Summary about a book - Essay Example

Before the Devil Knows Youre Dead: Summary A finance executive by the Andy Hanson is in need of money to cover the embezzled funds from his employer. He had stolen the funds to pay for drugs. He needs the money because an upcoming audit might expose his crime. His brother Hank is in dire need of money in order to support his child otherwise; his ex-wife will kick him out of his own daughter’s life. Andy plans to steal from his parents’ general store which Hank agrees to. Andy says that it is risky for him to go by himself because he has been in the neighborhood recently, thus the people might recognize him.

They conclude that the only person who could be in the store is the old woman working for their parents (Ledwidge).Without Andy’s knowledge, Hank hires an experienced thief who happens to be his own co-worker. The thief is known as Bobby Lasorda. Bobby is very experienced in robbery. With just one loaded gun, he can rob the shop by himself. Hank needs to wait in the car. The brothers’ mother Nanette happens to be in the store herself in place of the original clerk. The robbery goes sour when Nannette pulls a gun on Bobby, leading to a shootout.

Hank runs away from the scene after seeing Bobby die. Later Nanette dies in the hospital after her husband denies her life support. Charles is not satisfied with the help from the police. He therefore decides to investigate the case himself since he knows that Bobby had a partner thus he becomes obsessed with finding out who the other criminal was. Andy chastises Hank for his mistake while Hank himself finds himself fixing many problems. Hank removes evidence he had left in the rented car he had used for the robbery.

Hank is later confronted by Bobby’s brother Dex who asks for financial compensation for Bobby’s death in order to provide for his widow (Ledwidge). Hank has a secret affair with Andy’s wife, Gina. Gina claims that Andy is not satisfying her. Gina reveals her feelings to Andy at the point of leaving him. When Andy hears of Dex blackmail, he decides to solve the situation with Hank by robbing Andy’s drug dealer. Once they get at the dealers house, they overpower him and rob him off his money.

Hank is shocked at seeing Andy murder the dealer together with the client who happened to be present. The brothers go to pay Dex, but Andy kills him impulsively fearing that Dex might blackmail them further. When Hank opposes Andy’s decision to kill Chris, Andy decides to kill Hank. He reveals to him that he knows about his relationship with Gina. Before Andy pulls the trigger, he is shot by Chris with his brother’s gun. Hank flees leaving his brother and most of the money.Charles had been investigating his sons and had been following his sons all this time.

He had picked up their trail and found that they were behind the robbery. Andy is taken to hospital and Charles visits him. Andy feebly apologizes to his father for everything. He explains that the death of their mother was an accident. Charles accepts the apology. Charles removes the heart monitor from his son and later suffocates him with a pillow, killing him. The nurses rush to help out Andy, Charles leaves (Ledwidge).ReferencesLedwidge, Michael . Before the Devil Knows Youre Dead. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003.