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David Sutter

The Hustled

A cinematic thriller where ambition, deception, and consequence collide — David Sutter's defining work.

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Meet the Cast

The Three at the Heart of The Hustled

Cav

Teen Outcast Turned Pool Mastermind

From the streets of Kansas, Cav rises through the high-stakes world of pool hustling — a brilliant tactician navigating danger, ambition, and redemption.

Marco

Kingpin Billionaire

A ruthless power broker who challenges Cav in a high-stakes match in Rio de Janeiro — the first turning point in a global game of ambition and betrayal.

Esmeralda

International Supermodel

A woman of nobility and global fame, Esmeralda becomes the love of Cav's life — the one obsession not even he can outmaneuver.

About the Story

Where Ambition Becomes Ruin, and Ruin Becomes Redemption

The Hustled

by David Sutter

Dive into The Hustled — the gripping story of Cav, a teen outcast turned pro pool mastermind from the streets of Kansas, navigating the high-stakes world of pool hustling, danger, and redemption.

Will his high-stakes pool match in Rio de Janeiro against kingpin billionaire Marco be the game changer? Or will the $30 million, globally televised nine-ball match in Monaco—on the French Riviera—against Hotel-Casino Versailles owner Gustave LaBlanc be the true turning point?

A billionaire who believes his racehorse of a nine-ball prodigy, JunJun—widely regarded as the best in the world—can he hustle Cav? Not even Cav can outmaneuver his obsession with, and love for, Esmeralda—a chance encounter in an upscale Rio bar. A woman of nobility and global fame, Esmeralda is more than just an international supermodel.

Take this epic, tumultuous journey from Kansas to Monte Carlo through the eyes of Cav—a brilliant tactician—and the love of his life, Esmeralda, as they rise, fall, and conquer the world.

"A story about what you sacrifice to get everything you want — and what you learn along the way is yours foreveer."
David Sutter — Author's Note

A World Built for the Screen

From its opening paragraph, The Hustled is composed in widescreen. Every scene is blocked like a shot list — architectural precision, shadow-play, the hum of fluorescent offices at midnight and the cold silence of penthouses where decisions end careers and lives. Sutter writes with the disciplined restraint of a screenwriter and the interior depth of a novelist.

The result is a novel that functions simultaneously as a literary experience and a cinematic blueprint — already attracting attention from production companies and literary scouts who recognize its unique position at the intersection of commercial thriller and prestige drama. Learn more about the screenplay pitch or explore film rights availability.

Experience the first chapters before committing — read sample chapters free →

Tall buildings shrouded in fog at night — the world of The Hustled

Ambition & Betrayal

A story of relentless drive colliding with the hidden cost of unchecked power.

Cinematic Scale

Urban backdrops and high-stakes tension built for the screen — visceral, visual, inevitable.

Literary Depth

Layered prose that rewards the careful reader while propelling narrative momentum.

Moral Consequence

Every choice echoes. Every alliance fractures. Every secret demands a reckoning.

Reader Voices

What Readers Are Saying

From press endorsements to early readers and industry voices — the verdict on The Hustled is in.

Sports Film Buff

“The Hustled reads like a film already in production. Sutter's prose has the kinetic urgency of a screenplay — every chapter lands like a cut to the next scene. Visceral, propulsive, and impossible to put down.”

Ellory J.

Pool and Sports Fiction Film Addict

Reader Endorsement

“A rare thriller that trusts its readers. Sutter plants moral complexity on every page without sacrificing pace. The Hustled is the kind of book that leaves you staring at the ceiling at 2 a.m., rethinking everything you thought you knew about ambition.”

A.R.

Crime Thriller Enthusiast

Industry Reader

“I read The Hustled in two sittings and immediately thought: this needs to be a film. The world Sutter builds — its texture, its tension, its deeply flawed protagonist — is already cinematic. The industry would be foolish to overlook this one.”