King Suckerman

A Novel

By: George Pelecanos

Narrated by: Cary Hite

In the summer of 1976, the nation's capital is gearing up for the Bicentennial. Captain Beefheart's on the eight-track, and the hot new film "King Suckerman" has everyone talking. Two knockaround guys named Clay and Karras are out looking for trouble when they stumble onto a drug deal gone bad and end up with a pile of money that isn't theirs. When the well-armed dealer starts spilling blood to get to the cash, Clay and Karras must take a stand, go straight, and get justice--or maybe just sweet revenge.

Hard to follow

Very hard to follow often fell asleep. Maybe the print version would be better. I did get through it

Not the best of Pelecanos.

Not up to Pelecanos standards. The setup for the final gunfight on the roof was amateurish.

An early Pelecanos, and a good one

I’m a big fan of George Pelecanos. This is one of his early books, but it is very much in the mold of
later ones, with a wonderful evocation of DC street culture. Set on the Bicentennial summer of 1976, the story revolves around Vietnam vet and entrepreneurial record shop owner Marcus, who gets into a deeply serious jam with a gang from out of town. There are some plot holes, and some annoying mispronunciations by the otherwise very good narrator, but the richly developed characters and realization of the world they inhabit make this a very worthwhile listen.