Clean Hands: A Novel

by Patrick Hoffman Narrated by Christina Delaine

Overview

Corporate lawyer Elizabeth Carlyle is under a lot of pressure. Her prestigious New York law firm is working on the most high-stakes case in company history defending a prominent bank. When Elizabeth gets the news that one of her junior associates has lost his phone-and the secret documents that were on it-she needs help. Badly.



Enter ex-CIA officer Valencia Walker, a high-priced fixer who gets called in when governments, corporations, and plutocrats need their problems solved discretely. But things get complicated when the missing phone is retrieved: somebody has already copied the documents, and now they're blackmailing the firm. When the situation gets murkier still-hinting that darker forces may be churning below the surface-Elizabeth and Valencia must maneuver and outmaneuver whomever is behind this and, most importantly, keep their hands clean.



This is a world of private security, private diplomacy, and private justice. A sharply drawn cast of characters-dirty lawyers, black-market traders, Russian criminals, and extrajudicial actors-all take part in this breakneck tour through New York. Authentic, tense, and impossible to put down, Clean Hands gives a vivid look at the connections between corporation, government, and underworld.

Editorial Reviews

NOVEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

Narrator Chistina Delaine rises to the challenge of portraying a cast of larger-than-life characters. Ex-CIA officer Valencia Walker is now a high-priced corporate fixer who has been called in to help a top New York law firm with damage control after a young associate loses his phone, which holds important corporate documents. The situation quickly goes from bad to worse as a selection of villains—ranging from petty thieves to Russian criminals—converge, and Valencia must fight to achieve the best solution possible. Delaine seamlessly moves from thick Russian accents to the refined accents of top lawyers, which are particularly strong during dialogue scenes. Her strong pacing keeps the tension building right up to the climax. K.J.P. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

02/24/2020

This riveting if flawed thriller from Hoffman (Every Man a Menace) revolves around corporate lawyers entangled in a contentious federal civil suit between two banks that has the potential to compromise national security. One morning in New York’s Grand Central Station, a pickpocket steals junior attorney Chris Cowley’s phone. Elizabeth Carlyle, the head of Cowley’s law firm, enlists the help of Valencia Walker, a former CIA operative and badass fixer, to recover the phone, which contains highly sensitive documents at the center of the case. But while Walker and her crew are consummate pros, they soon realize they could be pawns in a much larger, and deadlier, game of politics and power. Though the pedal-to-the-metal narrative features richly described and well-rounded characters (in particular, the two shrewd and determined female leads), the unconventional ending—thematically powerful as it is—may disappoint some readers. The impressive plot twists are a reminder that Hoffman remains a writer to watch. Agent: Charlotte Sheedy, Charlotte Sheedy Literary. (June)

From the Publisher

Praise for Clean Hands:

**A New York Times “Summer Reading” pick, a Boston Globe “Summer Reading List” selection, and a Literary Hub “Best New Book to Read This Summer”**

“Mr. Hoffman, apparently a still-working private investigator based in Brooklyn, writes with a good ear, a fine eye and a sure hand; he has a wondrous ability to render the thoughts of his socially and morally diverse cast…The book’s unpredictable sentences are full of such surprises, and its scenes build to unexpected revelations. With its crisp pace and superb timing, Clean Hands is a special treat to read.”—Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal

“The fun is in the details. A lot of characters find themselves in places they would rather not be, feeling paranoid, anxious and compromised by things they wish they had not done...It becomes increasingly clear that the whole thing is far more complicated, with much higher stakes, than most of the pawns in this grand chess game understand.”—New York Times Book Review

“This sly thriller begins during rush hour at Grand Central Terminal…The plot is fast-paced, and its twists lead ever deeper into corporate intrigue and government espionage.”—New Yorker

“The pickpocketing of a lawyer’s smartphone loaded with sensitive documents sets off an intriguing string of events, which hits critical mass when the victim’s law firm hires an ex-CIA fixer to solve the high-stakes problem.”—Boston Globe

“Part legal thriller, part classic noir, and part spy thriller, Clean Hands is an unputdownable read, filled with private security firms, crooked lawyers, shady black-market traders, and Russian organized crime.”—Buzzfeed

“Hoffman is one of the foremost practitioners in crime fiction today, a skilled storyteller who weaves together complex narratives to give readers an illuminating look at the darkened links binding global crime and corruption together…This is a dark and nuanced novel that dissects financial crime at the highest levels.”—CrimeReads

“The impressive plot twists are a reminder that Hoffman remains a writer to watch.”—Publishers Weekly

“An enjoyably hard-boiled yarn streaked with noir effects, Hoffman's follow-up to Every Man a Menace (2016) is a skillfully orchestrated effort that achieves its most outlandish effects with nifty understatement. It is a book of constantly moving parts and constantly moving vehicles, as characters race across New York City to avert disaster…Crime fiction that gives chaos an entertaining ride.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Valencia, a former CIA operative, is an expert manipulator and strategist, which casts intriguing doubt on her motives and propels the story toward a jaw-dropping twist. Fans of Zoë Sharp’s Charlie Fox and Chris Pavone’s Kate Moore will want to see more of Valencia Walker.”—Booklist

“A thriller that dives into the world of big money shenanigans and all the justice that money can buy.”—Library Journal

“Clean Hands is an old-fashioned private investigator yarn—a terrific story—but skillfully brought up to date. Patrick Hoffman never slows the pace and always keeps the reader guessing. I admired the strong female characters, especially the P.I., Valencia Walker, a take-charge dame who’s been around the block too many times to count.”—Susan Isaacs, New York Times-bestselling author of Takes One to Know One

“Clean Hands is a terrific combination of noir mystery with financial thriller plus dirty-ops espionage, staking a claim to a highly compelling intersection of gritty and glamour, with an unforgettable cast that's rich in both low lifes and the high life, and devious twists galore. Highly enjoyable.”—Chris Pavone, New York Times-bestselling author of The Expats

Praise for Patrick Hoffman:

“Criminal fools populate the drug-selling networks from San Francisco to Bangkok to Miami in Patrick Hoffman’s astonishing, violent novel . . . filled with sharply drawn characters . . . A mind-bending, attention-demanding narrative as full of shocks and surprises as an LSD party.”—Wall Street Journal, on Every Man a Menace

“Every Man a Menace is everything you could want in a thriller—lightning pace, dead-on dialogue, and a twisting, high-torque plot. But, most of all, this novel is smart and authentic, a welcome jolt at a time when so much fiction reads like it rolled off an assembly line.”—Carl Hiaasen, on Every Man a Menace

“Subtle characterization, tricky narrative switchbacks . . . vivid, moody prose . . . closer to Denis Johnson than to Elmore Leonard.”—Paris Review Daily, on Every Man a Menace

“[Every Man a Menace] is distinguished by its virtuoso set pieces . . . a nasty tour de force . . . Hoffman's follow-up to The White Van is another strong and original addition to the crime fiction genre.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review), on Every Man a Menace

“Patrick Hoffman writes vivid and colourful prose, in a style that has Hollywood movie written all over it . . . An exciting read.”—Toronto Star, on Every Man a Menace

"[An] exhilarating crime debut . . . Hoffman gives his story a stunner of a twist, where roles are reversed, lies become truths, and it all gives way to the most perfect hustle of all . . . Hoffman's crime plot doesn't just thicken, it boils with surprise after surprise and suspense as tight as a noose . . . He cinematically captures a seamy San Francisco . . . the hard-boiled prose glints like a broken mirror . . . wildly satisfying."—San Francisco Chronicle, on The White Van

"Gritty, exhilarating . . . Everything in his unpredictable fiction has the dissonant clink of alarming truth . . . The White Van, with its quick and scary turns, provides a hell of a ride; the action never stops—even after the final page."—Wall Street Journal, on The White Van

Library Journal

06/01/2020

Chris Crowley, a junior attorney in Elizabeth Carlyle's prestigious corporate law firm, has his phone stolen by a pickpocket in Grand Central Station. It contains sensitive documents relating to an important ongoing lawsuit being handled by the firm; the information is so sensitive that the phone has to be retrieved at almost any cost. Elizabeth calls in Valencia Walker, a former FBI and CIA agent, who uses whatever means necessary to get her jobs done. Valencia and her team track down the phone but not before it switches hands several times and not before the confidential information is held for ransom under threat of public disclosure. Underlying both Chris's and Valencia's actions are secrets. The action revolves around Valencia's travels through the underworld in her attempt to locate and retrieve the phone, identify the blackmailers, and exact revenge. VERDICT High-tech surveillance and cloak-and-dagger activity do not offset the anticlimactic ending or the mundane plot of the Brooklyn-based private investigator and author's third outing (after Every Man a Menace). [See Prepub Alert, 11/25.19.]—Edward Goldberg, Syosset P.L., NY

NOVEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

Narrator Chistina Delaine rises to the challenge of portraying a cast of larger-than-life characters. Ex-CIA officer Valencia Walker is now a high-priced corporate fixer who has been called in to help a top New York law firm with damage control after a young associate loses his phone, which holds important corporate documents. The situation quickly goes from bad to worse as a selection of villains—ranging from petty thieves to Russian criminals—converge, and Valencia must fight to achieve the best solution possible. Delaine seamlessly moves from thick Russian accents to the refined accents of top lawyers, which are particularly strong during dialogue scenes. Her strong pacing keeps the tension building right up to the climax. K.J.P. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2020-03-30
After a cellphone containing "hot documents" that spell trouble for a legally embroiled New York bank gets pickpocketed, the corporate law firm representing the bank turns to a government fixer with serious CIA experience to limit the damage.

The mobile device contains texts, emails, and memos revealing that the Calcott Corporation has been illicitly funneling money to a shell company in Oman. Should that information become public, it would tip the scales of a federal law suit Calcott is defending following a failed merger. The phone was swiped—or made to look like it was swiped—from a young lawyer on the team representing Calcott. Faced with recovering the phone and dealing with the shady parties into whose hands it's fallen, Elizabeth Carlyle, the imposing but easily unnerved head of the firm, calls upon glamorous ex–CIA case officer Valencia Walker to save the day. A problem-solver of high repute, Valencia traces the phone to three hustling Jewish Russian brothers in Brooklyn. They're easily enough dealt with, but the same can't be said of their powerful Uncle Yakov, whom neither they nor Valencia want to rub the wrong way. But Yakov proves to be small-time compared to the hidden schemers at work here. An enjoyably hard-boiled yarn streaked with noir effects, Hoffman's follow-up to Every Man a Menace(2016) is a skillfully orchestrated effort that achieves its most outlandish effects with nifty understatement. It is a book of constantly moving parts and constantly moving vehicles, as characters race across New York City to avert disaster. Ultimately, the author is less concerned with the human cost—little feeling is attached to characters' deaths—than the long reach of corruption in the modern era.

Crime fiction that gives chaos an entertaining ride.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176234220
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	07/28/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged

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