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Derek Strange & Terry Quinn #6
The Blue Flame
Not yet published
Expected 4 Aug 26From George Pelecanos, bestselling author and Emmy-nominated writer for HBO’s The Wire and Treme: private investigator Derek Strange returns, in a riveting drama about revenge, greed, and redemption
He was curious. It was the cop in him. That flame was still alive.
The neon “Strange Investigations” sign may be flickering in disrepair outside his office, but private investigator Derek Strange is still accepting new cases. When a flashy drug lawyer hires him to prove an alibi for an accused murderer, Strange can’t help getting drawn into the darkness. In his hunt for answers, he stands his ground against some of Washington, D.C.’s most dangerous criminals, and a police department that doesn’t entirely welcome his interference. As the violence escalates and claims another victim, the raised stakes force Strange to question his own moves. Are his instincts still intact?
The Blue Flame is signature Pelecanos: tough, smart, rich with details of a time and place—and at its core, exposing the good and bad that exist side by side in so-called heroes and villains alike.
He was curious. It was the cop in him. That flame was still alive.
The neon “Strange Investigations” sign may be flickering in disrepair outside his office, but private investigator Derek Strange is still accepting new cases. When a flashy drug lawyer hires him to prove an alibi for an accused murderer, Strange can’t help getting drawn into the darkness. In his hunt for answers, he stands his ground against some of Washington, D.C.’s most dangerous criminals, and a police department that doesn’t entirely welcome his interference. As the violence escalates and claims another victim, the raised stakes force Strange to question his own moves. Are his instincts still intact?
The Blue Flame is signature Pelecanos: tough, smart, rich with details of a time and place—and at its core, exposing the good and bad that exist side by side in so-called heroes and villains alike.
256 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication August 4, 2026
41 people want to read
About the author
George P. Pelecanos
79 books1,653 followersGeorge Pelecanos was born in Washington, D.C., in 1957. He worked as a line cook, dishwasher, bartender, and woman's shoe salesman before publishing his first novel in 1992.
Pelecanos is the author of eighteen novels set in and around Washington, D.C.: A Firing Offense, Nick's Trip, Shoedog, Down by the River Where the Dead Men Go, The Big Blowdown, King Suckerman, The Sweet Forever, Shame the Devil, Right as Rain, Hell to Pay, Soul Circus, Hard Revolution, Drama City, The Night Gardener, The Turnaround, The Way Home, The Cut, and What It Was. He has been the recipient of the Raymond Chandler award in Italy, the Falcon award in Japan, and the Grand Prix du Roman Noir in France. Hell to Pay and Soul Circus were awarded the 2003 and 2004 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. His short fiction has appeared in Esquire, Playboy, and the collections Unusual Suspects, Best American Mystery Stories of 1997, Measures of Poison, Best American Mystery Stories of 2002, Men from Boys, and Murder at the Foul Line. He served as editor on the collections D.C. Noir and D.C. Noir 2: The Classics, as well as The Best Mystery Stories of 2008. He is an award-winning essayist who has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, GQ, Sight and Sound, Uncut, Mojo, and numerous other publications. Esquire called him "the poet laureate of the D.C. crime world." In Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King wrote that Pelecanos is "perhaps the greatest living American crime writer." Pelecanos would like to note that Mr. King used the qualifier "perhaps."
Pelecanos served as producer on the feature films Caught (Robert M. Young, 1996), Whatever, (Susan Skoog, 1998) and BlackMale (George and Mike Baluzy, 1999), and was the U.S. distributor of John Woo's cult classic, The Killer and Richard Bugajski's Interrogation. Most recently, he was a producer, writer, and story editor for the acclaimed HBO dramatic series, The Wire, winner of the Peabody Award and the AFI Award. He was nominated for an Emmy for his writing on that show. He was a writer and co-producer on the World War II miniseries The Pacific, and is currently at work as an executive producer and writer on David Simon's HBO dramatic series Treme, shot in New Orleans.
Pelecanos lives with his family in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Pelecanos is the author of eighteen novels set in and around Washington, D.C.: A Firing Offense, Nick's Trip, Shoedog, Down by the River Where the Dead Men Go, The Big Blowdown, King Suckerman, The Sweet Forever, Shame the Devil, Right as Rain, Hell to Pay, Soul Circus, Hard Revolution, Drama City, The Night Gardener, The Turnaround, The Way Home, The Cut, and What It Was. He has been the recipient of the Raymond Chandler award in Italy, the Falcon award in Japan, and the Grand Prix du Roman Noir in France. Hell to Pay and Soul Circus were awarded the 2003 and 2004 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. His short fiction has appeared in Esquire, Playboy, and the collections Unusual Suspects, Best American Mystery Stories of 1997, Measures of Poison, Best American Mystery Stories of 2002, Men from Boys, and Murder at the Foul Line. He served as editor on the collections D.C. Noir and D.C. Noir 2: The Classics, as well as The Best Mystery Stories of 2008. He is an award-winning essayist who has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, GQ, Sight and Sound, Uncut, Mojo, and numerous other publications. Esquire called him "the poet laureate of the D.C. crime world." In Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King wrote that Pelecanos is "perhaps the greatest living American crime writer." Pelecanos would like to note that Mr. King used the qualifier "perhaps."
Pelecanos served as producer on the feature films Caught (Robert M. Young, 1996), Whatever, (Susan Skoog, 1998) and BlackMale (George and Mike Baluzy, 1999), and was the U.S. distributor of John Woo's cult classic, The Killer and Richard Bugajski's Interrogation. Most recently, he was a producer, writer, and story editor for the acclaimed HBO dramatic series, The Wire, winner of the Peabody Award and the AFI Award. He was nominated for an Emmy for his writing on that show. He was a writer and co-producer on the World War II miniseries The Pacific, and is currently at work as an executive producer and writer on David Simon's HBO dramatic series Treme, shot in New Orleans.
Pelecanos lives with his family in Silver Spring, Maryland.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 1, 2026
After a fourteen-year hiatus, Pelacanos returns in “The Blue Flame” to his Strange and Quinn series with Quinn long absent and Strange having a sort-of-new partner Grace, who plays an entirely minor and supporting role. Derek Strange is a private eye who plies his trade in the mean streets of D.C. where he grew up. Strange is nostalgic for fast muscle cars and hot music and wants to do the right thing even though official law enforcement wants him to stay on the sidelines and play by the rules.
Lately business is slow and he accepts a case from a too-dapper defense attorney Lake who Strange really has a dislike for. The case involves a walk up shooting and Lake;s client is the key suspect both because the victim owed him money and because the murder weapon was found at one of his stash houses. No one is willing to entertain any other theory. Strange works the case, but is warned by a witness’ father to stay the hell away from her.
The bulk of the novel though is about a separate interwoven case and Strange is not invited to be part of the case though he eventually plays a role in solving it.
Pelecanos offers a well-written, compelling read that is if anything understated until it reaches its explosive ending.
Lately business is slow and he accepts a case from a too-dapper defense attorney Lake who Strange really has a dislike for. The case involves a walk up shooting and Lake;s client is the key suspect both because the victim owed him money and because the murder weapon was found at one of his stash houses. No one is willing to entertain any other theory. Strange works the case, but is warned by a witness’ father to stay the hell away from her.
The bulk of the novel though is about a separate interwoven case and Strange is not invited to be part of the case though he eventually plays a role in solving it.
Pelecanos offers a well-written, compelling read that is if anything understated until it reaches its explosive ending.
April 16, 2026
As Blue Flame flickers to life, Antone Anthony, a mid-level marijuana dealer, has been accused of murdering Nigel Walker, a childhood friend. Antone’s ironclad alibi places him safely away from where the crime was committed, but a police raid on his home turned up the gun used in the killing. Antone claims innocence, swearing he’s never even fired a gun and had no reason to extinguish Nigel’s light. A flashy lawyer representing Antone brings in our protagonist, private investigator Derek Strange and he’s tasked to dig through background which might help Antone beat the murder wrap. Strange makes little progress where he intended to investigate but discovers secrets of other characters.
When section two begins, three weeks have passed and we are dropped into a bubbling police procedural. This section is more interestingly constructed as we learn a woman’s body has been discovered decomposing in a freezer. The police guess she’s been there for a couple weeks and she may be connected to Antone’s upcoming murder case. The story picks up pace, but still moves in a straight line.
The Blue Flame is never bad but is often average, and in such a crowded genre a book must come loaded with unexpected twists and flourishes to stand out. For the most part the prose is pedestrian, the plotting simple and linear, and character's arcs flat. This author is famous for writing scripts, and the novel often feels overdecorated with descriptions of environment. We will get an entire page of the specific sports memorabilia covering an office wall, and it does nothing to advance the story. Street slang is sometimes used when telling the story, outside of actual dialogue and something about that feels out of place.
The finale competently mixes the violent with sentimental. Again, the book is fine, and perhaps longtime fans of the series who know a ton of backstory about Derek Strange will get more out the experience. As a standalone, it is nothing exceptional.
Thanks to NetGalley and Cardinal for a review copy.
When section two begins, three weeks have passed and we are dropped into a bubbling police procedural. This section is more interestingly constructed as we learn a woman’s body has been discovered decomposing in a freezer. The police guess she’s been there for a couple weeks and she may be connected to Antone’s upcoming murder case. The story picks up pace, but still moves in a straight line.
The Blue Flame is never bad but is often average, and in such a crowded genre a book must come loaded with unexpected twists and flourishes to stand out. For the most part the prose is pedestrian, the plotting simple and linear, and character's arcs flat. This author is famous for writing scripts, and the novel often feels overdecorated with descriptions of environment. We will get an entire page of the specific sports memorabilia covering an office wall, and it does nothing to advance the story. Street slang is sometimes used when telling the story, outside of actual dialogue and something about that feels out of place.
The finale competently mixes the violent with sentimental. Again, the book is fine, and perhaps longtime fans of the series who know a ton of backstory about Derek Strange will get more out the experience. As a standalone, it is nothing exceptional.
Thanks to NetGalley and Cardinal for a review copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for this eARC.
Derek Strange (a black ex cop turned private eye) returns, in book 6 of this compelling series...
George Pelecanos’s The Blue Flame is a sharp, (wholly enjoyable) grounded crime novel that leans less on spectacle and more on the quiet weight of consequences. At its center is a private investigator who feels convincingly worn—not in a dramatic, self-pitying way, but in the subtle, accumulated sense of someone who has seen too many bad endings and keeps going.
Pelecanos excels at controlling the tone. The story moves at a steady, deliberate pace, allowing tension to build naturally rather than forcing it through constant twists. The Washington, D.C. setting isn’t just background noise; it breathes through the book, shaping the characters and their choices in ways that feel authentic rather than ornamental.
The moral landscape here is particularly compelling. There are no clean lines between right and wrong, only decisions made under pressure, often with incomplete information. Pelecanos resists the urge to simplify his characters, giving even minor figures a sense of history and motivation that lingers beyond their page time.
If there’s any drawback, it’s that readers expecting a fast, high-adrenaline thriller might find the novel a bit restrained; however in that restraint therein lies this novel's strength—it trusts the reader to sit with discomfort, ambiguity, and the slow unraveling of truth.
The Blue Flame is a thoughtful, character-driven crime story that prioritizes realism and emotional depth over flash. It’s the kind of book that stays with you not because of a shocking twist, but because of how honestly it portrays the cost of living in a world where justice is rarely simple.
This was the first book I have read by
George Pelecanos, it won't be my last as I return to read the early Derek Strange offerings...
Derek Strange (a black ex cop turned private eye) returns, in book 6 of this compelling series...
George Pelecanos’s The Blue Flame is a sharp, (wholly enjoyable) grounded crime novel that leans less on spectacle and more on the quiet weight of consequences. At its center is a private investigator who feels convincingly worn—not in a dramatic, self-pitying way, but in the subtle, accumulated sense of someone who has seen too many bad endings and keeps going.
Pelecanos excels at controlling the tone. The story moves at a steady, deliberate pace, allowing tension to build naturally rather than forcing it through constant twists. The Washington, D.C. setting isn’t just background noise; it breathes through the book, shaping the characters and their choices in ways that feel authentic rather than ornamental.
The moral landscape here is particularly compelling. There are no clean lines between right and wrong, only decisions made under pressure, often with incomplete information. Pelecanos resists the urge to simplify his characters, giving even minor figures a sense of history and motivation that lingers beyond their page time.
If there’s any drawback, it’s that readers expecting a fast, high-adrenaline thriller might find the novel a bit restrained; however in that restraint therein lies this novel's strength—it trusts the reader to sit with discomfort, ambiguity, and the slow unraveling of truth.
The Blue Flame is a thoughtful, character-driven crime story that prioritizes realism and emotional depth over flash. It’s the kind of book that stays with you not because of a shocking twist, but because of how honestly it portrays the cost of living in a world where justice is rarely simple.
This was the first book I have read by
George Pelecanos, it won't be my last as I return to read the early Derek Strange offerings...
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The old saying is you learn something new every day. Well, after finishing “The Blue Flame” by George Pelecanos, I decided to look up to see if this is going to be the start of a new series. The character is so well written that I was hoping that we would continue adventures with him. Looked it up to see no mention of future novels starring Derek Strange. However, I found out he was ALREADY part of a series previously and there just hasn’t been any novels for nearly 15 years. Well, there ya go.
This is with a different publisher. So, this may be a reboot of the series. Some of the interactions seemed as if a lot of people were not familiar with him. So who knows. No matter what the situation is, I am hoping this isn’t our last time hearing from Derek Strange.
This reminded me of some of the great characters from the past. In particular, I was reminded of some of Lawrence Block’s writings. And that is high praise. May I interrupt to say if you have not read some of Lawrence Block’s series writings, what have you been doing with your life.
Now, considering “The Blue Flame”, the novel is a procedural P.I. novel. One of those where you just shake the tree to find out what clues fall down and move from there. Strange doesn’t mind shaking some trees. Or breaking some rules either. He also doesn’t mind annoying the police. What he does mind is injustice and once he is on the case, he is going to do what it takes to make sure justice is done.
I absolutely loved this novel and do look forward to this character moving forward in the future. And while I wait to see if that happens, I look forward to looking back to the past to catch up on past adventures.
I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.
This is with a different publisher. So, this may be a reboot of the series. Some of the interactions seemed as if a lot of people were not familiar with him. So who knows. No matter what the situation is, I am hoping this isn’t our last time hearing from Derek Strange.
This reminded me of some of the great characters from the past. In particular, I was reminded of some of Lawrence Block’s writings. And that is high praise. May I interrupt to say if you have not read some of Lawrence Block’s series writings, what have you been doing with your life.
Now, considering “The Blue Flame”, the novel is a procedural P.I. novel. One of those where you just shake the tree to find out what clues fall down and move from there. Strange doesn’t mind shaking some trees. Or breaking some rules either. He also doesn’t mind annoying the police. What he does mind is injustice and once he is on the case, he is going to do what it takes to make sure justice is done.
I absolutely loved this novel and do look forward to this character moving forward in the future. And while I wait to see if that happens, I look forward to looking back to the past to catch up on past adventures.
I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Steven King called George Pelecanos the greatest living crime novelist… and this novel proves him correct. Derek Strange is a great character. Pelecanos gift is to create a character who is real not larger than life, not with super human abilities but an ex-cop, private investigator who likes old ( and I mean old) western movies, classic jazz albums, the ones where a single song can go on for more than a half hour, and Jonny Walker Black, three fingers. The case unfolds at a deliberate pace, no red herrings, just a lesson in noticing details and deductive reasoning. This is not just a crime novel. The author also richly captures the aspiring black community in Washington DC. He describes their friendships, support networks and their sorrows. Thanks to NetGalley for making this book available.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Another great read from George Pelecanos in the Derek Strange series. I also enjoy these characters, and the story/plot and pacing is always great. Can't wait for the next in this series. #TheBlueFlame #NetGalley
January 22, 2026
Excellent. Highly recommend!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews