Short Cut

by J. Gregory Smith

Strange Inheritance Kyle Logan wanted nothing more than a return to his normal life after his shady best friend, Ryan, was killed in a misadventure six months earlier. But Kyle can’t tell the rest of the world about what happened because the Philly Irish Mob would send hitmen. Instead, he is stuck covering for all his friend’s petty schemes.Ryan’s double life created a world where people trade favors to avoid legal obstacles. Now, people are turning to Kyle for everything from loans to insurance-denied cancer drugs. Kyle is mystified, with no idea how to help them. When a colleague called Tom Thumb shows up and asks about preparations for a lucrative smuggling job called the “Mr. Beautiful Project,” Kyle realizes that Ryan meant to include him all along. With Tom’s help they crack the code to a treasure trove of Ryan’s people, favors owed, and information. Since Ryan’s last gambit got him killed and left Kyle cut to ribbons, Kyle is ready to pass on the “opportunity.” Unfortunately, a pair of hyper-violent mercenaries found out about the deal and will stop at nothing to take it for themselves. Even worse, they know how to find Kyle. Now if he wants to survive, he and Tom have to complete the deal before the hired guns catch them.

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 17, 2020

About the author

Prior to writing fiction full time, Greg Smith worked in public relations in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. He has an MBA from the College of William & Mary and a BA in English from Skidmore College.

His first novel, Final Price, was selected as a Quarterfinalist in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Just released as a self-published work, it is now available on Amazon.com, Kindle and select bookstores.

He lives in Wilmington, DE with his wife and son."

Reviews

[Weldon Burge · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super sequel to Greg's first Reluctant Hustler novel, and just as much fun to read. I particularly enjoyed a new character, VP, a female hacker with extraordinary skills. Highly recommended ... but read Book 1 first to immerse yourself in the series. You won't regret it.

[Vigilant Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title – Short Cut
(The Reluctant Hustler, Book 2)
Author – J. Gregory Smith
Genre – Crime - Thriller
Word Count 80,000
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 32 - 2020
Posted 9/10/2020

My Impressions: Exciting, tongue in cheek, lots of action.

Main Characters:
Kyle Logan – Works for a military contractor in Afghanistan
Rollie – Kyle’s seventy year old friend, ex- Marine sniper
Ryan Buckley – Hustler supreme, worked with Kyle, set him up with hustles without telling him.
Bettle Bentley – Nice guy, easily taken advantage of.
V.P. – Hacker supreme
Sandy – Kyles girlfriend who operates a physical fitness training business.


Kyle was injured in a deal put together by his crooked friend Ryan Buckley. That scam blew up with Kyle’s wife being captured and Kyle almost being killed. Ryan did die, but no one is talking about it. Most of his acquaintances believe he is still alive but has gone into hiding.
Kyle learns Ryan set him up to take over the many nefarious schemes Ryan already had in place. Those provide lots of money and abundant danger. But then Kyle learns Ryan was a sort of modern day Robbing Hood who protected and helped many people.
Kyle’s wife and he divorced after she was captured, and he was knifed. But don’t feel sorry for him: he has a new girlfriend; but she has a problem too. Her landlord has raised her rent and used a crooked doctor to refer new patients to her physical training business. Kyle soon learns Dr. Bones is also a horrible slum landlord.
As the story gains traction, Kyle learns Tom, another of Ryan’s crew is involved in a plot to bring a large fortune in diamonds here from Iraq for a wealthy Iraqi called Mr. Beautiful. Kyle is supposed to be up to speed on the details and in charge of the illegal operation but knows nothing about it.
In the end, Kyle outmaneuvers all the bad guys with the help of people on Ryan’s contact list and all ends well.

The story is filled with good guys, thugs, an Irish gang, and black ops characters.

I enjoyed the story because it’s fast paced and funny at times.

The editing is poorly done, but sentence structure is passable.
Character development is adequate for the main characters.
Details are adequate to carry the story.
The plot is different and interesting.
The writing style is wordy but easy to read.


Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.

[William Bentrim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short Cut by J. Gregory Smith
I’ve enjoyed reading Smith’s books since he started writing. I feel fortunate to have discovered him early as it has been a pleasure seeing him develop as a writer. This book is the Reluctant Hustler Book 2. Now I have to get book one as I really enjoyed this book. Kyle is the reluctant hustler. He finds himself then unwitting heir of Ryan’s favor business. These aren’t party favors; these favors are both life threatening and life-saving.
Smith has the ability to bring characters to life. Kyle is now a real person. I think I know VP. This is just an indication of the skill Smith has used to make his fictional people gritty, flawed and real. The story is believable as are the characters.
J. Gregory Smith writes a captivating and highly entertaining story.
I heartily recommend the book.
BTW I did receive this book in exchange for an honest review. An honest review is what I have given. No favors, in spite of the book’s favor theme, were exchanged, no gifts received except the delight of reading a well crafted story.

[KayBee's Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book two of a series. I had not read book one, but the author's storytelling recapped book one I think nicely. I realized that in book one Kyle was set up by a friend involving him in some of his schemes. A friend who I believe met his demise in book one.
Book two continued with Kyle realizing that his friend had deeply immersed him into the activity that he had no idea of.
There is a lot of action and the story moved well. There were a few "spag" issues, but I don't feel they hindered the story in any way. The characters and plot were developed. I would recommend this series. 3 1/2 rolled to a 4

[Tish Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great sequel to The Quick Fix! We see a similar situation to the first book in that Kyle gets into a situation that he knows he shouldn’t, and of course, things don’t play out according to plan. A quick, entertaining read.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series! Inventive and engaging! I highly recommend it!