I could not finish this one. My thoughts at about the one-third mark: L'm one chapter in and there have already been roughly 583 characters introduced, each of whom gets a multi-paragraph back story, and half of whom get a page or so told from their point of view. This had better settle down quickly.

By 50 percent in I threw in the towel. If anything, it's gotten more tedious. Just tons of extra description that doesn't need to be there, zero character development, and, for a thriller, a remarkably slow plot.

Clean Hands is my favorite novel of the year. I thought it was very well written, intriguing and suspenseful. The inside look at a major law firm is only the start in author Patrick Hoffman's thriller. We get a view of major criminals doing their best to edge out others whatever the cost. Highly recommended.
Thanks, NetGalley, and the publisher for the ARC.

Pretty darn good. This has plenty of action, interesting (although arguably too many) characters, and nice twists. I'm new to the author and impressed with his talent. Recommended for crime fans.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

Two banks, both with a lot to hide, are involved in a nasty, high-stakes lawsuit. A lawyer "accidentally" loses his phone with key documents unencrypted (and no password). And a former CIA agent turned high-priced investigator is hired to retrieve the phone and stop the bleeding.

This has the makings of a great story. The problem is that there are a lot of twists and turns and characters (who could be interesting if the story let them) -- but ultimately the story just ends abruptly. I really wanted to like Clean Hands, but there are too many threads; may are ultimately only tangentially related. I felt like the author fell in love with the spycraft and forgot he was telling his audience a story that needs not only a beginning and a middle but also a satisfying end. By "satisfying," I don't mean awesome or neat, but not leaving the reader feeling like "Oh, that's all you got?"

High and low jinks in big time law firms aren’t new, but since John Grisham’s first book, they’ve been both set and setting for mysteries that plumb why those sworn to upohold the law are often those who subvert it.
The action starts when Chris Cowley, a young associate in one of those firms, discovers that his pocket has been picked at a subway station, and that documents from the firm’s biggest case are in the unlocked phone, while the remote to turn off or wipe it is disabled. With her ex-CIA security operative Valencia Walker on the hunt to recover it, firm president Elizabeth Carlyle is confident the damage from the missing phone can be minimized,, until stories ab out the documents appear in the press and Chris’s tragic suicide appears to be staged. What’s the connection between corporations, government and the criminal underworld? By the denouement of the novel, all the threads are tied neatly together. A well-paced narrative that’s thin on complex characterizations, b ut nonetheless compelling.

Entertaining crime caper full of twists and turns an author who draws you in and keeps me racing through the pages an author who I will be following.#netgalley#groveatlantic.

Patrick Hoffman is a great new crime novelist. This, his third novel, showcases his talent in coming up with great dialogue and characters in the vein of Elmore Leonard. This is essentially a crime/caper thriller with lots of twists and turns and suprises. He is just a pleasure to read. I only wish he would write faster. Highly Recommended

If you are into fast paced chase novels this is right up your wheelhouse. Not exactly original but some solid scenes and suspense. Hoffman still hasn’t got back to the White Van quality writing.