#37 Hell to Pay, by George Pelecanos (Orion)

Hell to Pay is the third George Pelecanos novel of my challenge, and while I'd really enjoyed the previous two (Hard Revolution and Right as Rain), I couldn't help thinking that there was something missing. Perhaps it was the high level of my expectations; having known Pelecanos was one of the influential writers of HBO drama The Wire - the best thing on television, ever - I was hoping for great things, rather than novels that were simply very good.

Well, I'm no longer so concerned, because Hell to Pay surpasses the highest of expectations and is everything I hoped for. A wonderful novel and a polemic against drug culture, the overwhelming feeling the reader is left with is one of anger. And it leaves a big impression.

The book is dedicated to Dennis K Ashton Jnr, a seven-year-old who was killed accidentally in a shooting in Washington, the setting of Pelecanos' novels, in 1997. The inspiration is clear: Hell to Pay features a young boy who is murdered in a drug-related incident in which his relative was the chief target, and the futility of such shootings, the desperate impoverished life that provides the backdrop and the constant battle being fought between a desire for justice and revenge are all key themes.

The lives and characters of the recurring characters, private investigators Derek Strange, Terry Quinn and others, are further fleshed out and reward readers of previous novels in the series while ensuring newcomers are treated to such a fine stand-alone book that they will be sure to look up the back catalogue.

Like the best literature (and works of art in general), Hell to Pay not only expands the knowledge and cultural awareness of the reader (the audience), but also challenges them; poses difficult questions, and makes you wonder what the answers to those questions are. It also makes you question whether there are any answers, and if not, why not.

It's the new best book I've read of the year so far.

So, rating time:

#37 Hell to Pay, by George Pelecanos (Orion) - 9/10

Next up: Divorced and Deadly, by Josephine Cox (Harper Collins)

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