THE TURNAROUND

Novelist George Pelecanos engages the imagination and plucks the heartstrings with his latest novel of crime and its aftermath. Dion Graham’s narration adds to the inflammatory mix of racial hatred, violence and redemption. When three white teenage boys venture into an unfamiliar Washington, DC, neighborhood on a sweltering summer afternoon in 1972, they encounter three black teens, and a violent confrontation occurs. Graham handles all the characters with aplomb, adding just the right measure of sneer or growl to his delivery when needed. This is a heartfelt story of violence, its repercussions, and the magnanimity of the human spirit. R.O. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2008]