Hustle
by Tom Pitts
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
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Pub Date Apr 21 2016 | Archive Date Mar 29 2018
Description
Two young hustlers, caught in an endless cycle of addiction and prostitution, decide to blackmail an elderly client of theirs. Donny and Big Rich want to film Gabriel Thaxton with their cell phones during a sexual act and put the video up on YouTube. Little do they know, the man they’ve chosen, a high-profile San Francisco defense attorney, is already being blackmailed by someone more sinister: an ex-client of the lawyer’s. A murderous speed freak named Dustin has already permeated the attorney’s life and Dustin has plans for the old man. The lawyer calls upon an old biker for help and they begin a violent race to suppress his deadly secret.
Advance Praise
“Tom Pitts’ HUSTLE is the kind of in-your-face street level noir that American crime fiction hasn’t seen in a long, long time. Frankly, not many writers have either the balls or the talent to pull it off. Pitts has both in spades. Bold, honest and daring.” —Todd Robinson, The Hard Bounce
“Tom Pitts is part of a rare and dying breed, a self-taught, instinctual writer whose tight, pitch-perfect prose was honed the old-fashioned way by reading and walking the seedy alleys of life. Hustle is quick-paced and dark, at once sad and funny as hell, with a Jim Thompson-esque cast of characters and echoes of Bukowski in its poetic sensitivity. Pitts’ own experiences on the streets of San Francisco make Hustle a novel unlike any you’ve read before. I love this book.” —Ro Cuzon, Under the Dixie Moon
“What makes Hustle such a remarkable book—and Tom Pitts such a formidable writer—is the juxtaposition of literary tradition versus street ethos. Hustle pushes boundaries and challenges the peripheral but not at the expense of story, which zips along the dirty streets of San Francisco to tell a terrifying tale, the likes of which, I promise you, you’ve never heard before. This is in-the-trenches, first-hand, in-your-face reportage, from a who knows what it takes to survive those streets. Unflinching and without apology.” —Joe Clifford, Junkie Love and Lamentation
“Hustle is a smart and deceitful novel that can’t wait for you to judge it. It presents itself with a raw, unadorned prose, but it’s way more than meets the eye. Tom Pitts is a wicked storyteller. He barely arrived in the publishing game, but expect him to become one of these cult authors with a rabid fanbase.” —Benoit Lelievre, DeadEndFollies.com
“Hustle i an insane mind-fuck.” —Liam Sweeny, Welcome Back Jack
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781943402199 |
| PRICE | $15.95 (USD) |
Links
Featured Reviews
Ken C, Reviewer
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.
V N, Reviewer
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.
Michael K, Librarian
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
Dave W, Reviewer
“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.
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