The Organ Broker: A Novel

(Hardback)

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The Organ Broker, named one of five finalists for the 2015 Hammett Prize for literary excellence in the field of crime writing (winner TBA in October of 2016), is the thrilling story of an underground black market organ dealer known as "New York Jack." For eighteen years Jack has been a "transplant tourism director," sending wealthy Americans and Europeans in need of kidneys and other organs to third world countries where they would buy them from transplant centers on the take. The death of a client and a newfound relationship lead to a crisis of conscience as he is forced to choose between a two million dollar commission--and participating in a murder. Jack races to South Africa, Brazil, and beyond, just one step ahead of his adversary and the FBI, in search of one small act of redemption. As a disaffected youth in the late eighties, Jack Trayner entered the criminal world, selling coke when he needed money to pay his way through college. Although he later graduated from law school, an opportunity to earn easy money eventually seduced him into the bizarre and illegal black market for organs--a business that some consider horrendous and a small number of others deem to be heroic. The dual nature of this business assuaged Jack's guilt and allowed him to flourish, yet the death of a client makes what he is doing all too real. The Organ Broker represents Jack's confession. The international black market sale of organs is very real and operates at this very moment behind closed hospital doors in many cities all around the world. It is a world that most people are only vaguely aware exists, and few of us know much, if anything, about, until now--in the pages of the confession of New York Jack. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction--novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Reviews

"A real eye-opener." --Publishers Weekly "An unrelenting thriller that's hard to put down." --California Bookwatch "The slick prose, especially the dialogue, makes the novel resemble classic noir... Recommended for fans of thrillers that tackle weighty societal issues, such as books by John Grisham, John le Carre, and Richard North Patterson." --Rebecca Foster, Foreword Reviews "The Organ Broker is a powerful novel that everyone should read." --Fran Lewis, Bookpleasures.com "Author Stu Strumwasser has been able to deftly construct a world that most people are only vaguely aware exists." --Greenspan's Bookshelf, Midwest Book Review "Exciting and thought-provoking--the perfect package." --Lee Child, New York Times # 1 bestselling author "Tension and turmoil add up to high-stakes suspense in this all-too-real thriller, about a seedy and sordid world that rings with authenticity. The line between right and wrong is not only smudged, its smeared across the page." --Steve Berry, New York Times # 1 bestselling author "A fascinating, troubling glimpse into the heart and soul of a black market organ dealer, which turn out to be even more complicated than we suspected. He's a man who gazes at the stars while engaging in some of the most nefarious negotiations possible on this planet, a man capable of greed, regret, and love in equal measures. A gripping portrait of a man in conflict with himself." --Daniel Asa Rose, author of Larry's Kidney: Being the True Story of How I Found Myself in China With my Black Sheep Cousin and His Mail-Order Bride, Skirting the Law to Get Him a Transplant ... and Save His Life, which was named "one of the top books of the year" by Publishers Weekly "The Organ Broker is so richly imagined and executed I felt I was reading a memoir, not a work of fiction. Stu Strumwasser is a hugely talented writer. Read the first page and you won't want to stop." --Don (D.J. Donaldson), author of the Andy Broussard/Kit Franklyn forensic mystery series and numerous medical thrillers. "Powerful, original, and gut-wrenching. Stu Strumwasser takes us into the foreboding world of black market organ brokers, where each line crossed proves more dangerous than the last." --Barry Lancet, author of Japantown and Tokyo Kill "A thrilling narrative about the very real world of organ trafficking where human bodies in the third world are spare parts for patients in the first world. When The Organ Broker has a crisis of conscience Strumwasser asks if it's possible for him to make amends. The answer is both shocking and provocative." --Scott Carney author of The Red Market: On the Trail of the World's Organ Brokers, Bone Thieves, Blood Farmers and Child Traffickers "The Organ Broker by Stu Strumwasser is a great read. It is a medical thriller that you can't put down, and Stu is a talented storyteller. As a medical professional, I was impressed with the realism of the story. Stu's character portrayals bring this story vibrantly to life!" --Dr. Marina Kurian, bariatric surgeon and host of SriiusXM DoctorRadio "Strumwasser's debut novel sends a wake-up call about the lucrative underground world of the organ donor industry. Absolutely provocative, The Organ Broker is a must read by all." --The Feathered Quill

Author Bio

Stu Strumwasser was born in Queens and raised in Lynbrook, New York. After graduating from Cornell University, he quickly became a successful businessman, working for several firms on Wall Street before founding Snow Beverages and serving as the company's CEO for six years. He is currently the cofounder and COO of Tengrade, a social rating tool. Strumwasser is also the drummer and songwriter for indie rock band Channeling Owen. This is his first published novel.