{"product_id":"a-beautiful-crime-9780062853899","title":"A Beautiful Crime","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/em\u003e Book Prize Finalist \u003cem\u003eO Magazine \u003c\/em\u003eBest Book of the Year\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"A compelling take on the eternal question of how good people morph into criminals. Terrific.\"\u003c\/strong\u003e--\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ePeople, \u003c\/em\u003eBook of the Week\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the author of \u003cem\u003eThe Destroyers\u003c\/em\u003e comes an \"intricately plotted and elegantly structured\" (\u003cem\u003eNewsday\u003c\/em\u003e) story of intrigue and deception, set in contemporary Venice and featuring a young American couple who have set their sights on a risky con.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Nick Brink and his boyfriend Clay Guillory meet up on the Grand Canal in Venice, they have a plan in mind--and it doesn't involve a vacation. Nick and Clay are running away from their turbulent lives in New York City, each desperate for a happier, freer future someplace else. Their method of escape? Selling a collection of counterfeit antiques to a brash, unsuspecting American living out his retirement years in a grand palazzo. With Clay's smarts and Nick's charm, their scheme is sure to succeed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs it turns out, tricking a millionaire out of money isn't as easy as it seems, especially when Clay and Nick let greed get the best of them. As Nick falls under the spell of the city's decrepit magic, Clay comes to terms with personal loss and the price of letting go of the past. Their future awaits, but it is built on disastrous deceits, and more than one life stands in the way of their dreams.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Beautiful Crime\u003c\/em\u003e is a twisty grifter novel with a thriller running through its veins. But it is also a meditation on love, class, race, sexuality, and the legacy of bohemian culture. Tacking between Venice's soaring aesthetic beauty and its imminent tourist-riddled collapse, Bollen delivers a \"brilliantly conceived international crime story\" (\u003cem\u003eGood Morning America\u003c\/em\u003e).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBollen, Christopher:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eChristopher Bollen is the author of \u003cem\u003eOrient\u003c\/em\u003e, which was an NPR Best Book of the Year, and the critically acclaimed \u003cem\u003eLightning People\u003c\/em\u003e. He is the editor at large of \u003cem\u003eInterview\u003c\/em\u003e magazine. His work has appeared in \u003cem\u003eGQ\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eNew York \u003c\/em\u003emagazine, and \u003cem\u003eArtforum\u003c\/em\u003e, among other publications. He lives in New York City.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50528843563282,"sku":"9780062853899","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_395fbbec-9965-49ea-80da-4258a55bea4c.jpg?v=1731336497","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/a-beautiful-crime-9780062853899","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}