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The Perpetrators
With the clock ticking, the story jumps off in the border town of Tijuana, Mexico. A smooth cat who labels himself an expeditor must survive a gauntlet of hitters and freaks to deliver his client alive to their destination. She's a high maintenance drug queen who's made a deal with the top cop in California's state capitol, Sacramento. By all means of transportation and dodging devastation, and busting some heads themselves, the two make their way north while behind-the-scenes machinations go down. Battered but not out, our man completes his assignment only to find out all ain't what it seems -- but then, he's not getting two million just to look good. And handling fools, no matter how they trip, comes with the territory.
176 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2002
2 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Gary Phillips
200 books231 followersGARY PHILLIPS has been a community activist, labor organizer and delivered dog cages. He’s published various novels, comics, short stories and edited several anthologies including South Central Noir and the Anthony award-winning The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir. Violent Spring, first published in 1994 was named in 2020 one of the essential crime novels of Los Angeles. He was also a writer/co-producer on FX’s Snowfall (streaming on Hulu), about crack and the CIA in 1980s South Central where he grew up. Recent novels include One-Shot Harry and Matthew Henson and the Ice Temple of Harlem. He lives with his family in the wilds of Los Angeles.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 1, 2019
I’ve enjoyed all the books by Gary Phillips I’ve read (Bangers, The Jook, Peepland (co-authored with Christa Faust)) but this one just didn’t work for me.
The Perpetrators is high octane action with little to no substance. The frenetic pace of storytelling is exhausting as the cardboard cut-out characters bounce from one fight scene to the next, narrowly escaping death at every turn in all too unbelievable fashion.
Suspend your belief because protagonist Marley is more superhuman than ex-special ops. His mission to escort a drug baroness to safety is more a made for movie script than prose with unquantifiable quarts of blood spilt, mass destruction, and casualties all taken in stride without any character development or decent plot to support the well written action sequences.
The novel uses a healthy dose of slang which quickly grows tiresome and cringe worthy, particularly in the later stages of the book. I get the ‘street’ perspective and influence the author was trying to instill, but it was just laid on too thick.
My rating: 2/5 stars. Some of the characters are cool but lack depth. The action is great and worth checking out if you’re looking for a quick read but I wanted more from the story.
The Perpetrators is high octane action with little to no substance. The frenetic pace of storytelling is exhausting as the cardboard cut-out characters bounce from one fight scene to the next, narrowly escaping death at every turn in all too unbelievable fashion.
Suspend your belief because protagonist Marley is more superhuman than ex-special ops. His mission to escort a drug baroness to safety is more a made for movie script than prose with unquantifiable quarts of blood spilt, mass destruction, and casualties all taken in stride without any character development or decent plot to support the well written action sequences.
The novel uses a healthy dose of slang which quickly grows tiresome and cringe worthy, particularly in the later stages of the book. I get the ‘street’ perspective and influence the author was trying to instill, but it was just laid on too thick.
My rating: 2/5 stars. Some of the characters are cool but lack depth. The action is great and worth checking out if you’re looking for a quick read but I wanted more from the story.
June 17, 2023
From inside the cover - "What this shit is about...Sharp knives, semi-naked women, armor-plated muscle cars, funky attitudes, shotguns, pimp slapping, backstabbing, bloodthirsty housewives, greed, sex, sharp teeth."
Gary Phillips dedicated this novel to John Buscema, Gil Kane and Budd Boetticher. That would cover The Avengers and Green Lantern comics to westerns starring Randolph Scott. It's a short and fast novel that pays homage to graphic novels and cult films.
Gary Phillips dedicated this novel to John Buscema, Gil Kane and Budd Boetticher. That would cover The Avengers and Green Lantern comics to westerns starring Randolph Scott. It's a short and fast novel that pays homage to graphic novels and cult films.
March 19, 2019
Gary Phillips is a damn good writer, and a Los Angeles staple all the way down, but this one just doesn't work. Feels like it really, really wants to be a screenplay for a cult flick, instead, but in a try-hard kind of way that kills the vibe. Cool fuckin' cover, though.
July 20, 2015
It's an engaging read, but the author hast he tendency to forget to mention things, and then to refer to them as if the reader already knows about them. A minor example is when he refers to the man who bumped into the chair, when we have no idea who that is because the author never mentioned him. This happens several times in the book.
The author uses a great deal of slang, though most of the time I could figure out what he meant. But here a nd there it's very unclear to those who aren't familiar with the slang.
It's a gritty book, but the action keeps moving. Most of the plot is the action, and when twists happen they are not explained (but most writers do that), but the twists fail to thrill.
It seems obvious to me that the author was writing a movie, not a book. Even with the twists and personality complications, the story is rather shallow. But it's mostly an easy read, if you don't mind reading about lowlifes with nothing ennobling on their minds.
The author uses a great deal of slang, though most of the time I could figure out what he meant. But here a nd there it's very unclear to those who aren't familiar with the slang.
It's a gritty book, but the action keeps moving. Most of the plot is the action, and when twists happen they are not explained (but most writers do that), but the twists fail to thrill.
It seems obvious to me that the author was writing a movie, not a book. Even with the twists and personality complications, the story is rather shallow. But it's mostly an easy read, if you don't mind reading about lowlifes with nothing ennobling on their minds.
November 7, 2011
Gary Phillips cuts right to the chase--literally--in The Perpetrators. There's no buildup; you're dropped right into the middle of a running battle as "expediter" named Marley strives to get the daughter of a deceased drug kingpin from Tijuana to Sacramento for a payoff of a million dollars. Opposing them are some bizarre hitters, including a pair of sadistic wannabe vampires and a trio of gun wielding females who have their own history with our smooth, sharp-dressed hero. Don't expect a lot of deep meaning or character development. Do expect a whole lot of fun.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews