The cut: a novel
Author
Series
Spero Lucas mysteries volume 1
Publisher
Little, Brown and Co
Publication Date
2011.
Language
English
Description
Crime fiction writer George Pelecanos introduces Spero Lucas, an anti-hero making his place in the world one battle at a time. Includes a bonus work of short fiction focusing on Spero's early life. Spero Lucas has a new line of work. Since he returned home to Washington, D.C. after serving in Iraq, he has been doing special investigations for a defense attorney. He's good at it, and he has carved out a niche: recovering stolen property, no questions asked. His cut is forty percent. A high-profile crime boss who has heard of Lucas's specialty hires him to find out who has been stealing from his operation. It's the biggest job Spero has ever been offered, and he quickly gets a sense of what's going on. But before he can close in on what's been taken, he tangles with a world of men whose amorality and violence leave him reeling. Is any cut worth your family, your lover, your life? The first in a series of thrillers featuring Spero Lucas, The Cut is the latest confirmation of why George Pelecanos is "perhaps America's greatest living crime writer." (Stephen King)
More Details
ISBN
9780316078429
Excerpt
Loading Excerpt...
Similar Series From Novelist
NoveList provides detailed suggestions for series you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Both Travis McGee and Spero Lucas are knights-errant who recover stolen property for a cut of the value. Fast-paced and suspenseful plots allow these former military men to battle danger, bed women, and help those who need it. -- Shauna Griffin
These hardboiled mysteries feature tough, emotionally damaged private detectives who are torn between right and self-interest. Violent and gritty, both series have a strong sense of place: for Spero Lucas it's Washington, D. C and for J. McNee it's Dundee, Scotland. -- Mike Nilsson
Tough private investigators stand at the center of these hardboiled mysteries. Atmospheric and fast-paced, both series feature gritty writing and a strong sense of place -- the Spero Lucas mysteries are set in Washington, D.C., while the Amos Walker novels take place in Detroit. -- Mike Nilsson
These hardboiled mysteries are violent and character-driven, featuring complex, tightly-wound private detectives who, though often in the midst of personal crises, never fail to exact justice. Both series are fast-paced and come with a strong sense of place. -- Mike Nilsson
Fans of violent, hardboiled mysteries will enjoy these character-driven tales starring emotionally complicated detectives who stand on both sides of the law. Both fast-paced, gritty series feature a strong sense of place: Washington, D. C. and New York City, respectively. -- Mike Nilsson
These series have the appeal factors violent, strong sense of place, and first person narratives, and they have the genre "hardboiled fiction"; the subject "private investigators"; and characters that are "sympathetic characters" and "flawed characters."
These series have the appeal factors violent, gritty, and strong sense of place, and they have the genre "hardboiled fiction"; the subjects "private investigators," "organized crime," and "police corruption"; and characters that are "sympathetic characters" and "flawed characters."
These series have the appeal factors violent, gritty, and strong sense of place, and they have the genres "hardboiled fiction" and "mysteries"; and the subject "private investigators."
These series have the genres "hardboiled fiction" and "mysteries"; and the subjects "private investigators" and "organized crime."
Similar Titles From NoveList
NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Cold shot to the heart - Stroby, Wallace
These books have the appeal factors violent and gritty, and they have the genre "hardboiled fiction"; and the subjects "private investigators," "organized crime," and "crime bosses."
These books have the appeal factors violent and gritty, and they have the genre "hardboiled fiction"; the subjects "private investigators," "organized crime," and "crime bosses"; and characters that are "sympathetic characters" and "authentic characters."
These books have the appeal factors violent, gritty, and intricately plotted, and they have the genre "hardboiled fiction"; the subjects "private investigators," "violence," and "missing persons"; and characters that are "sympathetic characters" and "flawed characters."
These books have the appeal factors violent, gritty, and intricately plotted, and they have the subjects "organized crime," "crime bosses," and "violence"; and characters that are "sympathetic characters" and "flawed characters."
NoveList recommends "Travis McGee novels" for fans of "Spero Lucas mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
A seamless blend of wit and grit distinguish these hardboiled crime novels, in which veterans struggling to readjust to civilian life pick up odd jobs that put them in the line of fire. -- NoveList Contributor
These books have the appeal factors violent, strong sense of place, and intricately plotted, and they have the genre "hardboiled fiction"; the subjects "private investigators," "violence," and "detectives"; and characters that are "flawed characters."
These books have the appeal factors gritty and angst-filled, and they have the subjects "organized crime," "stolen property recovery," and "crime bosses"; and characters that are "sympathetic characters," "flawed characters," and "brooding characters."
Both of these gritty, hard-boiled, and fast-paced mystery novels feature unrelenting action, macho characters, and vivid depictions of Washington D.C. as a place festering with corruption and deception. -- Derek Keyser
These books have the appeal factors suspenseful and intricately plotted, and they have the genres "hardboiled fiction" and "mysteries"; the subjects "private investigators," "former police," and "missing persons"; and characters that are "flawed characters."
NoveList recommends "Matthew Scudder mysteries" for fans of "Spero Lucas mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
Set in Washington, D. C., these hardboiled crime novels feature flawed male protagonists with a malleable sense of right and wrong. Their strong sense of place and gritty feel perfectly complement the books' violence and unpredictable plot twists. -- Mike Nilsson
Similar Authors From NoveList
NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Fans of the hard-boiled fiction of George P. Pelecanos will want to try Michael Connelly's gritty and intricate mysteries. Both authors feature detectives who are doggedly thorough and relentless in their pursuit of fairness. -- Victoria Fredrick
Ian Rankin does for Edinburgh's punters what George P. Pelecanos does for the ordinary people of Washington, DC. Both put crime in the context of poverty and despair while unflinchingly portraying violence. Their humor runs from sardonic to gentle, lightening the atmosphere despite the grim situations. -- Katherine Johnson
Both authors skillfully portray the humanity of men and women trapped by poverty and prejudice, although their well-captured settings are radically different: Roger Smith treats Cape Town, South Africa; George P. Pelecanos describes Washington, D.C. The factors that place these characters at risk--and drive them to brutal violence--are vividly depicted. -- Shauna Griffin
Both Peter Temple and George Pelecanos write dark crime stories that feature hardboiled detectives who walk the mean streets of their cities in a search for the truth. With a strong sense of place, the books have taut plotting, well-developed characters, graphic violence, and a bleak outlook. -- Merle Jacob
Readers who appreciate the way George P. Pelecanos characterizes Washington, D.C. as a vibrant backdrop, they should try Eugene Izzi. A widely respected writer in the crime novel field, Izzi uses Chicago and its mean streets as a stage for his morally ambiguous thieves, cops, and mobsters. -- Victoria Fredrick
George P. Pelecanos utilizes the setting of Washington D.C. just as Marcus Sakey does with Chicago. With a streetwise attitude and a preference to work with heroes with blemished pasts, rather than professional or police detectives, Sakey brings light to otherwise dark corners of a city he describes well. -- Shauna Griffin
Readers who enjoy the eternal tug between what is right and what is just, as experienced in the hard-boiled fiction of George P. Pelecanos, may enjoy Barry Eisler's thrillers with atypical characters. -- Victoria Fredrick
Readers who enjoy the gritty, bleak, fast-paced yet elegantly written novels of George P. Pelecanos may want to try novelist and former NYPD detective Edward Conlon. -- Shauna Griffin
One of the lesser-known antecedents of George P. Pelecanos is David Goodis, who wrote gritty, noir pulp fiction in the 1940s and 50s. -- Victoria Fredrick
Readers who enjoy the gritty cities, realistic and flawed characters, and tense suspense of George P. Pelecanos' novels -- as well as his hardboiled writing style -- should try the equally bleak realism of Dennis Tafoya's books. -- Shauna Griffin
George Pelecanos and James Ellroy are both contemporary authors of noir crime fiction. Their works feature well-developed characters and settings in a violent, gritty, and corrupt world. -- Victoria Fredrick
These authors' works have the appeal factors violent, and they have the genres "hardboiled fiction" and "noir fiction"; the subjects "private investigators," "violence," and "criminals"; and characters that are "flawed characters" and "brooding characters."
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Staff View
Loading Staff View.