Cut to the Bone

by Robert P. Conner

"Stupidity. The unforgivable sin, stupidity. The only sin, to tell the truth. Never to be pardoned, not in this world nor in the world to come. Greed, treachery, blowing your cool at the check-points, not having your papers in order, playing both ends against the middle, cutting yourself a piece, yes, there were a hundred ways of being stupid for every one way of being smart. But losing a shipment? Now that was the ultimate stupidity. Losing a shipment demanded exemplary punishment, a very public auto da fe, so the less afflicted might be warned off by the ostent-tious sufferings of the hopelessly lost. Santos, one of the avenging angels of this moral order, knew that when Gregorio Olivares turned a deathly shade of purple and ranted about stupidity, retribution had taken wing." -From Chapter One It was his last job. Santos de la O would make a mint smuggling the most sophisticated weaponry across the Texas-Mexico border for a Mexican drug lord, then retire, take his lover Tony and find the good life for both of them far from the danger and violence of El PasoCiudad Juarez. But a celebratory night ends in gunfire, Tony dies in Santos's arms, and things go downhill from there. Instead of arming warring factions in the drug war, the weapons are used to assassinate a U.S. official, and then Santos is on the run from the DEA and the Mexican mob. But the only thing on his mind is revenge against Tony's killers. With multiple parties scrambling to cover their tracks, the body count continues to rise, as Santos and Fernando, a young hustler who witnessed Tony's murder, ruthlessly conduct a manhunt across Texas while pursued by relentless homicide detective Jenna Lessing. Santos de la O is perhaps the most morally ambivalent character to ever appear in gay literature, and Robert Conner's unflinching portrayal of a merciless man seeking redemption behind the barrel of a gun offers a blistering update on the traditional western, where bad men inadvertently become heroes and the law is often irrelevant. Robert Conner lives in San Francisco. He has experience with and knowledge of sophisticated weaponry. Cut to the Bone is his first novel.

Genres: M M Romance

200 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2002

Reviews

[Rodeweeks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read, great story. Showing a different face of the LGBTQ community and how they were/are perceived by some people, especially hate groups. How anyone in their right minds can think any hate group are doing or thinking good things is ridiculous.