The Cutie » (Unabridged)

DONALD E. WESTLAKE has written numerous novels over the past thirty-five years under his own name and pseudonyms, including Richard Stark. Many of his books have been made into movies, including , which became the brilliant film noir Point Blank, and the 1999 smash hit Payback. He penned the Hollywood scripts for The Stepfather and The Grifters, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay. The winner of three Edgar awards and a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master, Donald E. Westlake was presented with The Eye, the Private Eye Writers of America's Lifetime Achievement Award, at the Shamus Awards.

Mavis St. Paul had been a rich man’s mistress. Now she was a corpse. And every cop in New York City was hunting for the two-bit punk accused of putting a knife in her. But the punk was innocent. He’d been set up to take the fall by some cutie who was too clever by half. My job? Find that cutie—before the cutie found me.

Publishers Weekly

Never before published, this fantastic and compelling hard-boiled mystery was written in 1971 by acclaimed science fiction author Zelazny (1937-1995), but only discovered after his death. The unlikely hero is Ovid Wiley, art thief turned respectable art dealer, who wakes one morning to find his former partner, Carl Bernini, dead on the floor of his gallery. Ovid is sprung from NYPD custody by a CIA agent who will arrange for charges to be dropped if Ovid travels to Rome and investigates the disappearance of money-laundering priest Father Bretagne, whose lover, Maria Borsini, was also Bernini's girlfriend and Ovid's friend. The deepening mystery sends Ovid to Brazil, where he encounters horrific villains, secret agents and salvation in the most unexpected places. The twists and turns come at breakneck pace, and vintage details add unexpected charm. (Feb.)

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