THE WHITES by Richard Price (writing as Harry Brandt)

GRADE: A-

Years ago, I was blown away by the urban crime epic Clockers and I swore to read everything that author Richard Price had ever written. I got caught up in discovering new authors and (other than reading Samaritan and enjoying it) I've sadly been neglecting his work. I'm kicking myself now because this latest book, The Whites, is wonderful. He wrote it as Harry Brandt, a sort-of-pseudonym that he reportedly used because he wanted to write a more straight-up short cop thriller than Price normally writes. Well, he failed, because this is way more than just a standard thriller. It's not even really a thriller. But what it is is a complex and tragic character piece focusing on an NYPD cop dealing not only with the nightly horrors that he investigates with his Manhattan Night Watch team, but also with the consequences of the past surfacing to threaten his family and friends. 

In my opinion, what has always set Price apart as a writer is his impeccable attention to detail when it comes to character. Most of the great crime writers today still can't match his ability to craft such engaging personalities. And in this novel, that ability is fully on display. Literally every character here, both major and minor, stands out, and is meticulously well-drawn and memorable.  Also, the family-life of both Billy Graves and Milton Ramos were just as compelling to read about as the police investigations. This is a book about friendship and family, as well as justice and morality, and the repercussions that arise in the pursuit of both; the pursuit of your personal White.

SAMARITAN by Richard Price

GRADE: B

A failed screenwriter returns to his hometown of Dempsey, New Jersey (the same fictional city featured in Richard Price's masterpiece Clockers), in order to get back in touch with his roots and to teach a high school class. After he decides to do some good deeds in the inner-city community, he gets his ass kicked close to death. He's refusing to name his attackers or give a reason for the beating, so his old high school friend, and now near-retired cop, Nerese "Tweetie" Ammons, sets out to find the answers.

Richard Price is a great wordsmith with true sense of authenticity in his writing. In Samaritan although there's some rambling soliloquizing from certain characters that drags and slows down the story at times, he tells a solid story of deep moral and emotional complexity with compelling, relatable characters (Nerese specifically is a refreshing creation). The novel also turns out to be a thoughtful look at the urban public education system.

CLOCKERS by Richard Price

Grade: A

Amazing!!!

The book tracks parallel stories of two men on different sides of the drug game revolving around a murder in the fictional New Jersey Town of Dempsey, one a young, mid-level, cocaine dealer, the other a homicide cop. The engaging characterizations of these two men are what truly make this novel shine. From Strike (with his paranoia, orderliness, and his frustration with both his lower-level dealers and his perforated ulcer), to Rocco (with his jaded outlook on is job, love for his wife and daughter, and his embarrassing obsession with pleasing a famous actor), the characters are truly vivid!

But there's also so much more. At times it's flat-out funny, it has suspenseful mystery, and has a great dose of urban social commentary. If you are a fan of the amazing HBO series The Wire, you'd be happy to know that the show was HEAVILY influenced by this book. An essential crime classic and one of my favorites!