About
Reviews
Search
Submit
Home

Mystery Books for Sale

[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]


  

CUTTHROAT
by Steve Brewer
Bleak House Books, September 2007
382 pages
$24.95
ISBN: 193255761X


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

At one time, Solomon Gage's mother was the executive assistant to billionaire Dominick Sheffield. Although she died in a car accident when Solomon was 14, Dominick took him under his wing and trained him in the ways of the world. Soon, he became an indispensable asset to Dominick, and a thorn in the side of Dom's sons. Solomon has dedicated his entire adult life to serving the Sheffield family and in some respects is more of a son to Dominick than the two men of his blood.

Solomon specializes in solving the family's problems and dealing with any trouble that may come up for any of them. In the case of Dominick's granddaughter, Abby Maynes, that is almost a full time job. She's a drug addict who has been prostituting herself to get her fix. Gage rescues her from a crackhouse and helps her go straight. Unfortunately, things don't turn out as hoped for.

Given the fact that Gage has such a close relationship with the family patriarch, you can imagine that Dominick's sons aren't overly fond of Solomon. Ever loyal to Dominick, Solomon is disturbed to hear rumors that the men are involved in some shady dealings in Africa.

The stakes become higher when some mercenaries from Niger come to the US to protect their own interests, and killing people is part of what they need to do. Trying to deal with the situation causes Solomon to lose everything that he holds dear.

The turmoil in the family and the sons' treatment of Solomon serve as the foundation of what turns out to be a more than serviceable thriller. In addition to the mercenaries and conniving sons, there's the divorce lawyer for the wife of the eldest son who becomes involved with Solomon, which leads to aspersions being cast on his loyalty to the family. The only unconvincing element for me was Solomon's physical abilities, with him turning into a tough guy who is just as adept at using his fists as using his brain and suffering from a bit of Energizer Bunny syndrome while dealing with the threats.

CUTTHROAT is quite a departure for Brewer, who has previously written a humorous PI series and several standalone caper books. Although the book is much more serious in nature, it still has all the trademarks that make Brewer a favorite author of mine-excellent plotting, well-developed characters and various unexpected turns of events that keep interest high.

Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, November 2007

[ Top ]


QUICK SEARCH:

 

Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]