#11 Hard Revolution, by George Pelecanos (Orion)

If we start with the basic assumption that The Wire is the greatest television show of all time (and as anyone who has ever watched the programme will testify, that’s a statement beyond contradiction), then it’s no surprise that I had to read something by George Pelecanos.

Pelacanos, you see, is one of the writers – and, subsequently, producers - on the afore-mentioned Greatest Show of All Time (™) and given the writing is one of the reasons for The Wire’s exalted status, it doesn’t take Johnny Ball to put two and two together and realise his books might be worth a look-see.

Hard Revolution tells the tale of a rookie black police officer in Washington in the 1960s; how he came to be a policeman, how his job affects his relationships with all those around him and, finally, how he deals with the assassination of Martin Luther King and the subsequent riots that erupt around him.

This being Pelacanos, it’s unsurprising that a number of crimes are being plotted or carried out at once, that a number of characters are morally ambiguous, and that minor decisions by one character tend to have major ramifications for someone else.

It’s a gripping book, first propelling the reader into a culture or era which with they might be unfamiliar, making it comfortable and understandable, and then contriving a series of circumstances that make the book feel as if it is spinning out of control in parallel with events for the lead character as the riots ensue. I enjoyed it very much.

So, rating time:

#11 Hard Revolution, by George Pelecanos (Orion) - 8/10

Next up: Man in the Dark, by Paul Auster (Faber and Faber Limited)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating