''Shame the Devil'' is a 1999 crime novel written by

George Pelecanos George P. Pelecanos (born February 18, 1957) is an American author. Many of his 20 books are in the genre of detective fiction and set primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He is also a film and television producer and a television writ ...

. It is set in Washington DC and focuses on a botched robbery and its consequences. It is the last of four books comprising the D.C. Quartet. The other books in this series are ''

The Big Blowdown ''The Big Blowdown'' is a 1996 crime novel written by George Pelecanos. It is set in Washington, D.C. and focuses on Peter Karras. It is the first of four books comprising the D.C. Quartet. The other books in this series are '' King Suckerman'', ' ...

'', ''

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'', and ''

The Sweet Forever ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''. The book was a finalist for the

Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller The ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller, established in 2000, is a category of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The Prizes currently have nine c ...

Plot introduction

Two ruthless killers head into a pizza place to rob the joint while one of the men's brother waits in the car. The robbery goes wrong and the men kill the restaurant's employees. The robber in the getaway car is killed by a cop and the robbers hit a little boy in their escape. The novel jumps forward two and a half years and introduces the character of Dimitri Karras, the father of the young boy. He attends grief counseling sessions with the family members of those who were killed that day. Karras begins to get used to living again when his friend,

Nick Stefanos George P. Pelecanos (born February 18, 1957) is an American author. Many of his 20 books are in the genre of detective fiction and set primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He is also a film and television producer and a television wri ...

sets him up with a job as a bartender at "The Spot". Meanwhile, the robbers are plotting revenge. It all leads up to a showdown of good versus evil.

References

{{George Pelecanos 1999 American novels Novels by George Pelecanos American crime novels Novels set in Washington, D.C.