Review: The Way Home

The Way Home is the latest crime drama from George Pelecanos. I always enjoy a good crime story, and this, my first novel by Mr. Pelecanos, did not disappoint. However, I need to say that it is not "just" a crime story. The characters have deep layers, are tough and yet vulnerable, loners who want to be part of something bigger, such as a family. There are themes of redemption, love, protection, and strength in family all throughout the book.

From the Publisher: Christopher Flynn is trying to get it right. After years of trouble and rebellion that enraged his father and nearly cost him his life, he has a steady job in his father's company, he's seriously dating a woman he respects, and, aside from the distrust that lingers in his father's eyes, his mistakes are firmly in the past.
One day on the job, Chris and his partner come across a temptation almost too big to resist. Chris does the right thing, but old habits and instincts rise to the surface, threatening this new-found stability with sudden treachery and violence. With his father and his most trusted friends, he takes one last chance to blast past the demons trying to pull him back.
What isn't stated in the summary is that this is just the second half ofThe Way Home. The beginning is about Chris's troubled teen years, stealing cars, beating up kids, and other supposedly petty crimes. As a person who has worked with adolescents for many years, his behaviors and reasoning, or lack thereof rang true to me. As Chris matures, and prove corrects the neurologist who spoke with his parents in his youth, readers learn a little about the workings of an adolescent mind. (Hint: it doesn't really work!) Chris learns to build strong friendships based on trust and positive actions when his only friend drops him rather than defending him. Chris struggles with habits he learned during his dark years, while trying to learn a trade and find a path for his life. As a reader I wanted Chris to do what was right and I was proud of the person who ultimately forced him to stay straight. It will be surprising to readers to find out who that is!
The Way Home is written in a spare, gritty manner, descriptions realistic and vivid without being flowery. The complexity of the characters doesn't just blur, but smears the line between the labels "good" and "bad".
One of the things that I really liked about the story was all of the information about life in the Washington, D.C. area. Descriptions of neighborhoods undergoing gentrification, others that have become dangerous slums, different suburbs in Virginia and Maryland, all gave a real layer of authenticity to the book. I even went and looked up the National Arboretum and Rock Creek Park online after reading about them! If you're ever in the Washington D.C. area you really should go check them out.