George P. Pelecanos Books In Order

Publication Order of Nick Stefanos Books

Publication Order of D.C. Quartet Books

Publication Order of Derek Strange & Terry Quinn Books

Publication Order of Spero Lucas Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of Anthologies

George P. Pelecanos is one of the highly renowned novelists from America, who likes to write literature & fiction, thriller, detective fiction, and mystery books. Most of the novels are set in Washington, D.C., which is also his hometown. Some of the well known characters created by author Pelecanos include D.C. Quartet, Derek Strange, and Nich Stefanos. In addition being a writer, author Pelecanos also serves as a TV producer, TV writer, and film producer. He started his writing career in the year 1992 with the release of his first book titled A Firing Offense. This book also debuted his Nick Stefanos series. Since then, author Pelecanos has penned multiple novel series and books in his writing career. Author Pelecanos was born on February 18, 1957, in Washington D.C. His birth had taken place in a Greek American family. The initial novels of Pelecanos were written in first person and were narrated through Nick Stefanos’ voice. He described Nick as a Greek resident of D.C., who works as a part time private investigator. Following the success of his first 4 books, author Pelecanos decided to change his narration style. And when he began writing the D.C. Quartet books, he tried to expand his fiction scope. After making himself comfortable with the new style of writing, Pelecanos stated that he never felt that he possessed the ability to become so ambitious during the earlier stages of his career. With the third person writing style, Pelecanos continued to display Stenfanos as more of a supporting character. The newer characters became Pelecanos’ main focus. The quartet spans over a few communities and decades, depicting the changing population in D.C.

In the year 2001, author Pelecanos introduced a new private detective team, comprising of Terry Quinn and Derek Strange. These characters went on to star as the chief protagonists in many of the recent works of the author. One of them, Hell to Pay, has even won the Gumshoe Award. The success of the books featuring these characters helped to cement the reputation of author Pelecanos as one of the best authors of crime fiction in recent times. However, the cult and critical affection were brought only by the D.C. Quartet books. The other novels were written with the common formula of unconflicted criminals being chased by witty protagonists. As Pelecanos sensed this, he decided to switch the focus once again. With the 2004 book, Hard Revolution, he too Derek Strange into the early days of the police force of D.C. Pelecanos made one more interesting move by including a CD with the book. By doing so, he emulated author Michael Connelly, who used this idea first. In 2006, author Pelecanos wrote The Night Gardener, which depicted a major change in writing style and also depicted his own cameo. Author Pelecanos has also written and published several short fiction stories in a number of magazines and anthologies. He also reviews other books and novels and publishes his reviews in New York Times, Washington Post, etc. In 2011, Pelecanos introduced another character named Spero Lucas, who is depicted as Iraqi War’s young veteran. Spero is shown working as a part time investigator for a defense attorney in D.C. He also takes up jobs to find stolen things in which he takes a cut of 40%. As far as the personal life of author Pelecanos is concerned, he is happily married and resides in Silver Spring’s D.C suburb in Maryland. He is blessed with three beautiful children.

One of the well known novel series written by George P. Pelecanos is known as D.C. Quartet. It is comprised of 4 novels in total, which were released between the years 1996 and 2000. The first book of this series was published under the title of ‘The Big Blowdown’. It was released by the Serpent’s Tail publication in the year 2011, after its initial release in 1996. Author Pelecanos has set the plot in the year 1946 in Washington DC. At the start of the story, a couple of young men named Joey Recevo and Pete Karras are shown coming out of war and trying to search for work. The easiest way for them to do so is to start working for a local crime lord as musclemen. Both of them are asked to work for the protection racket that their boss runs with the members of Mafia. However, the problem that Pete Karras has is that he has a soft attitude towards the fellow immigrants. And the boss does not want his mob to have softness as it is not beneficial for his work. Therefore, he asks his other boys to teach a lesson to Karras, that he should not forget all his life. Eventually, Joey and Pete Karras meet after a gap of three years and indulge into a last confrontation. As a result, the meaning of honor and friendship is put to ultimate test. Now, both Joey Recevo and Pete have to decide whether they want to continue with their friendship or turn into foes on the orders of the crime boss.

The second installment of the series is called as ‘King Suckerman’. It was released by the Dell publication in the year 2001, after its first publication in 1997. The book starts by depicting the week before the celebration of the Bicentennial in D.C. During such times of celebration, King Suckerman is the new Blaxploitation movie that has everyone talking about it. Dimitri Karras and Marcus Clay are out to look for some weed when they come across a huge deal that goes bad. They wait till things subside and then collect the cash that is not theirs. Dimitri Karras is shown as a small town dealer, whereas Marcus Clay is depicted as a record owner. Soon after, they realize that they are chased by a gangster who wishes them to go for settling the score with him. This makes Marcus and Dimitri suddenly find themselves as players of a more savage game involving crosses and double crosses. The novel goes on to evoke the retrocool of the music, movies, and clothes of the seventies era in a brilliant way. This novel also seems real, violent, and bold, and turns out to be a supercharged thriller. It follows the hardboiled tradition of David Goodis, Pulp Fiction, and Jim Thompson in an excellent way. All these elements make the book one of the strongest works of author Pelecanos till date. Many critics believe that this book will help author Pelecanos gather a whole new set of audiences and admirers.