Marcus Clay’s store is ostensibly protected by two of Washington’s finest, Tutt and Murphy. The relationship between Tutt and Murphy, a white and Black team, is strained, and Clay is not sure whether it is because of race, or because one of them lacks professional ethics. They may be either patronizing the drug lord, or at best, ignoring his efforts to do business on their beat.

One day, there is a horrible car accident in front of Real Right. The driver is decapitated and the car burns. The only witness, a young boy named Anthony Taylor, sees a white man take a bag out of the flaming car and flee. Anthony is reluctant to talk when questioned by the police because he doesn’t trust them. Since Marcus has befriended the youth, Anthony tells him what he saw. Although Marcus is trying to set a good example, he believes the cops are crooked, and advises Anthony to selectively relate his observations.

Soon, the local drug king, Tyrell Cleveland, and his henchmen call on Marcus. They believe that Marcus knows the location of the missing bag. The bag contains drug money belonging to Cleveland, and they are not pleased with Marcus’ answers. Marcus manages to survive his first encounter with the group, but Cleveland is clearly not going to give up on retrieving his booty.

The blurbs for The Sweet Forever, written by some highly respected mystery authors, suggest that it will immediately catch your interest and demand that you finish it in one sitting. Alas, I did not find that to be the case. The book presumes a definite knowledge of the drug scene and lingo of the mid-1980s, as well as an interest in the music of the time and college basketball. Unfortunately, I come up short on all three counts, so I struggled through the first one hundred pages. Having persevered, I am glad I did.

Although the book should probably be classified as a thriller, where plot seems to be foremost, the author does a marvelous job with his characters. They all readily become real people with whom the reader can easily identify and sympathize. One gets to know and respect Marcus Clay who, although he seems to have made some glaring errors in his marriage, cares about his employees and the street urchin, Anthony. Murphy, the Black cop, has shown a decided lack of good judgment in the past, but recognizes his errors and is making some effort to set things right.

Dimitri is an interesting character because he has obviously made some bad choices and seems headed for disaster. Then he does a remarkable about face, and shows his compassionate side. His personality change seems almost too drastic, yet the author offers some plausible explanations for Dimitri’s actions. Even though there are many characters, each is so distinctive that it is not difficult to remember their significance to the story.

As is true with many stories in the thriller category, there is little that is mysterious in the plot. Tension is created by uncertainty. Cleveland, the drug chief, seemingly, has the power to eliminate people at will. The squeamish should probably look elsewhere for a good read. But the rest will find the characters in George Pelecanos’ powerful crime novel definitely come alive. I look forward to meeting them again in the future.

--Andy Plonka