Let’s get it out the way up front. George Pelecanos was one of the authors who inspired us to set up Crime Fiction Lover way back in 2011. We were huge fans! The Cut was one of our top five novels that year and we went on to review and feature The Double, A Firing Offence and What It Was. That last one was pretty interesting as it brought together two favourite characters from different series George has written – Nick Stefanos and Derek Strange.

We know he’s influenced dozens of the authors we’ve spoken to on the site over the years, as well.

But at the same time as we were writing about more and more novels, George was writing fewer of them, while his television work increased in prominence. From being primarily a novelist, he moved on to become a screen writer, contributing to shows like The Wire, The Deuce and We Own This City.

Television is a world George still inhabits, but today, in 2026, we’re super amped to bring you the news that his private eye character Derek Strange is back in the novel The Blue Flame. After 14 years away, he returns to crime fiction shelves on 4 August. And he’s straight back into the DC underworld after being commissioned to find an alibi for someone accused of murder. But is this case connected to other things going on in the city, and why are the police trying to push Strange to the side?

It’s our great honour to invite George Pelecanos to the site to tell us more about The Blue Flame, to catch up and to find out just where Derek Strange is at….

What have you been up to over the past few years, in terms of writing, television, any other projects and just everyday life?

I’m still here in DC. Writing books and developing movies and television projects. Trying to stay away from screens and making time to walk in the woods and take my kayak out on the water. 

What are crime fiction lovers going to love about Blue Flame?

The headline is Derek Strange. I’m hoping readers have been waiting to welcome him back. The Blue Flame is a straight-up detective novel that realistically details detective work as well as the inner working of DC’s Homicide branch.   

Derek Strange! So great to have him back. Where’s he at and how has he changed or developed since What it Was?

I’ve aged Strange appropriately.  Going back to Hard Revolution, where we meet him at 12 years old, to the present, where Strange is in his sunset years, I’ve managed to describe a Washingtonian’s life in its entirety. That was my aim from the beginning. But even though he’s aged, he’s still feisty. Strange has no quit in him. In that way, he’s like me.    

And what’s he up against this time?

He’s working two murders, one for money, the other for his own satisfaction. Some in the police department don’t want him on the case, and also in the frame are some cold killers.  

You always seem to populate your books with original and off-beat players. Who are some of the bad guys here and/or who are the interesting characters we’ll meet?

I embedded myself in the Homicide Division, and got to know some very interesting characters. How they work cases is fascinating to me, and I detail it here. You’ll meet gun dealers in this one, duplicitous adversaries, and a couple of stupid but lethal guys from the “Manosphere.” There’s a group of friends who’ve grown up together and experience tragedy. As always, the book deals with the passage of time.   

How has DC changed and what aspects of the real world setting did you want to shine through in The Blue Flame, and how do they play a role in its story?

I’d like to point out that Washington, DC is not the hellhole of crime and violence that it’s made out to be. Like every tarnished nugget of information that comes out of the current administration, that’s an outright lie. The homicide rate is half of what it was 30 years ago. So, the National Guard has been deployed here for theatre and they are standing around with nothing to do. The atmosphere here now is depressing, but it’s useful to remember that all despots, wannabe dictators, and their bootlicking minions eventually end up on the ash heap of history.   

What’s it like for you to be writing novels again, after several years away?

Actually, I had a collection of four novellas called Owning Up that was published in 2024. It probably wasn’t reviewed in your neck of the woods but I was very happy with it. And in 2025 I published a novella in the first-person voice of a dog called Buster. Sounds like a kid’s book but, trust me, it’s not. I have been quietly busy writing prose.

Who are some of the other authors that have interested or inspired you recently?

I like Rachel Kushner’s novels quite a bit. She’s an original. Willie Vlautin is one of my favourite working authors. I recently read an advanced copy of a new author, Andre Hardy, who has a terrific upcoming book called Tear the City Down.  On deck is Colson Whitehead’s Cool Machine, the last book in his excellent New York crime trilogy. For inspiration, I re-read Elmore Leonard.

When we interview other authors, your name often comes up when we ask about influences. What’s it like to hear that from other crime authors?

It’s nice, of course, but I don’t want to be lionised. That’s for dudes who are on the way out. I’m not done yet.

What’s next for Derek Strange and what’s next for George Pelecanos?

I have a novel coming out next year called Tell Chuck Berry the News. It harkens back to my King Suckerman era. Trying to get some things off the ground in television and the movies. Always pushing.

The Blue Flame is on sale from 4 August 2026 in the United States and 20 August in the UK. You can order a copy using our buttons, below. Portrait photo (c) Jim Saah.