Drama City by George Pelecanos
Drama City by George Pelecanos
Lorenzo Brown just wants to stay straight. After eight years in prison on a drug charge, he's come "uptown" -- back to the Washington, D.C., neighborhood where he grew up, where his old cohorts still work their corners and their angles, trying to get ahead and stay alive. But Lorenzo's had enough of the life: now he has a job as a Humane Society officer, policing animal abusers and protecting the abused. In the dangerous streets, he used to menace, Lorenzo plays a part in maintaining order -- and it's a role reversal some of his former friends don't appreciate.
Rachel Lopez, Lorenzo's parole officer, tries to help him even as she battles her own demons and excesses. Staying one step ahead of her troubled past is a daily struggle. It looks like they both might make it until a malevolent young killer working for a powerful local drug boss changes everything with one violent act. Now Lorenzo finds himself caught between the light and dark sides of the street, struggling to stay legit -- but tempted to throw everything away to exact revenge.
Little, Brown and Company, Softcover, 2003
THIS IS A BRAND NEW BOOK.