The Amateur American (Paperback)
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Description
Sometimes the hardest boundaries to see . . .are the ones you’ve already crossed.
Twenty-nine-year-old Jeffrey Delanne is teaching English in France but having a tough time stretching his measly paycheck one month to the next. When he’s not worrying about his bar tab, he’s struggling with the language, trying to justify his country’s “imperialist” actions to every French person in sight, and wondering just what the hell he’s doing abroad.
Desperate for a few quick euros, Jeffrey takes on some translating work for an eccentric Arab businessman. But the job turns ugly, and Jeffrey is forced to do things he never thought himself capable of, torn among guilt, a host of criminal impulses, and a haunting paranoia he’d never known back home.
But maybe it’s not just paranoia. Soon Jeffrey’s colleagues, his students, and even the women in his life begin hinting at dark secrets, and Jeffrey starts to suspect that he’s been lured into a brutal game whose implications go far beyond this unassuming corner of the world.
Now his life may depend on his willingness to transform himself into something–someone–who’ll stop at nothing to survive.
About the Author
J. SAUNDERS ELMORE received his M.F.A. in fiction from New York University after working as a teaching assistant in Nantes, France. The Amateur American is his first novel.
Praise for The Amateur American…
“A superior work of action-packed suspense fiction. A natural-born writer, Elmore’s got an ear for dialogue and an eye for intrigue. The combination equals reading pleasure.”
—John Lescroart, New York Times-bestselling author of Betrayal
“A terse, Hitchcockian tale of a regular guy in extraordinary situations, holding back its secrets until the last delectable pages. I'm excitedly awaiting the next book from J. Saunders Elmore.”
—Olen Steinhauer, New York Times-bestselling author of The Tourist
“With wit, style and a depth of insight only firsthand experience can bring, Joel Elmore has written a tantalizingly wicked tale about an American everyman cursed with a bottomless thirst for French women and wine and an uncanny knack for complicating his life. A first-rate page-turner--not just deftly plotted but richly detailed, with vivid, unforgettable characters. I got caught up in the action and lost an afternoon, unable to put the book down as one plot turn careened into the next. A truly accomplished debut. I want more. And soon.”
—David Corbett, Edgar-nominated author of Blood of Paradise