The Cleanup
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Matthew Worth is a mess. Somewhere between a good cop and a bad screwup, he botched a marriage and a career. His fellow officers think he’s a joke. His commanders are tired of cutting him breaks. Even his wife has left him for a flashy homicide detective. Busted to night patrol at a robbery-prone Omaha supermarket, Worth is doing time, wearing his uniform and asking shoppers if they want paper or plastic. If that isn’t enough, he suspects he might be falling for Gwen, the shy checkout girl who may be an even bigger mess than he is. It couldn’t get any worse. Until it does.
When Gwen comes to him one night scared and desperate for help, Worth discovers just how far he’s willing to go to protect and serve. The next thing he knows, he’s driving a stolen car with a corpse in the trunk, a pistol in the glove box, and no way to turn back. Everything he doesn’t know could get them killed. And things haven’t even begun to get messy yet....
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The unlikely tale of an unsuccessful cop, a cute grocery check-out girl and her dead boyfriend gives Doolittle (Raindogs) plenty to chew on in his latest crime novel. Officer Matthew Worth, a divorc with little going for him careerwise in particular works security at an Omaha supermarket, where he's developed a crush on check-out clerk Gwen. Innocent flirtation turns messy when Gwen kills her abusive boyfriend and turns to Worth for help, pleading self-defense. Instead of calling it in, Worth decides to cover up the murder, leading to trouble with two dirty narcs who were involved with the murder victim in a money-laundering scheme. From there, secrets, lies and murders pile up, pushing Worth from every direction at once. Doolittle has penned a character-driven yet suspenseful novel about choice and consequence, with a well-crafted lead and a narrative style that's punchy and sincere. Though Worth's motivation is sometimes unclear (even, at times, to himself), readers looking for a tense crime drama hold the procedure will enjoy getting inside the head of this well-meaning sad sack.
