Shortcut Man
A Novel
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
A smart and entertaining crime series debut set in the underbelly of Los Angeles, with a cast of characters that runs the gamut from saints to sinners.
In the City of Angels, not everyone plays by the rules. When people need a problem fixed fast, and discreetly, they call Dick Henry. Henry is known as a “shortcut man,” someone who believes that the shortest answer to many problems may not always be legal. As he cuts through the red tape for his clients, who range from an elderly woman ripped off by shady contractors to a landlord with a tenant many months behind on the rent, Henry always gets the job done, no matter what the cost. In Shortcut Man, Henry spends his days hunting down slimy con men and his nights seducing Lynette, an intoxicating, long-legged vixen. But when Henry gets an assignment from porn producer Artie Benjamin, his life suddenly becomes much more complicated. Now Henry must complete the job, avoid being killed, and somehow figure out what to do with Lynette. Filled with dark comedy, whip-smart writing, and a memorable cast of characters, Shortcut Man evokes Chandler and Hammett—hard-boiled crime at its best—and is an exciting beginning to a crackling new series.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The son of legendary film director Preston Sturges takes an evocative Raymond Chandler spin through crime-haunted Los Angeles with his first novel, which introduces problem-solver Dick Henry. Henry, who rides around in his '69 Cadillac Coupe de Ville convertible, backed up by sideman Enrique Montalvo Rojas and the Laurel Canyon Irregulars, cuts straight to your problem. A deadbeat tenant? First, he asks nice. Then muscle comes into play. But when porn king Artie Benjamin hires Henry to find out who's sleeping with his wife, it gets personal. The shortcut specialist learns his own latest affair is with the very same femme fatale. His work often puts this modern-day Marlowe into "an unprofessional, biblical rage." ("Moses did not come down from the mountain and file a grievance report. He smashed the evil he beheld.") The bad guys perhaps could be a trifle badder, but the writing is a pleasure to read. More Southern California shortcutting, please, Mr. Sturges.
