cover image Cutthroat

Cutthroat

Steve Brewer, . . Bleak House, $24.95 (382pp) ISBN 978-1-932557-62-6

In this undistinguished, straight-ahead thriller from Brewer (Whipsaw ), Solomon Gage acts as a murderous jack of all trades for wealthy, powerful Dominick Sheffield. Elderly Dom tries to keep an eye on California-based Sheffield Enterprises, but sons Michael, who heads mining operation Sheffield Extraction Industries, and Chris, a sycophantic wastrel, are weak, greedy and ambitious. Together with Bart Logan, Michael’s head of corporate security, they’ve put together a risky deal involving an unstable African country and uranium ore. The only thing in their way is Gage, whose repeated interference leaves the schemers determined to engineer his downfall. There’s never any doubt who the bad guys are, who the good guy is and who will come out on top, so the suspense meter never reaches very high. Gage’s unflappable stoicism, whether knocking down a blowhard, shooting a crackhead or punishing a wife-beater, may leave readers equally unmoved. (Sept.)