After reading the more than excellent American Static, I wanted to read more by Tom Pitts. Hustle takes one into the darker side of San Francisco, where older men buy the favors of younger men who need favors, i.e. drugs. The book is not heartwarming, but it seems right on target. About the only likable characters are the servant Raphael and the secretary Bean. But the other characters are well-drawn and intriguing. One could only wish that they had chosen other paths. As it is, violence drives their lives as much as any drugs or sex.

When I saw this book being offered on NetGalley, the description alone made me want to read it. I am very glad to have been given the opportunity to read this oustanding book. Two hustlers, who are also drug addicts, think they may have come across the perfect mark to blackmail. When they go to let the mark know what they want, they find themselves caught up in something they had no idea about. Taking this journey with these characters was outstanding. The story flows and you have to keep reading to see how it all plays out. The ending is good and believable. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review. I will be looking for more from this author.

A well written crime story of two hustlers in SF looking for the perfect way out of their miserable life. Unfortunately, blackmailing a rich lawyer doesn't work out as planned. Great read because one feels stuck in the middle of the action. Definitely a thumb's up

“Hustle” is a masteriece of dark crime fiction that absolutely sizzles from the first page. It begins as the story of two Polk Street hustlers in San Francisco willing to do whatever with any John in order to score their next fix. But one of them has a plan how they can hustle their way out of the life: videotape a big fish -a rich lawyer- and blackmail him.

However, as you’ve probably guessed, in these stories it simply never goes quite as planned and there’s a veritable food chain of predators each meaner and nastier than the layer under them. Pitts somehow captures the attitude and action of every layer of this story, giving a realistic energy to it. There’s nothing pretty about these desperate twisted characters, but they are captured here - dead on. And, there is so much driving energy here that it’s just nonstop from beginning to end.

This is exactly what modern crime fiction is all about.

Fantastic book. Raw and hilarious, though not for the squeamish. (5-star review on Amazon)