The Cut

In Pelecanos’s latest, ex-Marine Spero Lucas, returned from Iraq, is trying to maintain some semblance of humanity and morality while sleuthing on the mean streets of Washington, D.C. Soon he finds himself accepting a job from a notorious crime boss and descending into a world of violence and intrigue. Narrator Dion Graham lends each character—including Lucas, his no-nonsense mother, his well-educated African-American stepbrother, his sullen convict client, and a couple of naïve thieves—a distinctive, appropriate voice. Graham also shines in his rendering of the author’s lively, naturalistic dialogue, while his oddly fluctuating, almost singsong narration becomes less and less distracting as the action ramps up, with Lucas searching for a cache of stolen drugs and his place in civilian life. A Little, Brown/Reagan Arthur Books hardcover. (Aug.)