Joe Hustle

Lange’s excellent latest (after Rovers) revolves around 40-year-old Joe “Hustle” Howard, an ex-Marine and ex-con wrestling with past traumas as he bounces between jobs and temporary living situations in L.A. While painting a house one afternoon, Joe meets Emily, a charming woman exiled from her wealthy family and fighting for custody of her daughter. Their whirlwind romance gives him hope for a more stable future, but then one of his friends asks Joe to safeguard his truck and the heroin and gun inside it. Joe reluctantly agrees, which quickly puts him at odds with a violent drug dealer, and ultimately causes him to lose both his job and his home. With his life once again in shambles, Joe and Emily leave L.A. and head to Texas on a road trip to see Emily’s daughter. But what first looks like a clean getaway might only cause Joe more trouble in the long run. It may be the best novel yet from the always reliable Lange: a harrowing and occasionally hilarious character study in resilience. This is a home run. Agent: Henry Dunow, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary. (June)