Synopses & Reviews
George Pelecanos calls Thomas Kaufman “a welcome new voice in Washington, D.C., crime fiction.”
Willis Gidney needs money because hes found a girl.
No, no, not that kind of girl. This is an abandoned baby girl. Gidney found her on a case. So he hands the girl to the cops, right?
Wrong, because Gidney started life the same way---abandoned. He knows all about D.C.s juvenile-justice system, having barely survived it himself. That makes it hard to give up the girl. Too bad that unmarried private eyes arent usually thought of as ideal parents. So now Gidney needs a lawyer, and that means money.
Enter Rush Gemelli, a code-writing hacker who pays Gidney to commit a felony. Just a small one. Nothing serious, really, but you know how these things can snowball. Gidney thinks this is a onetime venture, but Gemelli has other ideas. He blackmails Gidney into joining up with his father, Chuck, the head of the motion picture lobby in D.C. And when Chucks former partner is murdered, it looks like someone may be playing Gidney.
Add to that the unwanted attentions of a crazed actress, the D.C. case worker from hell, and the Vietnamese and Salvadoran gangs out to kill him, and its all Gidney can do to keep from getting his movie ticket punched--permanently.
A unique hero, a quirky cast, and a riveting mystery make Steal the Show a winner.
Review
"Kaufman packs Gidney's second caper (Drink the Tea, 2010) with familiar elements, but keeps the twists and one-liners coming."--Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Hard-boiled PI fans will find a lot to savor in Kaufman's sequel...the flawed but humane lead and the rock-solid writing."--Publishers Weekly
"Kaufman packs Gidney's second caper (Drink the Tea, 2010) with familiar elements, but keeps the twists and one-liners coming."--Kirkus Reviews"Steal the Show is both a very typical PI-type crime novel and yet a very atypical one as well. It's an interesting mix, but an immensely satisfying one."--Mysterious Reviews
"Through Willis Gidney, Kaufman offers us one of the most compelling Private Eyes in mysteries today."--Examiner.com
About the Author
Thomas Kaufman is an award-winning motion picture director and cameraman. He has twice won the Gordon Parks Award for Cinematography, and received an Emmy for his documentary about deaf children, See What I'm Saying. His first novel, Drink the Tea, won the PWA Best First Private Eye Novel Competition. He lives with his wife and two children in Maryland.