The first in a stunning action-packed series from the writer of THE WIRE. Spero Lucas has a new line of work. Since he returned home after serving in Iraq, he has been doing special investigations for a defence 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 speciality hires him to find out who has been stealing from his operation. It's the biggest job Lucas has ever been offered, and he ...
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The first in a stunning action-packed series from the writer of THE WIRE. Spero Lucas has a new line of work. Since he returned home after serving in Iraq, he has been doing special investigations for a defence 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 speciality hires him to find out who has been stealing from his operation. It's the biggest job Lucas 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? Spero Lucas is George Pelecanos's greatest creation, a young man making his place in the world one battle and one mission at a time. The first in a series of thrillers featuring Spero Lucas, The Cut is the latest confirmation of why George Pelecanos is 'perhaps the greatest living crime writer.' (Stephen King)
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Add this copy of The Cut (Spero Lucas Series, 1) to cart. $1.21, good condition, Sold by Gulf Coast Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Memphis, TN, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Reagan Arthur Books.
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George Pelecanos (b. 1957) writes crime fiction set in Washington, D.C. His novel "The Cut" (2011) features a character named Spero Lucas, 29, a veteran of the Iraq War. Lucas works as an investigator for a high-powered criminal defense lawyer and takes cases for himself as an investigator on the side. In Pelecanos' novel, Lucas gets a job from a jailed marijuana dealer who is being defended separately by the lawyer for whom he works. Lucas' assignment is to recover the proceeds of marijuana that has been deposited for pick-up on the doorsteps of homes in D.C. that the bad guys know are likely to be unoccupied and unobserved during the day. Lucas demands a cut of 40 percent of the value of what he recovers. The investigation and quickly spins out of control resulting in violence and the involvement of innocent people. It also takes Lucas into the high reaches of the D.C. marijuana trade.
The plot is involved but is developed well and the story moves quickly. The appeal of this book lies more in its depictions of Washington, D.C. and in its characterizations than in its story.
Pelecanos has an extraordinary eye for detail in his native city where I have lived myself for many years. He describes tellingly the city streets, neighborhoods, houses, small businesses, churches and schools. Most of the descriptions are set in upper northwest D.C. near the Georgia Avenue corridor, including the adjacent community of Silver Spring, Maryland. This is an area I know well. I was moved to see it freshly through Pelecanos' eyes. The book also describes other parts of the area including DuPont Circle, Judiciary Square, the seedy New York Avenue Strip, and portions of Prince Georges County. These places are artfully captured in Pelecanos' writing. The sense of place, not only in descriptions and in cataloging but in understanding the factors that make a place memorable in the writing drives this novel along.
The book also is a character study of Spero Lucas and of many secondary figures. Much of the book revolves around family as Lucas has been adopted and raised by a Greek couple whom he loves deeply. Lucas is still devastated by the death of his father some years earlier. He is attached to his mother and to his brother, Leo, also adopted. Leo is black while Spero is white. Family issues also are important to some of the villains in the story, a father and son who have no understanding or respect for one another.
The book shows Lucas as suffering from the impact of the violence in which he participated fully in Iraq. He is intelligent, if not educated, and reads a great deal. He is not sure what he wants to do with his life beyond falling in with the violent street life involving his investigations and earning good money. He shows no hesitation or remorse in resorting to violence. Lucas seems remarkably appealing to women but unable to become emotionally close. He has a religious temperament and his prayers involve giving thanks for the gift of life. As with the descriptions of places, Pelecanos offers detailed descriptions of Lucas in the manner of his dress, his long aimless rides in his car and bicycle, his taste in food, and his music. These descriptions add to the realism and force of the story.
The book reads quickly but rewards reflection. In its depiction of the lonely, Iraq veteran at loose ends and in its portrayal of Washington, D.C. streets, the book rises beyond the level of genre crime fiction.
Robin Friedman
Harry D
Nov 6, 2012
Life in the raw in D.C.
Another vintage Pelecanos, excellent story line... fallible human characters...action & suspense. Looking forward to his next release.
