THE INSPIRATION BEHIND RIDLEY SCOTT'S NEXT MOVIE—STARRING NICOLAS CAGE AND SAM ROCKWELL—BY ERIC GARCIA, THE ACCLAIMED CULT AUTHOR OF ANONYMOUS REX.

"After the first of Eric Garcia's Rex books, I found myself thinking, ‘I wonder what he's up to now.' After Matchstick Men, a lot of other people will begin wondering, too."—Thomas Perry, author of Pursuit

Roy and Frankie are matchstick men—con artists. Partners in elegant crimes for years, they know each other like brothers and have perfected the rules of the game.

Roy is the careful one. Saves every penny. Takes his medication regularly. Without the pills, his obsessive-compulsive disorder kicks in and he is too nauseated to do anything but stare at the dirt on the carpet.

Frankie is the adventurous one, hungry for a big score. He wants Roy to join him in running a tricky game, but Roy is distracted—for good reason. Roy has just discovered that he is the father of a punky teenage daughter from a brief marriage that ended years ago. Much to the frustration of Roy's partner, the kid wants to get to know her father. She also wants to learn the family business.

Novelist Eric Garcia takes readers into the fast and funny world of grifters with issues. Matchstick Men is a dazzling literary con game that will keep readers guessing until the last page.

matchstick men (mach•stik men) n. pl. 1. simply drawn characters, meant to represent the human form 2. tavern betting game, invented circa 1920 3. con artists or grifters, those who steal via wit, trickery, or confusion 4. a mob of people, easily enraged 5. a deviously suspenseful and surprising novel by Eric Garcia, acclaimed cult author of Anonymous Rex 6. a major motion picture, directed by Ridley Scott, starring Nicolas Cage and Sam Rockwell, coming in 2003 from Warner Bros.