When Puerto Rican ladies' man Alex awakes one morning to find a mysterious woman in his bed, he assumes he's suffered another embarrassing blackout. He soon learns, however, that Ava is no one-night stand — in fact, he's never met her before. As her story begins to unfold and her reason for appearing in his bed emerges, it is not just Alex's life that she risks, nor her own, but the entire character of the South Bronx.

"Told from a variety of perspectives, including that of Detective Sanchez of the Bronx NYPD, this fevered noir from Rodriguez (Spidertown) centers on law enforcement's search for a drug dealer known as Spook, who had agreed to launder huge sums of money for a terrorist group, but took off with the cash instead. Punctuating the main story line are chapters whose relevance is obscure; one, for example, contains short biographies of Leni Riefenstahl, Anne Sexton and Marlene Dietrich. The author eventually pulls the disparate strands together, including those to do with Ava Reynolds, a mysterious blonde with instant recall who proves her ability by memorizing a page of Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho. At its best, the novel carries the reader along by the force of its hypnotic prose, but the effort necessary to keep track of what's going on may turn off those more comfortable with a conventional linear narrative. Author tour. (Apr.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Powerful. . . . A redemptive and absorbing work."-The New York Times Book Review, on Spidertown

"Scary, sexy, exuberant. . . . Rodriguez has seized a truth of our times . . . and given us a crackling good read."-Los Angeles Times Book Review, on Spidertown

"Rodriguez uses the repetitiveness of life in the ghetto itself to make the tension and desperation of Spidertown achingly palpable."-People, on Spidertown

"A joy to read! Rodriguez's writing has never been more accomplished, more lyrical, more trenchant, or more humane. In these pages you will find marvels, but also a young man writing with the ferocity of life itself."-Junot Daz, on The Buddha Book

When Puerto Rican ladies'man Alex awakes one morning to find a mysterious woman in his bed, he assumes he's suffered another embarrassing blackout. He soon learns, however, that Ava is no one-night stand-in fact, he's never met her before. As her story begins to unfold and her reason for appearing in his bed emerges, it is not just Alex's life that she risks, nor her own, but the entire character of the South Bronx.

Abraham Rodriguez, Jr.was born and raised in the South Bronx. His first book, The Boy without a Flag, was a 1993 New York TimesNotable Book of the Year. His novel Spidertownwon a 1995 American Book Award and was optioned by Columbia Pictures. His most recent novel, The Buddha Book, was published by Picador in 2001. He currently lives in Berlin, Germany.

Abraham Rodriguez, Jr. was born and raised in the South Bronx. His first book, The Boy without a Flag, was a 1993 New York TimesNotable Book of the Year. His novel Spidertownwon a 1995 American Book Award and was optioned by Columbia Pictures. His most recent novel, The Buddha Book, was published by Picador in 2001. He currently lives in Berlin, Germany.