The Price You Pay

The jaded and callous worldview of Londoner Jack Price, the narrator of this unpleasant crime novel from the pseudonymous Truhen, is evident from the opening sentence: “I’m ordering a latte macchiato because Didi is dead and that is sad.” Price eventually discloses that his downstairs neighbor was shot twice in the chest and once in the head, as if she were a drug mule, before revealing that he himself is a drug dealer who’s proud of his business model—outsourcing deliveries of narcotics as cutting-edge “zero-hour gig-economy microjobs.” Price feels motivated to investigate the killing on his own, to defend his territory, and isn’t deterred when three thugs arrive at his apartment to beat him up, or even after learning that a scary group known as the Seven Demons may have been involved. Price’s smart-alecky comments and penchant for awkward comparisons (“She looks like Didi Fraser if Didi had lived without makeup and eaten raw bear from the moment she gave up the nipple”) will put off some readers. Those looking for an amusingly snarky antihero lead will be better off with serial killer Dexter Morgan. Agent: Patrick Walsh, PEW Literary. (July)