The Way Home, By George Pelecanos

Pelecanos fans know that the crime writer had a long shelf of hard-driving, socially alert thrillers to his credit before a stint on The Wire boosted his renown.

As before, this novel takes a well-honed cleaver not just to the injustices of his Washington DC home turf but to the toxic subculture of idiot machismo that blights young male lives.

Thomas Flynn has lived the American dream of aspiration, but he sees son Chris go off the rails, do his time, and then return to a better life – until he finds a stash of hot cash. With pace, punch and depth to spare, The Way Home will satisfy old admirers and hook the newcomers.