Twenty years ago, Detective Gus Ramone was a patrol officer at the scene of one of the infamous Palindrome Murders. Now, two decades later, a body had been found that seems to match the MO of the killer. The new victim, Asa Johnson, was a young black kid shot in the head and found in a garden.

Although not assigned to the case, Ramone investigates Asa Johnson's death. This is personal because he knows the family, and his son used to hang out with Asa. Then another homicide Ramone is investigating is linked to Asa's death. Fears grow that the murderer may strike again, and detectives race to track down leads.

In the meantime, two former police officers are drawn to the Johnson case. One, a retired detective, was the primary on the first Palindrome Murders. The other, a washout alcoholic, was the one who found Asa's body and anonymously reported it. Together, they try to revive the Palindrome cases, which has been colder than ice for years.

Multiple threads twist through the case, which grows more complicated by the chapter. In addition, Pelecanos weaves in the many issues facing Ramone's mixed-race family, especially given the impact of this case.

The writing in this novel is concise and readable. Street lingo is a bit heavy at times--which will make some readers wish for a glossary--but most of it can be figured out through its context. Besides the lingo, there are many scenes involving hardcore dealers. For most of the story, it isn't clear how these subplots fit in to the overall story. Although it becomes clear in the end, some of it was superfluous. While these scenes were as well written as the rest, the mystery would have been just as compelling without the deep point-of-view given to these threads.

This was a decent novel, but wasn't satisfying in the end. All answers will be revealed, but not the way readers of this genre generally appreciate.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
7/27/2006

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