Two small-time thieves get in over their heads in this literary
thriller from the "virtuoso novelist" and author of Soldier's Joy
(The Philadelphia Inquirer).
Not quite at home in the backwoods of Tennessee, and even less suited
for the service, drifter Macrae lands on his feet in New York City in
the 1980s. There, he teams up with a petty thief named Charlie, and the
two hit on a scheme to rob people withdrawing money at ATMs.
Caught up by their surprising success, they move on to bigger crimes.
But as Macrae feels a growing discomfort with the increasing violence
and danger of their hardscrabble existence, he wonders if he's in too
deep to make a clean break.
With a tightly orchestrated and harrowing conclusion from "one of our
most talented novelists . . . This meticulously observed story
nevertheless grips us with its lucid prose, its keen psychological
insights and the author's respect for his troubled characters"
(Publishers Weekly).
"A remarkable read." --The New York Times Book Review
"Bell seems to know intimately the seedy sides of New York, Baltimore
and the ex-urban south of housing developments and shopping centers
abutting old, dying farms. He renders each locale exquisitely and seems
as familiar with street jive as redneck vernacular." --Los Angeles
Times
"Ripe for translation to the silver screen." --Library Journal
