A review by nonna7
Hard Revolution by George Pelecanos

5.0

This book introduced Derek Strange a rookie cop in Washington, DC. The description of the book in Goodreads is incorrect. Terry Quinn doesn’t appear in this book even though it says it is a Derek Strange/Terry Quinn novel.

The book opens in 1959 when Derek Strange is only 12 years old. His ambition is to be a police officer. His father is a short order cook at a local diner. His mother is a domestic worker. One of her employers is a police detective, Vaughn, and his wife, Olga. Vaughn loves his wife but he strays on a regular basis. Derek hangs with kids with several different kids including one who will feature in the book when they are both adults.

This prologue sets the stage for the meat of the book which is in 1968. It’s April and spring is in the air. If you know anything about April of 1968 in American history, you will soon see where this book is going.

However, it’s still early in April when things begin. Derek is now a rookie police officer who has been paired with another rookie, Troy, who is white, Princeton educated and a Peace Corps graduate. Derek has made up his mind about Troy and resists efforts by his partner to be friends outside the job.

Derek has his own apartment but visits his parents every Sunday for dinner. His older brother, Dennis, is still living at home. He is disable and a Navy veteran who has never been able to find himself and has fallen in with some bad company. One of them, Alvin, is particularly cruel and violent. He makes plans to rob a local store and involves his cousin plus Dennis Strange, Derek’s older brother.

Meanwhile we meet three young white men whose lives revolve around their cars and good times that start with alcohol and drugs. One of them, Mancini, is a tortured Vietnam veteran who once persuaded Derek as a 12 year old to try shoplifting. They also make robbery plans but on a much grander scale. However, before they do it, one of them commits a horrific crime.

A LOT goes on here and I don’t want to give anything away. This is a Washington DC simmering with racial tension. Blockbusting has been changing the population. The kind of jobs that are available require a high school diploma and college neither of which are plentiful in DC’s black population at the time.

Meanwhile Martin Luther King has completed his march on Washington and is working in Memphis on the garbage strike. When he’s assassinated Washington burns.

Despite the different circumstances this book is almost eerily reminiscent of the racial and class issues in present day American society.

There are several books in this series. Right As Rain was the first one and Derek is a middle aged private investigator in this book. This book was written later and is really a prequel to the series.

This is a violent and bloody book something that is usually not my style. However, Pelecanos is an engaging writer who writes in a very literate and clear style. He really knows his music which sets the scene. In addition he is an encyclopedia of knowledge about stores and bars and what was located where. Even though I don’t know DC well I can visualize a lot of it.

Despite the different time this book is almost spooky in it’s setting. Unfortunately times haven’t changed as much as they should have despite what people think.