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A Novel
by Eli Gottlieb
Author of the New York Times Notable Book The Boy Who Went Away - winner of the Rome Prize and the British Society of Authors' McKitterick Prize - Eli Gottlieb returns with The Face Thief.
A beautiful woman falls down a seemingly endless staircase. But did Margot fall - or was she pushed?
Was it Lawrence Billings, the teacher of the lost art of "face reading" who showed her how to gain unfair advantage in every business transaction - and with whom she attempted, compulsively, to have an affair?
Or perhaps it was John Potash, the newly married middle-aged man whom Margot defrauded, stealing his - and his elderly mother's - life's savings?
Dan France, an honest, stalwart cop, is determined to sort out the truth. While he knows this beautiful, manipulative woman is trouble, he also believes that he can reform her.
Written with the edgy, brilliant characterization of James M. Cain and the exhilarating narrative suspense of early Ian McEwan, The Face Thief is a mesmerizing tale of psychological suspense that probes the sources of human greed and of loyalty beset by temptation.
"A lot more fluff than thrill ride. Still, undiscriminating mystery and thriller readers will enjoy its fast pace and compelling story." - Library Journal
"Not just a gifted storyteller, Gottlieb (Now You See Him) provocatively explores human relationships and the lies we tell ourselves and each other." - Publishers Weekly
"Though these moves are fumbled, Gottlieb is very good with the incidentals, especially John's relationship with his canny old mother. Gottlieb is never dull, which is a bigger compliment than it sounds, so we keep turning the pages, albeit with a raised eyebrow." - Kirkus Reviews
"A dark libido animates this novel that can't be resisted. The reward is an intimate literary encounter with a force that is beyond good and evil, and turns the mystical screws behind our unfathomable human destinies." - Walter Kirn, author of Up in the Air and Lost in the Meritocracy
"Psychological depth and mystery cast in great sentences: the result is a suspenseful, beautifully achieved example of what happens when a serious novelist wants us to keep turning the pages." - Francine Prose, New York Times bestselling author of My New American Life
This information about The Face Thief was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Born in Manhattan and raised in New Jersey, Eli Gottlieb has worked as a Senior Editor of Elle Magazine and taught American Literature as a Lecturer at the University of Padova, Italy. He is the author of Best Boy, among other novels. His works have won him the Rome Prize and the Mckitterick Prize of the British Society of Authors and have been published in 14 countries. He lives in New York City.
Author Interview
Link to Eli Gottlieb's Website
Name Pronunciation
Eli Gottlieb: GOT-leeb
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.
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