Spero Lucas has a new line of work. Since he returned home after serving in Iraq, he has been doing special investigations for a defence attorney. He s good at it, and he has carved out a niche: recovering stolen property, no questions asked. His cut is forty percent.

A high-profile crime boss who has heard of Lucas s speciality hires him to find out who has been stealing from his operation. It s the biggest job Lucas has ever been offered, and he quickly gets a sense of what s going on. But before he can close in on what s been taken, he tangles with a world of men whose amorality and violence leave him reeling. Is any cut worth your family, your lover, your life?

Spero Lucas is George Pelecanos s greatest creation, a young man making his place in the world one battle and one mission at a time. The first in a series of thrillers featuring Spero Lucas, The Cut is the latest confirmation of why George Pelecanos is perhaps the greatest living crime writer. (Stephen King)