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On a hot summer afternoon in Washington DC 1972, three white teenagers, stoned and fearless, drive a stolen car into Heathrow Heights - a rough, black neighbourhood near where they live. Taunting local black kids through the car window, they speed off to what they think is safety. Tragically, they find themselves trapped in a dead-end street whilst an angry mob gathers. In the ensuing chaos, two of the white boys manage to escape, but Billy - the third friend - is shot dead.The youths from both neighbourhoods eventually go their separate ways, but this event will remain the defining moment in many of their lives. Thirty-five years later, one of these men reaches out to another, opening a door that could lead to salvation. However, another survivor of that day is now out of prison, and is looking for reparation in any form he can find it…The Turnaround takes us on a journey from the rock-and-soul streets of the 1970s to the changing neighbourhoods of DC today. It is a novel of fathers and sons, wives and husbands, loss, victory and ultimately violent redemption. George Pelecanos talks about the real-life violent racial incident that inspired The Turnaround.
'being one of the trio of crime novelists responsible for much of hte scriptwriting on The Greatest Show Ever is all the recommendation us Wire fans need. ... His eye for the detail (and the music) of American blue-collar life and willingness to let his creations breath make The Turnaround a credible and forceful examination into making up and making do.'
THE WORD
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