The Cleanup

The Cleanup is a very competent screwball noir that is very tightly plotted. The story rattles along with plenty of twists and turns. Worth and Gwen are nicely penned, surrounded by a set of somewhat stereotypical characters. The book has all the ingredients to be a five star read, but for some reason it just didn't quite click that way for me. I think part of the problem was it all felt a little bit done by numbers - everything fitted together too neatly and slickly - and it lacked some darkly comic turns that would have given the narrative an added lift. Also, I never really felt I was rooting for the main characters, they're just too ordinary and plain, and Worth's motivations are perhaps too fuzzy. There were also a couple of questions at the end that needed some elaboration. This probably sounds more negative than the book deserves. This is an enjoyable, well plotted read, it just needed a little added something to make it an exceptional one.

a real good twister, while there is a settlement I liked the misunderstandings and results from these and how the characters paid for them. really recommended - like all of Doolittle's novels. Doolittle is very under-rated. and his work needs more publicity; the fact that he doesn't stick to one character throughout different stories hurts him but his writing is consistently excellent. I know this sounds a cliché but I think he is a possibility of a burgeoning Elmore Leonard.

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Small town noir written with a perfect pitch. Highly recommend.

Officer Matt Worth of the Omaha Police Department is at a personal and career nadir. Recently divorced, he's now on a provisional assignment guarding the theft-prone SaveMore supermarket pending a psychological fitness sign-off after having slugged the Homicide detective that stole his wife. But even in that punch-up, satisfaction was muted as the other guy was the better hitter. In any case, Worth's only current job satisfaction is flirting with the pretty check-out girl, Gwen. But Gwen has an abusive boyfriend, Russell T. James, whom she bludgeons to death with a bedside table lamp while he sleeps after giving her a particularly nasty beating. With no one to turn to but Matt, she shows him her bruises at the hospital ER then the body back at the apartment. Sympathizing with her predicament, Worth decides not to make an arrest but rather to permanently eradicate Russell's corpse and live at let live. It seemed like the right and gentlemanly thing to do at the time.What Worth doesn't know is that James was employed as a narcotics and drug money courier by Eddie Tice, owner of Tice Is Nice Quality Used and Discount Furniture, who also has two local plain clothes cops on the take. That, and the $260 K gone missing with Russell, makes for an escalating set of complications for the chivalrous Worth.Worth, who's a perfectly average shmoe both in his personal and professional life, riding a bad situation into a disaster exemplifies one of my personal favorite adages, which is that No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. If you insist on acting out of the goodness of your heart, either do it with complete anonymity or be prepared for an unacceptable gain/loss ratio.If life imitates art, or vice versa, then THE CLEANUP, a delightfully entertaining piece of unpretentious lit noir, certainly illustrates the Law of Unintended Consequences. Moreover, it's a conveniently quick read, after which you can go back to saving the world.