Hot Plastic - Softcover

Craig, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1401300448 ISBN 13: 9781401300449

Publisher: Hachette Books, 2004

Synopsis

"[A] compulsively readable joy ride."---Richard North Patterson

"As close to the day-to-day workings of modern con men as any sane person would want to get. Hot Plastic is a fascinating look at changing times on the grift."---Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy and screenwriter of GoodFellas

"Buy an extra copy of Hot Plastic and keep it in mint condition. Peter Craig's novel of outlaw life at the end of the century will be a collector's item. It's a winner."---Tony Hillerman, author of The Wailing Wind

Kevin's dad, Jerry, is a crook. And he taught his son every trick in the book. Masters of identity theft, Kevin and Jerry move from one seedy motel to another, always trying for the big score. Colette is a runaway who dreams of conning her way into the upper echelons of high society. Just a teenager, she's already a tough and talented grifter, and soon becomes Jerry's girlfriend and accomplice.

When Jerry is arrested, Colette makes Kevin her willing shill, dragging him along in her endless pursuit of sophistication. Meanwhile, Kevin's compulsive pursuit of new cons, bolder hoaxes, and better forgeries leads them to violent and unimagined retributions. When Jerry is released on parole, the three are reunited for one final scam, a patchwork of old and new techniques that should set them all up for life. The question is, would they rather work together or show each other up?

Hot Plastic is a hugely satisfying suspense novel about family and criminal intent from a fresh new voice.

About this title

About the Author:

Peter Craig is the author of Blood Father, Hot Plastic, and The Martini Shot. As a screenwriter, his credits include The Town, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts I and II and Blood Father, based on his novel. He's a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and now lives in Los Angeles.

From Publishers Weekly:

Craig's first novel, The Martini Shot, was a satirical look at a son's attempt to connect with his aging, alcoholic, Hollywood movie star father. This time Craig aims higher, or perhaps lower, with another son's tale. Kevin Swift, 14, is on the lam with his con-man father as they scam their way across a credulous American countryside. It's 1983, a year of seedy motel rooms, fake credit cards and stolen cars as Kevin dodges cops and learns the tricks of the trade with his peripatetic parent, the charismatic Jerry ("He could smile through any lie, and hold court on cars, women, boxing, cockfights, cops and dirty jokes with any combination of armed and angry men"). When his son falls ill, Jerry hires wayward, amoral teen Colette, barely older than Kevin, to baby-sit while he's out working his con. When Jerry and Kevin are forced to leave town suddenly, Colette elects to join their criminal carnival. The trio evolves into an excellent team, each member with his or her own larcenous specialty. Jerry becomes Colette's lover and instructor in the intricacies of crime. Kevin, though, has fallen in love with Colette, and when she abandons them the young man is bereft. Then Jerry is arrested, and several years pass before circumstances draw them all back together for the inevitable last big score. Novels featuring quirky characters on the grift have always had a certain knavish noir appeal, and this is a fascinating, funny, beautifully written addition to the genre. Readers will find themselves drawn into the intriguing lives of this delinquent outlaw family as they form and reform alliances and journey along their crooked path toward a surprising finish.
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About this edition

• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1401300448
• ISBN 13: 9781401300449
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352