SHAME THE DEVIL

New York City, NY: Little, Brown & Company, 2000. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Little, Brown & Company, 2000. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 300 pages. The author's eighth novel. One of George P. Pelecanos' finest achievements. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents George Pelecanos' "Shame The Devil". Essential Pelecanos at his absolute best. Pelecanos' novels are set in Washington, DC, prompting his most ardent followers to call him the Emile Zola of the nation's capital. "We find a society of grieving men and women connected by loss, betrayal, the need for revenge, and the shadowy presence of evil. In the aftermath of a botched armed robbery, a fair number of lives have been thrown into a downward spiral. The problems, however, come on faster and with more fury once the status quo sustaining the survivors has been breached by an ill-wishing and unwanted addition to their little group. Here are two favorite moments: In one, protagonist Dimitri Karras asks the name of a fellow bar patron. Hearing that he's called Happy, Karras comments that he doesn't look too happy. The answer: 'He's pacing himself'. The other: We hear the thoughts of the sociopathic villain: 'Some believed that incarceration was a mark of failure, but Frank disagreed. Prison was an essential element of any career criminal's education' " (Otto Penzler). "Pelecanos is that rare bird among Washington novelists, a writer who loves and knows the city he writes about" (Publishers Weekly). One of about five American thriller writers of our time who completely inhabit and transcend the genre at the same time. An absolute "must-have" title for George P. Pelecanos collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black pen on the title page by George P. Pelecanos. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce signed copy thus. One of the finest American writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER GEORGE P. PELECANOS TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0316695238.