The Cleanup

A fast moving thriller/mystery that is fast-paced, cleverly written and well plotted. The hero is less fun than the villians and that alone makes it an interesting change of pace. But the way the author keeps you privy to his thinking as he reacts to events makes him a lot more credible than most of his type. Enjoyed it.

This was my first Doolittle book, but it won't be my last. In this book the author weaves a fast-paced tale with fascinating characters, a compelling plot borne all the way with a sharp whiff of reality. You can smell the gritty police station, the snow and the blood. The plot flows naturally -- no contrived serendipitous plot tricks -- just a good story told most ably. Once you start reading, be prepared to finish it without setting it down. A winner of a book!

Sean Doolittle, today's finest writer of Midwestern noir, returns with The Cleanup, another standout effort from this relatively unknown author. Matt Worth is just an ordinary schlub, an average guy working as a cop in Omaha. He's smart enough, but he doesn't use very good judgment. His rash actions have seen him busted down to the lowest post on the force: guarding an all-night supermarket. There he meets an attractive woman with an abusive boyfriend. He likes her, but he tries not to get involved. That changes when she calls to tell him that she's just killed her boyfriend and needs help disposing of the body. Doolittle doesn't get the attention that many of the bigger names in the crime genre do, but he should. His understated novels are real gems, fine examples of timeless crime writing that hold up the rich traditions of the genre while also breaking new ground.

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.

With his home town of Omaha as a backdrop, Nebraska author Sean Doolittle paints a gritty, suspenseful portrait in his fourth novel, The Cleanup. The book follows down-on-his luck cop Matthew Worth. Busted down to patrolling an oft-robbed supermarket, Worth falls for attractive check-out girl, Gwen. When Gwen finds herself in a tight spot, Worth makes a snap decision. Not so much a "who-done-it," The Cleanup is more of a "will-they-get-away-with-it." As a cop, Worth knows how to cover his tracks, but a lack of time and a lack of sleep lead to several slip-ups. Will they be enough to uncover his malefaction? Worth dodges dirty cops and helpful neighbors and receives assistance from some unlikely sources. Doolittle has stated in interviews that Worth is not a series character. All of Doolittle's novels, Dirt, Burn and Rain Dogs as well as The Cleanup are stand-alone novels. It's true, there isn't a "set-up for the sequel" ending to The Cleanup, but Worth is a compelling-enough character that I'd like to see more of him.