LoveReading Says
Punchy, sharp, and strong, this is a thriller that delivers in spades. A New York law firm comes under attack when secret documents from a prominent fraud case are lost. Corporate lawyer Elizabeth Carlyle hires ex-CIA officer Valencia Walker to discretely solve the case. Author Patrick Hoffman keeps you on your toes, I was launched straight in, and found that I hit the ground running. Snippets of juicy information are released, and it’s up to you to catch them. The fast moving plot introduces a host of interesting characters and problems that need to be solved. Questions are raised early on and I found myself wondering just who could be trusted. A few deliberate holes and trip wires are left in wait for the unwary, ensuring my mind was sifting through the puzzles as I read. This is one heck of a fascinating, murky and intricate world. The ending came as a shock, and I personally enjoyed the few enticing strands that tempted my thoughts to continue. Clean Hands is an action-packed treat of a read and LoveReading book of the month.
Liz Robinson
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Clean Hands Synopsis
Corporate lawyer Elizabeth Carlyle is under pressure. Her prestigious New York law firm is working on a high-stakes case, defending a prominent bank accused of fraud. When Elizabeth gets the news that one of her junior associates has lost his phone - and the secret documents that were on it - she needs help. Badly.
Enter ex-CIA officer Valencia Walker, a high-priced fixer who gets called in when wealthy people, corporations and governments need their problems solved discreetly. But things get complicated when the missing phone is retrieved: somebody has already copied the documents and blackmail is underway. Mysterious leaks to the press and an unlikely suicide further complicate the situation. With billions of dollars on the line, Elizabeth and Valencia must outmanoeuvre their tormentors, all the while keeping their hands clean.
From the corporate boardrooms of Manhattan to the city's gritty outer boroughs, a sharply drawn cast of characters - including dirty lawyers, black-market traders and Russian criminals - take part in this breakneck tour through New York. Authentic, tense and impossible to put down, Clean Hands shows a talented crime writer hitting his stride.
About This Edition
ISBN: |
9781611856408 |
Publication date: |
6th August 2020 |
Author: |
Patrick Hoffman |
Publisher: |
Grove Press/Atlantic |
Format: |
Hardback |
Pagination: |
288 pages |
Primary Genre |
Thriller and Suspense
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Other Genres: |
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Recommendations: |
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Patrick Hoffman Press Reviews
Everything in his unpredictable fiction has the dissonant clink of alarming truth . . . The White Van, with its quick and scary turns, provides a hell of a ride; the action never stops - even after the final page - Wall Street Journal on THE WHITE VAN
Subtle characterization, tricky narrative switchbacks . . . vivid, moody prose . . . closer to Denis Johnson than to Elmore Leonard - Paris Review on EVERY MAN A MENACE
Everything you could want in a thriller - lightning pace, dead-on dialogue and a twisting, high-torque plot. But, most of all, this novel is smart and authentic, a welcome jolt at a time when so much fiction reads like it rolled off an assembly line. -- Carl Hiassen, on EVERY MAN A MENACE
Clean Hands is an old-fashioned private investigator yarn - a terrific story - but skilfully brought up to date. Patrick Hoffman never slows the pace and always keeps the reader guessing. I admired the strong female characters, especially the P.I., Valencia Walker, a take-charge dame who's been around the block too many times to count. -- Susan Isaacs
Clean Hands is a terrific combination of noir mystery with financial thriller plus dirty-ops espionage, staking a claim to a highly compelling intersection of grit and glamour, with an unforgettable cast that's rich in both low lifes and the high life, and devious twists galore. Highly enjoyable. -- Chris Pavone, author of THE EXPATS
The fun is in the details...It becomes increasingly clear that the whole thing is far more complicated, with much higher stakes, than most of the pawns in this grand chess game understand. - New York Times Book Review
Exhilarating...with its crisp pace and superb timing, Clean Hands is a special treat - Wall Street Journal