The Thieves of Manhattan: A Novel
Starred Review. Langer (Crossing California) delivers an über-hip caper that pays homage to and skewers the state of publishing and flash-in-the-pan authors. Aspiring writer Ian Minot toils in a New York City diner, enraged because he can't get published. His jealousy is pushed to the edge because he suspects the bestselling memoir about drug addiction and being in a gang by no-talent Blade Markham is a fake. Then Ian's Romanian girlfriend, Anya Petrescu, easily finds a publisher for her short stories. Ian becomes the latest author to be embroiled in a headline-making literary scam when he can't resist a scheme in which he passes off another man's novel about a valuable manuscript as his own memoir. The consummate con game takes a deadly turn after Ian realizes he doesn't understand the ramifications of his book nor does he control his emerging career. PartBright Lights, Big City, partThe Grifters, this delicious satire of the literary world is peppered with slang so trendy a glossary is included.(July)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.