Title: attention to detail sometimes a distraction
Product review: As far as crime dramas go, this is firmly mediocre. The story is okay and requires suspension of disbelief only sporadically, but the author's writing style is sometimes a distraction. Why do the African-American suspects always ask for Slice soda to drink? And they repeatedly make a point of asking for Slice. (Do they even make it anymore? I thought it was replaced by Sierra Mist). And another distracting detail is the author's way of giving so many people nicknames. You don't need to tell me that a guy's name is Ed "Smiley" Jones if you never mention "Smiley" again or there's not something significant from a story perspective about that nickname. That said, I liked the use of DC as the backdrop and if I was going on a plane ride, I would probably pick up another book by Pelecanos (but I wouldn't let anyone see what I was reading and then I'd leave it in the seatback when I deplaned).
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