Soul Circus — George P. Pelecanos

Granville Oliver is a drug lord on trial for his life. Derek Strange is the private investigator, family man, and Pee Wee Football coach with his own reasons for helping him. With his quick-tempered partner Terry Quinn keeping him sharp, and the old-school sounds of the Chi-Lites and the Spinners keeping him right, Strange is close to finding the struggling single mother whose testimony can save the notorious criminal Granville from the death penalty. But D.C.'s shattered streets have turned into a free-for-all. Hip-hop warriors are armed to the teeth while one man ignites a pitched battle for Granville's turf. On one side: Strange, Quinn, and an innocent woman's life. On the other: a murderous merry-go-round of bad young men with good new guns just waiting to go off...