Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The current TV series of the same title, featuring Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery as Crouch's flawed antihero, will give a boost to sales of this collection of three lightweight novellas about Letty Dobesh, a small-time crook recently released from Virginia's Fluvanna Correctional Center, where she served nine months for felony theft. Crouch (Dark Matter) puts Letty into a Hitchcockian situation in the first entry, "The Pain of Others." She's in the midst of stealing some cash and electronic equipment from a hotel room when the occupant returns. While hiding, she overhears one man hiring another to kill his wife. Will she be able to resist her instinct to just walk away from the situation? In "Sunset Key," a thug offers Letty a huge payday to seduce a white collar crook who's about to go to jail for running an Enron-like scam. The thug also wants Letty to steal a valuable van Gogh. In the final story, "Grab," Letty's trip across country to reunite with her young son in Oregon is delayed when she's recruited for a complex Vegas heist. The inclusion of commentary on how the stories were adapted for the screen should interest the TV show's fans. Agent: David Hale Smith, Inkwell Management. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Library Journal Review
Fans of cohesive crime fiction and complex characters will likely enjoy peering into the gritty world of Letty Dobesh, the protagonist of this collection of three longish short stories. While engaging in criminal activity in the opening story, Letty, a recovering drug addict and unreformed ex-convict, overhears a conversation that would send almost anyone else to the police. Because of her ongoing criminal behavior and how she came by the knowledge, Letty chooses instead to solve the matter herself in way that will not get her into more legal trouble. Her illicit and compassionate sides are equally believable and each play a part in how she addresses the problems she encounters and creates. Narrator Julia Whalen deftly voices a varied, rotating cast, using subtle changes in cadence and pitch to differentiate the characters, demographically diverse men and women of all ages. Crouch reads his own introductions and postscripts and offers insight in his works' journey from short stories to television episodes. VERDICT This collection stands on its own merits, but there is sure to be a great deal of interest in it owing to the related TV series. Recommended for all collections.-Nicole Williams, New York © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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