What It Was, George Pelecanos

. Book 5 of the Derek Strange series. Begins in present-day 2012 when the book was written and has Derek telling his friend and fellow investigator Nick Stefanos about the ruthless killer, Red Fury, back in 1972, when Derek had left the police force and set up shop as a private investigator. His former partner, Frank Vaughn is still on the force. When someone hires Derek to find a missing ring, the case leads Strange onto Vaughn’s turf where one homicide is followed by multiple homicides and the span of days. It’s the killer, Red Fury, who is bent on creating a legend for himself – doesn’t care who he crosses, kills, backstabs… anything to get what he wants. So, in order to catch someone with this attitude, you must do it your own way. This leads Strange and Vaughn to a showdown with the Red Fury. A fitting ending to the Derek Strange series, though Pelecanos does leave it open-ended at the end, so you never know… he may have one more in him. Either way, this series is a good start for anyone interested in reading Pelecanos’s work. I mean this guy created “The Wire”… how can you go wrong?