From the Back Cover One of Stephen King’s "must-reads for summer" (Entertainment Weekly) A New York Times Notable Crime Book An aging but formidable strip club owner, Claudiu "Manco" Kapak, is robbed as he places his cash receipts in a bank’s night-deposit box. Enraged, he sends his henchmen out to find a suspect who is spending lots of cash and is too new to Los Angeles to realize he’s stolen from a gangster. Their search leads to Joe Carver, an innocent who evades capture and sets out to make Kapak wish he’d chosen someone else. Meanwhile, the real culprit, Jefferson Davis Falkins, and his girlfriend Carrie seem to believe they’ve found a whole new profession: robbing Manco Kapak. Lieutenant Nick Slosser, the detective in charge of the puzzling and increasingly violent case, has his own troubles, including worries about how he’s going to afford to send the oldest child of each of his two bigamous marriages to college without making their mothers suspicious. As this odd series of difficulties explodes into a triple killing, Carver finds himself in the middle of a gang war over Kapak’s empire, while Falkins and Carrie journey into territory more strange and violent than either had imagined. "An amazingly entertaining crime novel." — Chicago Sun-Times, Favorite Books of the Year "Pure, unadulterated fun, sure to please not only the many fans of this master craftsman but also lovers of imaginative, character-driven thrillers." — Library Journal An Indie Next List Notable THOMAS PERRY is the author of the Jane Whitefield series as well as the best-selling novels Death Benefits and Pursuit, the first recipient of the Gumshoe Award for best novel. He won the Edgar Award for The Butcher’s Boy, Metzger’s Dog was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and Nightlife was a New York Times bestseller. Read more About the Author THOMAS PERRY is the author of the Jane Whitefield series as well as the best-selling novels Nightlife, Death Benefits, and Pursuit. He won the Edgar Award for The Butcher’s Boy, and Metzger’s Dog was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Read more See all Editorial Reviews
J**H
Fine Thomas Perry; Several Compelling Characters; Southern California
I am always interested in and entertained by Thomas Perry's writing, plotting and character depiction. In this outing, he picks up on the life of a previous protagonist--(maybe) the bar owner who funded an ex-con recovery house and who took down an organized crime crew. Enter his witness protection program identity, Joe Carver...and his relocation to Los Angeles. He hits town with money to spend and ladies to meet so he visits the dance clubs and spreads his cash around. His timing is bad: someone has just made a 'sucker heist' on club owner Manko Kapak. Kapak's clubs launder drug money and he has a stable of security guards to protect his business interests and the women who work his clubs as strippers and waitresses. Kapak feels the effects of aging and he understands the need to appear strong to the sharks he swims with. We follow his journey. Det. Lt. Nick Strosser is an honest cop on the job and a bigamist in his private life. His two families are about to need College money: where will that come from? Jefferson Davis Falkin is a slacker with a criminal attitude: he does armed robbery of easy targets and spends the money on babes, booze and whatever. He robs Manko but Joe Carver gets 'ratted out' buy the unsuspecting ladies he has squired around town. The clock is running: who will solve the robber(ies) first? is Manko 'washed up?' Can Joe Carver survive in his new town? Perry writes fine, sexy ladies and sex scenes into his novels. Some are wise, stable and underappreciated by the men they run with. Others are mad or psychotic: Carrie in this novel being a prime case. There are other ladies here--two drug mules who are conflicted about what they owe to themselves and what they owe to Manko Kapak. READ AND ENJOY!
D**E
Because he's Thomas Perry...
I have always enjoyed reading Perry - from the gritty to the far-fetched, this guy can write. He is one of the two or three authors that I will pay whatever Amazon charges.His imagination is about as lively as they come, and he always manages to convince me to suspend my disbelief regardless of the plot - "The Island" being exhibit A. "Strip" is no exception. A wonderfully layered and mildly looney adventure with a trio of male heroes spanning three criminal generations. There is no point to recapping the plot because that's not really the point of his books. It's all about character.Perry really writes his female characters well, and his women are always smart, strong, crazy - choose two. The men seem to be rather bemused partners or dupes who enjoy the sex and abdicate authority because it's just easier. But his anti-heroes always stay metaphorically on top and one layer of cool away from being ensnared by the sex.His unfailing dry wit and goofy plots make for a great read, but he never forgets (OK, occasionally) that he is writing thrillers. Derring-do runs alongside ham-fisted bumbling, violence, and cruelty. As well, there is always a certain casual sang-froid to the violence and the implicit "What did you expect when you hang around gangsters?" Perry will shoot anyone - even just for fun - and justice does not always prevail, but he never betrays character.Preferences are always personal, but if you have an active sense of irony, you will enjoy Perry. And don't forget to read all of the Jane Whitefield books.
T**N
Keep your shirt on
I have thrilled to most of Perry’s novels. This one is just so-so. It contains twist after twist and more twists but they are all pretty predictable. Plus the novel contained plenty of background detail that was just plain boring.
T**T
Glaring mistakes about firearms
I’ve always liked Perry’s books, but mistakes about firearms in this one are glaring. The main character walks into a sports shop in disguise and walks right out with a Remington 870? Sorry, that DOES NOT happen. He would need to present a license with his photo for a NICS check. Then in the next chapter, a fellow pulls out a Browning Hi Power in 45 caliber? Sorry, I’d like to have one too. It would be worth a small fortune I think. It only comes, to my knowledge, in 9 mm or 40. I am really disappointed in perry. TBH, only a liberal amateur would make such mistakes.
J**I
Amazingly good and surprising!
The author shows an intricate knowledge of human behaviour, handles a very unusually large "cast of characters", and puts in back stories and plot twists that continually catch the reader by surprise! Excellent entertainment!
M**Z
Too Many Character Storylines
Strip is the first Perry book I did not enjoy. He ran too many character story lines of forgettable characters whose lives I could not care about. The plot meandered.
S**9
Perry's Cast
Strip is not what it appears to be. It's a typical thriller, except its cast is an idiosyncratic bunch of hustlers who have more depth and tics than you would expect from the genre. It's the characters that lift Strip above humdrum.
M**T
Great story!
The characters are all so convoluted that by the end of the book I didn't know who to root forand who to condemn! It's a fascinating story a the way through. Fun read!
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