George Pelecanos is a novelist dubbed by Stephen King as “perhaps the greatest living American crime writer.”
Pelecanos has a new book out called “The Cut,” the first in a series. To get the sufficiently creepy ambiance just right, the writer rode around Washington, D.C. on a bike using his iPhone shooting video and taking pics in back alleys.
His 17th novel is about an Iraq war veteran and private investigator called Spero Lucas who works for a Washington defense attorney and moonlights as a bounty hunter for stolen property, taking a 40% cut.
“I am on my bike daily, and most of the locations, warehouses and specific residences from “The Cut” were found while I was riding. On those rides, I took photos and videos from my iPhone. D.C.’s an alley town, so it’s particularly conducive to bike reconnaissance,” Pelecanos told CNN.
The journalist interviewing him says the resulting prose was so map-like that you could probably use it to find your way home.
“I hope so. I’m leaving a record,” Pelicanos responded.
It’s a powerful testament to the iPhone as a handy device for note-taking and record keeping.
