STRAIGHT CUT
Madison Smartt Bell
June 2006
ISBN: 978-0857683601
Cover art by Chuck Pyle

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A freelance film editor, Tracy Bateman goes where the work is. So when his old partner calls with an assignment, Tracy finds himself on a plane to Rome. But there are surprises waiting for him—deadly surprises that will lead him on a desperate chase across Europe, into the hands of a pair of brutal drug smugglers, and back to New York City, where the greatest betrayal of all awaits...

  • One of the most acclaimed novelists of the last 30 years, Bell has been a finalist for the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Prize
  • Bell’s other books include All Souls’ Rising, Ten Indians, and Doctor Sleep, which became the movie "Close Your Eyes"
  • Walker Percy on STRAIGHT CUT: "A real thriller...not only high entertainment, but high pleasure to read."
  • Chicago Tribune on STRAIGHT CUT: "[A] treasure: the only straight mystery...by one of our leading novelists."

Raves for the work of Madison Smartt Bell...

"A winning novel...spare and cinematic."
Time

"A brilliant performance."
The New York Times

"Every sentence [Bell] writes is a joy...His power is exhilarating."
The New Yorker

"One of the most gifted and prolific writers of his generation."
People

"As powerful as a crisp kick to the solar plexus...fiercely brilliant."
San Francisco Bay Guardian

"Bell is, quite simply, a virtuoso novelist. Imagine Graham Greene melding his ‘entertainments’ with his more sober efforts and you’ll have some idea of Straight Cut."
The Philadelphia Inquirer