“The author's admirers are familiar with middle-aged black PI Derek Strange, featured in several novels (Soul Circus, etc.) so strong that one critic has dubbed Pelecanos the Zola of contemporary crime fiction. This memorable tale is a prequel to those novels, set in Washington, D.C., mostly just before and during the 1968 riots sparked by the killing of Martin Luther King Jr. (...) Written in rich, observant prose, the novel is a brilliant study of a society tearing apart as racial tensions escalate after the King killing; no wonder some observers have pointed to Pelecanos as the kind of thriller writer who should be nominated for a National Book Award.”

Publishers Weekly

A 2004 Vacation Reading (selected by The New York Times)
“Derek Strange, African-American cop turned private investigator, is the hard-boiled hero through whom Pelecanos has filtered his knowledge of the unfortunate victims and nearly as unlucky perpetrators of crime in Washington. This volume, a kind of prequel, flashes back to Derek at 12, then yields to a family tragedy in 1968, amplified by the fury of the Martin Luther King riots.”