Cutthroat

by Steve Brewer

Taken in by billionaire Dominick Sheffield as a child, Solomon Gage grows up as a loyal defender and troubleshooter for the family's business until Sheffield's sons become entangled in a dangerous deal involving African uranium and Solomon must try to convince Dominick of his son's shady schemes.

382 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

STEVE BREWER is the author of more than 30 books, including the recent crime novels UPSHOT and COLD CUTS.

His first novel, LONELY STREET, was made into a 2009 independent Hollywood comedy starring Robert Patrick, Jay Mohr and Joe Mantegna.

Under his pen name Max Austin, Brewer wrote three hard-boiled crime stories set in Albuquerque, NM. The first, DUKE CITY SPLIT, was published by Alibi/Random House in April 2014. DUKE CITY HIT followed in December 2014. DUKE CITY DESPERADO came out in June 2015.

Brewer's short fiction has appeared in the several anthologies, and he's published articles in magazines such as Mystery Scene, Crimespree and Mystery Readers' Journal.

Brewer has taught at the University of New Mexico, the Midwest Writers Workshop and the Tony Hillerman Writers Seminar. He regularly speaks at mystery conventions, and was toastmaster at Left Coast Crime in Santa Fe, NM, in 2011.

He served two years on the national board of Mystery Writers of America, and twice served as an Edgar Awards judge. He's also a member of International Thriller Writers and SouthWest Writers.

A graduate of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, Brewer worked as a daily journalist for 22 years, then wrote a syndicated weekly column for another decade. The column, called The Home Front, produced the raw material for his humor book TROPHY HUSBAND.

Married and the father of two adult sons, Brewer lives in Albuquerque, NM.

More at www.stevebrewer.blogspot.com.

BOOKS BY STEVE BREWER
"Lonely Street," 1994, Pocket Books
"Baby Face," 1995, Pocket Books
"Witchy Woman," 1996, St. Martin's Press
"Shaky Ground," 1997, St. Martin's Press
"Dirty Pool," 1999, St. Martin's Press
"End Run," 2000, Intrigue Press
"Crazy Love," 2001, Intrigue Press
"Cheap Shot," 2002, Intrigue Press
"Trophy Husband," 2003, University of New Mexico Press
"Bullets," 2003, Intrigue Press
"Fool's Paradise," 2003, UNM Press
"Boost," 2004, Speck Press
"Sanity Clause," a novella, in "The Last Noel," 2004, Worldwide
"Bank Job," 2005, Intrigue Press
"Whipsaw," 2006, Intrigue Press
"Monkey Man," 2006, Intrigue Press
"Payoff," a short story in the anthology "Damn Near Dead," 2006, Busted Flush
"Cutthroat," 2007, Bleak House
"Limbo," a short story in the Mystery Writers of America anthology "Crimes by Moonlight," 2010, Berkley
"Firepower," 2010, Amazon/Smashwords
"1500 Rules for Successful Living," 2011, Amazon/Smashwords
"Calabama," 2011, Amazon/Smashwords
"The Big Wink," 2011, Amazon/Smashwords
"Lost Vegas," 2011, Amazon/Smashwords
"Party Doll," 2012, Amazon/Smashwords
"A Box of Pandoras," 2012, Amazon/Smashwords
"Showdown," a short story, 2012, Amazon/Smashwords
"Found Money," a short story, 2012, Amazon/Smashwords
"Yvonne's Gone," a short story, 2012, Amazon/Smashwords
"Cemetery Plot," a short story, 2013, Amazon
"Duke City Split," writing as Max Austin, Alibi, 2014
"Duke City Hit," writing as Max Austin, Alibi, 2014
"Duke City Desperado," writing as Max Austin, Alibi, 2015
"Shotgun Boogie," 2016, Amazon
"Homesick Blues," 2016, Amazon
"Side Eye," 2017, Amazon
"Cold Cuts," 2018, Amazon
"Upshot," 2020, Amazon

Reviews

[Araych · Rating 3 out of 5]

My copy was a trade paperback without page numbers. This is a well-constructed thriller about a big guy (reminded me somewhat of Reacher) employed as a fixer by a very rich family in Northern California. The family becomes involved in ugly African politics with deadly results for several people, American as well as African. I liked it OK but the big shoot-em-up at the end kind of lost me. 3 stars.

[Magicalsausages · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little bit of cheese, but still good

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 3.75

At one time, Solomon Gage's mother was the executive assistant to billionaire Dominick Sheffield. Although she died in a car accident when Solomon was 14, Dominick took him under his wing and trained him in the ways of the world. Soon, he became an indispensable asset to Dominick, and a thorn in the side of Dom's sons. Solomon has dedicated his entire adult life to serving the Sheffield family and in some respects is more of a son to Dominick than the two men of his blood.

Solomon specializes in solving the family's problems and dealing with any trouble that may come up for any of them. In the case of Dominick's granddaughter, Abby Maynes, that is almost a full time job. She's a drug addict who has been prostituting herself to get her fix; Gage rescues her from a crackhouse and helps her go straight. Unfortunately, things don't turn out as hoped for.

Given the fact that Gage has such a close relationship with the family patriarch, you can imagine that Dominick's sons aren't overly fond of Solomon. Ever loyal to Dominick, Solomon is disturbed to hear rumors that the men are involved in some shady dealings in Africa. The stakes become higher when some mercenaries from Niger come to the US to protect their own interests, and killing people is part of what they need to do. Trying to deal with the situation causes Solomon to lose everything that he holds dear.

The turmoil in the family and the sons' treatment of Solomon serve as the foundation of what turns out to be a more than serviceable thriller. In addition to the mercenaries and conniving sons, there's the divorce lawyer for the wife of the eldest son who becomes involved with Solomon, which leads to aspersions being cast on his loyalty to the family. The only unconvincing element for me was Solomon's physical abilities, with him turning into a tough guy who is just as adept at using his fists as using his brain and suffering from a bit of Energizer Bunny syndrome while dealing with the threats.

CUTTHROAT is quite a departure for Brewer, who has previously written a humorous PI series and several standalone caper books. Although the book is much more serious in nature, it still has all the trademarks that make Brewer a favorite author of mine—excellent plotting, well-developed characters and various unexpected turns of events that keep interest high.

[Jen Blood · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are plenty of twists and turns and a surprisingly complex emotional journey for the protagonist, Solomon Gage, in this action thriller by veteran author Steve Brewer. The laconic Solomon Gage is a refreshing change of pace from the wisecracking tough guys who dominate the genre, and while some of the characters are occasionally almost cartoonish in their villainy, Brewer more than makes up for this with his fluid writing style and a surprisingly poignant twist in the final act. The novel has enough action and wanton violence to please the most ardent adrenaline junkies, but balances that with a richly textured protagonist, a very sweet romantic subplot, and an intelligent enough storyline to engage readers hoping for a bit more substance. All in all, a thoroughly pleasurable read that I would recommend to any fans of action and suspense.

[Foreign]

Russian acquiring editor: Varya Gornostaeva