How to make a mystery/crime story have racial elements without falling into stereotype - get very, very, very specific. Every single character in this from the racist redneck meth dealers to the innocent young kid present at exactly one interview has a point of view, a history and Pelecanos carefully lays it out with understanding, even if not acceptance. See what you think of Terry Quinn by the end of this book that supposedly introduces him to the private-eye job that will be the source of the next few books. Tell you one thing, Pelecanos absolutely doesn't expect us to just love him and think he's great.   

The one exception to the rule of Pelecanos' relentless, detailed focus on personal viewpoints and history are drug users. In this story a drug addict has no point of view and no interiority at all; they're just a vehicle driving towards an overdose. There's not an ounce of sympathy to the addict anywhere in here, even when rescuing (this is not a euphemism) one is the core objective of the last fourth of the book.