Strip

A Novel

By: Thomas Perry

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

An aging but formidable strip-club owner, Claudiu "Manco" Kapak, has been robbed by a masked gunman as he placed his cash receipts in a bank's night-deposit box. Enraged, he sends his half-dozen security men out to find a suspect who is spending lots of cash and is new enough to Los Angeles not to know he was robbing a gangster.

Their search leads them to Joe Carver, an innocent but hardly defenseless newcomer who evades capture and sets out to make Kapak wish he'd chosen someone else.

Meanwhile, the real culprit, Jefferson Davis Falkins, and his new girlfriend, Carrie, seem to believe they've found a whole new profession: robbing Manco Kapak. Lieutenant Nick Slosser, the police detective in charge of the puzzling and increasingly violent case, has his own troubles, including worries about how he's going to afford to send the oldest child of each of his two bigamous marriages to college without making their mothers suspicious.

As this odd series of difficulties explodes into a triple killing, Carver finds himself in the middle of a brewing gang war over Kapak's little empire, while Falkins and Carrie journey into territory more strange and violent than either had imagined.

©2010 Thomas Perry (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

“Perry's exquisite timing and finesse provide near perfect endings to the multiple story lines and make this escapist reading at its best.” ( Publishers Weekly)

There's better out there

I don't think the story lines were fleshed out enough. I can see where it was trying to go but it fell short and into a shallow plot. It was enjoyable enough but some of the background detail and character descriptions felt like filler in need of editing.

Perry strikes again!

wow it's true finally someone in the vein of Leonard, block & Westlake. that in itself is quite refreshing. in a mediocre sometimes even worse sea.

Good listen with surprises that made me smile

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes, I enjoyed the story and didn't need to listen all in one day. The story was written with enough information in each of the story lines to make it easy to remember where I stopped and what action finished just before I stopped listening. Many good stories don't have that strong a set of characters to allow for interruptions.

Would you be willing to try another book from Thomas Perry? Why or why not?

I have so many of the Thomas Perry books I will always try more!

Pronunciation incorrect

Speaker mispronounces La Cienega and Sepulveda Blvd so poorly it diminishes the LA environment and believability

It starts when a strip club owner gets robbed!

I listened to Strip several years ago before I started writing reviews. Strip is not Thomas Perry's best work, not even close. But it is an interesting crime thriller set in the seedier parts of Los Angeles and it has a surprise ending. Narration is better than the story.

Ellmore Leonard, only better

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. It's a complex but tightly told story of misfortunes that beset a strip club owner getting on in years and surrounded by an interesting but definitely unsavory cast of characters.

What did you like best about this story?

Everything -- but everything -- happens in the space of week: low lifes, strip joint men and women, and crooked but elegant policemen converge in a complex and fascinating -- often hilarious but also bloody -- series of mishaps.

Which character – as performed by Michael Kramer – was your favorite?

Manco Capac, the owner of several strip joints and clubs in LA, is a fascinating character, whom you come to sympathize with in spite of his very spotted history.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh, although there are some gruesome scenes (which some people may not like)

Any additional comments?

If you enjoy books by the late Ellmore Leonard, I'm sure you'll enjoy this book

A good, twisty read

It contains a truly interesting cast of characters, and a good, twisty storyline.

There were only two things that detracted for me.

I'd become very intrigued about a character, and it would take such a long time for the narrative to circle back to that person. I'd start to wonder, "But what about... ?" Eventually it would get there and satisfy my curiosity, but during that wondering time, it made me less interested in the current chapter.

Also, and this is just personal preference, I think this type of story might have benefited from a little more dark or wry humor than was offered. I think it would have been in character for many of the more interesting people... Spence, Joe Carver, Manko Kapak. It was all played pretty straight.

The intricate storylines were wrapped up to satisfying and not entirely expected conclusions. A good read.

Worth more than one listen.

For me, there's a kind of sameness about a lot of the new fiction. Lazy, high school level writing, lots of bad narrative and long, story killing, descriptions -- like these "authors" were getting paid by the word. Don't writers/editors care about plot and pacing any more? Anyhow, this book tells an interesting story, with interesting characters, a good plot, and very little wasted ink. It moves right along, it's fun to listen to, the reader does a great job overall and with the different voices, and I've given it 5 stars straight across. Way to go, Thomas Perry and Audible. And think about raising your editorial standards, Audible. I know you're there to sell stuff, but IMHO selling poorly written junk isn't the best long term business plan....at least I hope not. And using readers who mis-pronounce key words associated with the story doesn't help either. Come on, guys, use Google if you see an unfamiliar word. Don't just guess at it. OK. Rant over. This is a very good book. Get it and read it. Enjoy!

Delightful

I'm a big fan of Thomas Perry's The Butcher Boy series. This one-off book was a fun departure from the normal thriller, where even the good guys have something to hide and the bad guys don't always get what they deserve. The novel is made more enjoyable by the dry presentation of Michael Kramer, the narrator.

this was pretty good

light read. was a good non standard plot. wish there was a bit more history on Joe.