent to which those in power maliciously manipulate and influence the fates of Billy Ellison and those closest to him is skilfully and sympathetically handled, ratcheting up your resentment towards those responsible. An additional bonus of this largely flawless plotting and social comment, is that there are a couple of scenes that will make you outwardly gasp, but then quickly fill you with a real sense of sadness. Be strong gentle reader.
Sully Carter is a gem of a character. He’s cynical, world-weary, emotionally and physically damaged, and a terrier of a reporter. He studiously avoids counselling, and finds his therapy at the bottom of a glass. Because his character carries such an authentic voice having witnessed terrible events in his former career as a foreign correspondent, he is fearless and carries a strong moral centre. His moral position means he runs his mouth, acts intuitively, although sometimes impetuously, but more importantly makes him dogged in his pursuit of the truth about Billy Ellison. The equally mesmeric character of Sly Hastings, a gangster who helps Carter (but for his own benefit), creates a compelling partnership, which is the real linchpin of the series to date. Likewise, there is the added joy of a tenacious, ballsy and impressive female cohort to the men in the shape of Alexis, a war-zone photographer, who keeps Carter on his toes and adds a real liveliness to the central plot.
It’s always nice to reach the end of a review and feel a sense of satisfaction that a book has resonated so positively with you, and Murder DC is one of those books. Fellow fans of grittier American crime fiction will love this, and it would be foolish to not seek out the marvellous debut, Ways of the Dead too. Go on. Treat yourself.
The book opens with the discovery Billy Ellison’s body in the Potomac river. He’s the son of DC’s most influential African American family, but he’s been discovered in a section of the Washington riverside widely regarded as a violent drug haven. With the implication that Ellison could have been involved in all manner of illegal activity, metro reporter Sully Carter starts asking some serious – and dangerous – questions. The police are singularly unable to find a viable lead, but Carter has a hunch that there is more to the story than a drug deal gone bad. As he digs deeper, he finds the story stretches far beyond the unfortunate victim and into the city’s most prominent social circles.
No doubt thanks to his own journalistic background, Neely Tucker delivers a razor sharp, tightly plotted thriller with not a word wasted or misplaced. Similar to David Simon’s depictions of inner city life in Baltimore, and those who have the power to change it, Tucker brings into focus the political power and wrangling inherent in Washington. He also spotlights the undercurrents of racial tension, urban crime and poverty that aren’t normally associated with the nation’s capital. By choosing a central victim from a family largely protected by the power base in Washington, but found dead in a renegade drug-dealing outpost, Tucker lets us see through Carter’s eyes and provides wider comment on a city that’s usually much better thought of, and he does it beautifully. The extent to which those in power maliciously manipulate and influence the fates of Billy Ellison and those closest to him is skilfully and sympathetically handled, ratcheting up your resentment towards those responsible. An additional bonus of this largely flawless plotting and social comment, is that there are a couple of scenes that will make you outwardly gasp, but then quickly fill you with a real sense of sadness. Be strong gentle reader.
Sully Carter is a gem of a character. He’s cynical, world-weary, emotionally and physically damaged, and a terrier of a reporter. He studiously avoids counselling, and finds his therapy at the bottom of a glass. Because his character carries such an authentic voice having witnessed terrible events in his former career as a foreign correspondent, he is fearless and carries a strong moral centre. His moral position means he runs his mouth, acts intuitively, although sometimes impetuously, but more importantly makes him dogged in his pursuit of the truth about Billy Ellison. The equally mesmeric character of Sly Hastings, a gangster who helps Carter (but for his own benefit), creates a compelling partnership, which is the real linchpin of the series to date. Likewise, there is the added joy of a tenacious, ballsy and impressive female cohort to the men in the shape of Alexis, a war-zone photographer, who keeps Carter on his toes and adds a real liveliness to the central plot.
It’s always nice to reach the end of a review and feel a sense of satisfaction that a book has resonated so positively with you, and Murder DC is one of those books. Fellow fans of grittier American crime fiction will love this, and it would be foolish to not seek out the marvellous debut, Ways of the Dead too. Go on. Treat yourself.
veronica87's review
4.0
"This was how your day went south without even trying."
When a relaxing lunch with some fellow news folks results in a high profile death landing in the lap of one Sullivan "Sully" Carter, the result is a story that is a worthy follow-up to the first book in the series. I like Sully and his brand of tenacious, investigative journalism. Though he has some serious baggage that manifests itself in some pretty major flaws, there is a glimmer of hope that Sully may finally be ready to address some of his demons head on. We see the return of some of the characters we met in the first book - one in particular I wish Sully would sever all association with - but we also get to meet Alexis, an old friend and a badass photojounalist who works for the same paper as Sully and who has covered some of the nastiest war zones abroad. I liked her immediately and hope we get to see her again. The investigation itself was pretty interesting but though I figured out one reveal fairly early on, another one took me by surprise. While this book can be read independently of the first, there are elements of Sully's past as well as his current personal life that form the backdrop of everything he does and to best understand him it's best to read the books in order. I'm looking forward to reading Sully's third, and hopefully not last, book.
"These many years later, half the world's war zones in his rearview mirror, he sat at his desk in an office in a violent city, his back purple, his leg aching, and a narrow dab of dried blood on his chin, writing from the same pit of emotion."
When a relaxing lunch with some fellow news folks results in a high profile death landing in the lap of one Sullivan "Sully" Carter, the result is a story that is a worthy follow-up to the first book in the series. I like Sully and his brand of tenacious, investigative journalism. Though he has some serious baggage that manifests itself in some pretty major flaws, there is a glimmer of hope that Sully may finally be ready to address some of his demons head on. We see the return of some of the characters we met in the first book - one in particular I wish Sully would sever all association with - but we also get to meet Alexis, an old friend and a badass photojounalist who works for the same paper as Sully and who has covered some of the nastiest war zones abroad. I liked her immediately and hope we get to see her again. The investigation itself was pretty interesting but though I figured out one reveal fairly early on, another one took me by surprise. While this book can be read independently of the first, there are elements of Sully's past as well as his current personal life that form the backdrop of everything he does and to best understand him it's best to read the books in order. I'm looking forward to reading Sully's third, and hopefully not last, book.
"These many years later, half the world's war zones in his rearview mirror, he sat at his desk in an office in a violent city, his back purple, his leg aching, and a narrow dab of dried blood on his chin, writing from the same pit of emotion."
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