Friends Helping Friends - by Patrick Hoffman (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A CRIME READS BEST BOOK OF 2025

A young man must infiltrate his own family's white nationalist group, or go to prison himself-- written with critically acclaimed author Patrick Hoffman's "crisp pace and superb timing" (Wall Street Journal)

Bunny Simpson grew up poor in Grand Junction, Colorado. Now in his twenties, working in Denver, he has simple dreams: He wants to help his uncle pay rent, save a little money, maybe start a business one day. His best friend Jerry LeClair fantasizes about moving to California. The problem is, they don't have any prospects. Enter: Helen McCalla, an attorney with an ax to grind against her ex-husband, who happens to be a judge in the local court. She offers the boys a deal: scare the man, rough him up a little, and she'll give them a few thousand dollars. It's simple--just friends helping friends, right?

Part crime novel, part portrait of friendship, extremism, and inherited trauma, celebrated novelist Patrick Hoffman is at his brilliant best in these pages. Bunny never wanted any trouble. So how the hell did he end up at a white supremacist compound in rural Colorado? Fast-paced, suspenseful, and by turns funny and terrifying, Friends Helping Friends is an electrifying thriller that moves at a breakneck pace, examining the vulnerability of our destinies--and how friendship can survive it all.

Review Quotes

Praise for Friends Helping Friends:

"Exceptional... Hoffman has long been a standout on the crime scene--his novels are at once gritty and sophisticated, cynically savvy and full of emotional depth. Readers will quite likely come out the other end of this story with a new perspective on the criminal justice system, and Hoffman's snakebit characters will not soon be forgotten."--Crime Reads, Best Books of 2025

"Gripping, raw, fast-paced, twisty, action-packed and beautifully written."--Harlan Coben

"Friends Helping Friends brings compassion and understanding to the lives of naïve and desperate young people we see every day and ignore. Written with insight into the legal system and the underground economy, Hoffman has written his best book yet. I read it straight through and you will, too."--Chris Offutt, author of The Reluctant Sheriff

"Friends Helping Friends is a pulse-pounding rip through the American west that slams down hard on the gas pedal and never lets up. This is Patrick Hoffman's best novel to date--which is quite a feat--combining clean prose and complicated characters to create a modern American noir that is reminiscent of James Ellroy, Raymond Chandler, Laura Lippman, and the very best of the genre. Brilliant, bold, and--at its core--shockingly honest (and funny!) this book won't simply have you turning the pages, but gripping their edges and hanging on for dear life."--Isaac Fitzgerald, author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts

"Like Dashiell Hammett, Patrick Hoffman has worked as a private investigator and actually knows what the hell he's talking about . . . Friends Helping Friends is fast-paced, street-smart, surprising--and scaringly timely."--Dann McDorman, author of West Heart Kill

"The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and is a powerful force in almost levels of society but particularly for those in the lower income brackets. Two young men looking to find a way to just survive economically make decisions that place them in the middle of a world of criminality and corruption that threatens their very existence. A propulsive narrative filled with perception, insight, taut plotting and distinctive characters, often leavened with dark humor, makes for thrilling and informed reading. The people involved help to create a superb novel, one that that not only grabs attention but places a strong light on what is truly an American tragedy."--Bill Cusumano, Square Books, Oxford, MS

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

About the Author

Patrick Hoffman is a writer and private investigator based in Brooklyn. His first novel, The White Van, was a finalist for the Crime Writers' Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award and his books have been named Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed, and San Francisco Chronicle Best Books of the Year.