Beat the Reaper (novel)

Beat the Reaper

Author	Josh Bazell
Genre	Crime fiction
Publisher	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date	January 7, 2009
ISBN	978-0-316-03222-3

Beat the Reaper is a 2009 crime novel, the debut novel of author/physician Josh Bazell.

Plot

The plot, written in first-person and alternating between present-day scenes and flashbacks, concerns Peter Brown, a medical resident in the Federal Witness Protection Program.

In the flashback chapters Brown narrates how, under his real name of Pietro Brnwa, he fell in with a Mafia family and became a hitman after avenging the deaths of his grandparents who had survived the Nazi death camp Auschwitz. In the present, Brown must help save the life of a mobster who knew him as Brnwa, lest the patient reveal Brnwa/Brown's location to the local crime boss.

Reception

Beat the Reaper received reviews from Bloomberg News , ^[1] Booklist , ^[2] The Guardian , ^[3] Kirkus Reviews , ^[4] Publishers Weekly , ^[5] and The Washington Post . ^[6]

In 2010, Beat the Reaper was shortlisted for the Barry Award for Best First Novel. ^[7]

Film adaptation

In 2009, New Regency Productions acquired film rights to the novel with an eye toward Leonardo DiCaprio as co-producer and Sebastian Stan as lead actor. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

References

1. Pressley, James (January 5, 2009). "This Mafia Hit Man Swims With Sharks, Kills With Fibula: Books". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
2. "Beat the Reaper" . Booklist . December 1, 2008. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
3. Wilson, Laura (January 31, 2009). "Nowhere to hide". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on August 23, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
4. "Beat the Reaper". Kirkus Reviews . December 1, 2008. Archived from the original on August 23, 2024. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
5. "Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell". Publishers Weekly . March 2, 2009. Archived from the original on August 23, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
6. Charles, Ron (January 11, 2009). "Diagnosis: Hypertension". Washington Post . Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
7. "Barry Awards". Stop, You're Killing Me!. Archived from the original on April 1, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
8. Collinson, Gary (March 29, 2018). "Sebastian Stan to star in Beat the Reaper for Gore Verbinski and Leonardo DiCaprio". Flickering Myth. Archived from the original on August 23, 2024. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
9. Rappe, Elisabeth (January 8, 2009). "Leonardo DiCaprio Aims To 'Beat The Reaper' With Mob Adventure". MTV Movies Blog . Archived from the original on September 14, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
10. Fleming, Michael (January 7, 2009). "DiCaprio set to 'Beat the Reaper'". Variety . Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2024.