Customer Reviews

Strip (Otto Penzler Books)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

"Strip" is a fine addition to Thomas Perry's work. As usual, his timing and characterizations are his greatest assets. He builds credible and believable characters both through effective back story and through their interactions within the story. Perry always presents authentic believable dialogue to streamline his pacing.

Manco Kapek is a small time gangster who owns several strip clubs but has a sideline activity laundering money for a bigger gangster. When he is robbed making an early morning deposit in a bank's night deposit box by a masked gunman, he angrily sends his henchmen out to find someone who is spending large sums of money and is so new to LA that he didn't realize he was robbing a mobster. When the name Joe Carver comes up a couple times, Kapek orders his men to exact revenge upon Mr. Carver.

Unfortunately for Kapek, Joe Carver is not a man to be trifled with and he quickly responds to the mobster's efforts to kill him by declaring financial and ultimately open war upon Manco. Meanwhile, the real petty thief, Jefferson Falkins, and his new girlfriend, Carrie Carr, decide that robbing Manco Kapek is so lucrative and easy that they do it again. Manco is furious not knowing who the real thief is but growing confident that he should never have messed with Joe Carver.

To this festering case of mistaken identity and a budding Bonnie and Clyde, add LAPD Lt. Nick Slosser, a smart-enough cop but one who lives on the edge as attested by his bigamy and the financial demands of two families. Nick suspects Kapek of several crimes and effectively pressures him throughout the novel. But is Nick strong enough to stay clean and do what is right? Perry provides interesting color with an assortment of minor characters including a handful of bodyguards and street women who play various roles in bringing the novel to its climax. Chief among these lesser characters is Spence, Kapek's bodyguard, confidant, and brains-behind-the-brawn. As the bodies begin to pile up and as double crosses develop in surprising characters, the reader is left to race through the pages to discover who is on who's side.

As the stories and characters finally begin to interweave and connect, Kapek realizes Carver is a man to avoid. Falkins realizes, too late, that Carrie has graduated from a gangster wannabe to a thrill seeking sociopath. Slosser begins closing in on Kapek. Kapek's men begin to doubt his leadership. That Perry can take all these, at times, disparate threads and weave them into a satisfying conclusion is a tribute because this reader was a little distracted by the back stories and various character developments that seemed to slow the pacing occasionally. At times, "Strip" seemed to be three separate stories that did not sufficiently interlace enough to provide the fast pacing that the novel demanded, for example, the Carver character would be lost altogether for several chapters. However, that being my only quibble, "Strip" is a recommended read.

Thomas Perry has been such a good writer for so many years. "Metzger's Dog" is a riot. "The Butcher's Boy" and "Sleeping Dog" are masterpieces of the genre. And Jane Whitefield is a classic character, even though his last outing featuring her ("Runner") was a bit lightweight when compared to her earlier adventures.

This new book is entertaining enough, though not in the same class as his other "stand alones" like "Death Benefits" and "Dead Aim". It reads more like a movie script, and I felt the ending was too rushed, with a couple of revelations left unexplained. Again, fun, but not classic Thomas Perry.

This is an excellent crime novel with a tip of the hat to Elmore Leonard. Perry creates unusual and interesting criminal characters and their exploits are fun to watch unfold. In the end things are wrapped up neatly and with an unexpected twist, justice doesn't exactly prevail....but let's say justice is done. This is one of Perry's good ones.

I read some very positive reviews for this book and after reading the book jacket I was sure that this novel would be right up my alley. It sounds like something that could have been written by Elmore Leonard. There are multiple converging storylines, filled with bad guys that aren't so bad and good guys that aren't so good.

Strangely though, as I was reading it, I wasn't as engaged as I should have been. I kept feeling like I should be enjoying it more than I actually was. It was exactly the type of novel that appeals to me, and yet it somehow felt like a pale imitation of what it was supposed to be.

I wanted to be swept up by a fast-moving, twisted, quirky, roller coaster ride of crime-fiction fun, but for some reason it all felt contrived and a bit sluggish. I'm not sure why, because all the ingrediants were there for a highly entertaining novel, but for some reason it wasn't hitting the mark for me at first. It was entertaining enough but I thought it might end up being just another forgettable crime novel in a sea of forgettable novels. Like a pale imitation of an Elmore Leonard novel.

But then, as the novel started nearing its conclusion, I began to enjoy it a lot more. The pages were turning faster and I was looking forward to reading it after I had put it down. I could feel myself grinning as I neared the end of the novel and then when that last twist came, I felt that grin turn into a big broad smile. I love cynical endings and they don't get much better than this one. I wish every novel I read had an ending this good.

Bottom line: Strip is a reasonably entertaining novel that comes together near the end and then delivers a brilliant, completely unexpected twist at the end that will appeal to cynics everywhere.

It was just ok. It started very strong, but then meandered with all the different characters. I admit having sympathy for the 'bad' guy, Kapak. But otherwise, it all just was a lot of bumbling around for 98% of the book and then capped off with an abrupt and unsatisfying ending. I really like Thomas Perry's other books - but this one left me cold.

Joe Carver does not have a permanent address in Los Angeles. For now, he is sleeping in the cab of a tower crane at a construction site. Carver knows that someone has him in their sights; he noticed some very bad men trailing him. Reviewing his short time in LA, Carver figures that throwing around a lot of money in the clubs was probably a bad idea, but one that got him contacts and dates. Now, it appears that a strip club owner, Claudiu "Manco" Kapak, who was robbed of his cash deposit at gun point by a masked man, believes that Carver is the suspect. Carver may be innocent of the robbery, but he is not without defensive skills. Kapak has picked the wrong man.

Jefferson Davis Falkins is the real culprit. He has been living with a woman who is a waitress at one of Kapak's strip clubs, and knows the deposit routine. When thrown out of the apartment, Falkins hooks up with Carrie, a woman who loves robbing Kapak of his night deposits. Maybe a bit too much.

Of the people that Kapak sends out to rid himself of Carver, only Kapak's right hand man and confidant, Spence, is smart enough to handle Carver. Spence seems to understand what is happening and why, and takes it upon himself to find Carver, outside of Kapak's usual methods.

Adding to the list of characters, is police Lieutenant Nick Slosser. who is in charge of the investigation into Kapak's robbery. But Slosser has his own issue, juggling his bigamous marriages with children ready to head off to college. Keeping the two wives ignorant of each other, while guiding his children to different universities, is taking its toll on his mental health.

Thomas Perry's keeps all of the characters in motion, making Strip a wonderful mystery. While it would have been easy for Perry to fill the book with many chases and violence, he takes a different tact: how Kapak manages his businesses, how Carver exacts his brand of justice on Kapak, how Falkins plans and executes his robberies. In that, it is easy for the reader to relate with Kapak and Carver. Falkins is a interesting character until he hooks up with Carrie. At that point, his story arc starts to unravel at breakneck speed, which is fascinating and disturbing.

The only criticism of Strip is that Carver disappears during the novel, while Perry brings the reader details on Kapak, Falkins, Spence, and Slosser. This issue is easily overlooked when Perry delivers a tight, satisfying ending, which may require a careful reading for the reader to truly appreciate Perry's skill.

Disclosure:
Obtained from: Library
Payment: Borrowed

When I think of Mr Perry's books, "Butcher's Boy", "Sleeping Dogs", "Pursuit" and of course the Whitefield series come to mind. This book, "Strip" is very unlike his earlier treasures but it was still good. One difference is that there are a lot of characters, each with their own story to tell. His other books with the exception of "Island" have relatively few characters and the story line is more focused. There is Joe Carver who was already on the Fed's protection program, being falsely accused of stealing and being hunted down by a saloon owner. Carver fights back and gets the best of Kapak. Then there's Manco Kapak, the saloon owner and money launderer who was robbed and looking for revenge. After Kapak, there's Jeff Falkins, a two timing thief and his new girlfriend who happens to be a psychotic killer who lives for a thrill. A police detective named, Slossner, is out to convict Kapak turns out to be a big time thief and bigamist. Sherri Wynn, a waitress, befriends Kapak but all she wants is his money.
Can't forget Manuel Rogoso, a drug dealer, who tries to kill Kapak. Kapak's bodyguards, thinking that he's ripe for a fall, try to take over but fail. Then there's Spence, the Gaffney brothers, Voinovich, Sandy Belknap and others. They each have their stories; their interesting but with so many, Mr Perry doesn't delve as deeply into each character as his earlier books. Each of these characters have threads of commonality and Perry does a pretty good job of tying them together but there is some unevenness. For example, Joe Carver starts out strong but is then not heard from for chapters and when he comes back, its in a lesser role. The surprised ending is fairly brief but is explicit and you will know how everyone makes it through their ordeal. Some have happy endings but many don't.

If you're a Thomas Perry fan, you'll probably like this book but don't expect classic Perry or you may be disappointed. If you're new to Perry, give him a try; there is much to appreciate from his dozen books.

I've been a Perry fan since his first book, The Butcher's Boy, and eagerly await each new offering. Strip isn't even on the fringes of the standard at which Perry has always worked. It is, as all his books are, very well written. But, sadly, that is the best thing I can say about it. This is a silly book about silly men doing silly things and then hooking up for sexual encounters with silly (and even crazy) women. When the villain of the piece is the only halfway sympathetic character in a novel, that novel is in B - I - G trouble. It's wearying to slog through Strip ... I recommend reading any one of Perry's other books and giving this one a pass.

I read this one, expecting it to be what it was, as the review title implies. What I didn't expect was for it to be so enjoyable. The books I read in the space of 24 hours are few and far between these days, but "Strip" absolutely filled the bill.
There are, as mentioned in earlier reviews, several different threads going on here, but they are wound together well. The characters are not deep, but are decently developed, if not entirely credible. You find yourself liking, or having some empathy for, most of them as things move on.
The interplay is clever and humorous, the plot devices imaginative and flowing.
Reading it kind of reminded me of watching "Pulp Fiction", only without some of the time lapse confusion.
This is my first Thomas Perry novel, but after this one, I'm going back to see what else is on the shelf.

Who is Joe Carver & why is the small time hood after him? Basically, that's the beginning of the book. The rest revolves around that premise.
Kapack, the hood has a slew of henchmen at the ready. He runs some sleazy strip clubs, making a fortune & has a sideline as a money launderer.
The book does have, probably, more than it's share of characters. But, you can pretty much pick out the main from the fluff.
Throw in a loser of a thug along with his psychotic girlfriend & the recipe is compete. This small time hood fits the story nicely, throwing more of the blame from his mayhem onto Carver.
The book has it's share of violence, along with the inevitable double-cross bound to be found in this type of book.
In the end we have a couple of nice, entertaining twists to finish this story off. It's an entertaing, fun read