Series
Publication
Back Bay Books (2011), Edition: Reprint, 288 pages
Original publication date
1992
Collections
Genres
Subjects
Description
As the advertising director of Nutty Nathan's, Nick Stefanos knows all the tricks of the electronics business. Blow-out sales and shady deals were his life. When one of the stockboys disappears, it's not news: just another metalhead who went off chasing some dream of big money and easy living. But the kid reminded Nick of himself twelve years ago: an angry punk hooked on speed metal and the fast life. So when the boy's grandfather begs Nick to find the kid, Nick says he'll try. A Firing Offense, Nick Stefanos' debut, shows why, as Barry Gifford puts it, "To miss out on Pelecanos would be criminal."
User reviews
LibraryThing member dspoon
George P Pelecanos has forged a deserved reputation for mixing the classical with the new: hard drama and atmosphere along with a plentiful supply of pop culture references and a dash of social conscience. His creation of hard-livin' Washington DC appliance salesman Nick Stefanos is a welcome
Show More
addition to the varied pantheon of put-upon gumshoes. Technically, Nick isn't even a P.I, he just happens to be very good at acting like one. Who better, then, to head the search for missing stockboy Jimmy Broda, recently fired for bad attendance and last seen in the company of two dangerous drug-dealers? For what is essentially a thin tale, Pelecanos superbly executes the splendid irony that being a private eye will offer Nick more satisfaction than the rampant corruption that occurs in the legitimate world of retail. With A Firing Offense, Pelecanos has wonderfully laid the groundwork for what would become the staple of his later works, a perfect lure for both existing fans and newcomers. Slight, but engaging, this opening gambit oozes with the potential that is now routinely consolidated. Show Less
LibraryThing member theanalogdivide
A taut little noir that provides hints to the author Pelecanos has become. Solid crime story set in a very real, lived-in world. The man clearly knows his D.C., and knows it well.
LibraryThing member theanalogdivide
A taut little noir that provides hints to the author Pelecanos has become. Solid crime story set in a very real, lived-in world. The man clearly knows his D.C., and knows it well.
LibraryThing member Darrol
An enjoyable story of a man switching from being a retail salesman to a private investigator who, in this initial installment, works well outside the law. A not too obnoxious version of the sleeping with the perpetrator gimmick. The narration is a little like the brat pack (Bret Easton Ellis and
Show More
Jay McInerney): drugs and music. Show Less
Language
Other editions
A Firing Offense by George Pelecanos (Paperback)