Janet Maslin writes: “How many characters from a Thomas Perry book would it take to screw in a light bulb? A lot because one would steal the bulb as a creative challenge, and the others would keep bumping into one another in interesting but futile attempts to find it. All of them would work at cross-purposes. And the light bulb would never get screwed in. After a long, roundabout journey it would wind up in the hands of whichever flawed character most deserved it. Mr. Perry always manages to mete out poetic justice in his books' final moments.”
Read complete review
Marilyn Stasio writes, “Thomas Perry, that smiling sadist who gets his kicks from outfoxing readers, is at his wicked best in STRIP (Otto Penzler/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26) . Like any self-respecting gangland thriller, this witty specimen has a cast of touchy mobsters killing one another over money and turf and petty grievances. But because a devious mind is manipulating the genre conventions allowing unpredictable characters rather than precision-tooled action to drive his story the rules of the game are constantly changing.
The initial setup couldn't be sweeter. Manco Kapak, who owns some strip clubs in Los Angeles and moves a little money for a major drug distributor, is personally affronted when a masked gunman holds him up while he is making a bank deposit, robbing him of a night's take. The money is nothing, but the insult cuts deep, and in short order the hunt is on for an out-of-towner named Joe Carver who had nothing to do with the crime but can't persuade the irascible Kapak to call off the dogs.”
Read complete review
*Starred Review from Publisher’s Weekly
“Featuring rich, complex characters, Perry's 18th novel (after Runner) is pure, unadulterated fun...”
*Starred Review from Library Journal
Half a dozen characters vie for primacy in this rambunctiously entertaining L.A. crime novel from Edgar-winner Perry (Runner). Aging strip-club owner Manco Kapak orders his boys to find the masked man who stole his cash receipts and take care of him. The boys settle on the wrong guy, L.A. newcomer Joe Carver, who decides to fight back. Jefferson Davis Falkins, the real thief, decides to continue to rob Kapak. LAPD Lt. Nick Slosser is mainly interested in keeping the peace--and keeping his two marriages a secret as well as figuring out how to pay for five kids at or nearing college age. Other meaty roles include Carrie Carr, who hooks up with Falkins and becomes a Bonnie Parker--like adrenaline junkie urging him to ever riskier deeds, and Spence, Kapak's trusted bodyguard and the only one smart enough to deal with Carver. Perry's exquisite timing and finesse provide near perfect endings to the multiple story lines and make this escapist reading at its best.
Selected by Indie Booksellers for the
