17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nebraskan Crime Lord does it again ..., December 6, 2006
This review is from: The Cleanup (Mass Market Paperback)
Sean Doolittle's engine is firing on all pistons in THE CLEANUP, a gritty crime thriller about good cops, bad cops, and the desperate people caught in-between.
When Matt Worth, a disgraced cop, steps in to help a battered young woman at the grocery store where he moonlights, things get ugly really fast. Events quickly steamroll out of control ... there's a corpse that needs disposing .... a missing stack of money ... a local crime ring with more brawn than brains ... and finally a pair of rogue cops with dirty fingers and smoking pistols.
Matt Worth may be a down-and-out loser, but if he doesn't act fast in this situation, he's one dead loser ... and Gwen, the broken bird, will join his fate.
Doolittle's sense of place has served him well in previous books, such as the LA-set DIRT and BURN. Here he's back on his home turf of Nebraska (where RAIN DOGS was set). It's a harsh, cold landscape that serves the story well, filled with dread, blood and just enough hope to keep these underdogs running for the sun.
With the energy of a young Donald Westlake and the hard-bitten but lyrical style of Dutch Leonard, Doolittle's upping the ante big-time here. An excellent, exciting novel from a terrific writer.
What the hell are you waiting for? Buy it. Read it. DIG IT.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Simple Plans, January 13, 2007
This review is from: The Cleanup (Mass Market Paperback)
Matthew Worth comes from a long line of Omaha cops. Though the well intentioned but hapless Matt is more "Deputy Dawg" than "Hill Street Blues", and finds himself pulling probationary duty patrolling the local supermarket - on the grave shift. Sean Doolittle is no Joseph Wambaugh, either, but he is a writer of serious Midwest noir chops that knows how to turn a phrase and keep pages turning.
So Matt thinks he's done a pretty good job of screwing up his life and his family's rep for protecting and serving - until he meets young Gwen, the grocery store checkout clerk with problems that turn out to be way out of Matt's league. With little motivation beyond male chivalry the making of a compelling plot for Doolittle, Matt jumps in to Gwen's aid and is soon wrapping corpses in carpets and evading thugs from both ends of the plains and on both sides of the law. Doolittle keeps this neat little gem moving along with the help of some interesting characters and enough grit and violence to tarnish the sensibility of the heartland.
This is a fun read, reminiscent of Scott Smiths "A Simple Plan" without as much of the baggage. Or "Fargo" missing the droll fascination of Frances McDormand. Don't think to hard about an unlikely plot and questionable motivation, and you'll likely find Sean Doolittle and "The Cleanup" well crafted crime entertainment.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thinking man's cop story., February 26, 2007
This review is from: The Cleanup (Mass Market Paperback)
The Cleanup is an interesting tale about what happens when good intentions go awry and spin out of control. Policeman Matt Worth works the security detail in a local supermarket after being demoted for striking a superior officer. When he develops a crush on the checkout girl only to find out she's in an abusive relationship with a smalltime hood, things go from bad to worse. The book switches perspective from the cops to the crooks and back with aplomb, making the narrative hard to follow at times, but those who stick with it are rewarded with a thoughtful and suspenseful novel.
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