The Big Blowdown

Powerfully told elegantly wrought George P. Pelecanos''s The Big Blowdown is a knockout.Washington DC 1946. For Joey Recevo and Pete Karras two kids from one of Washington''s rougher neighborhoods the easiest work to find after the War is all criminal---providing a little muscle for a local boss. But Karris is soft on his fellow immigrants and the boss can''t let his mob get soft so one of his boys gives Karras a painful lesson. Three years later it''s the same mob that figures big Nick Stefanos''s grill needs protection---and this decision will once again bring Joey and Pete face-to-face. In this final confrontation the two of them will find the meaning of friendship the heart of honor and the cost of both.