Close-Up - by Len Deighton (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Immense skill . . . a stylish and stimulating performance."--The Times (UK)

Marshall Stone is an international superstar and charismatic member of Hollywood's elite. Abundantly blessed with charm, genius and wealth, the one gift he most desires--everlasting youth--seems within his grasp when an eminent writer begins the star's biography. But painful memories and suppressed scandals threaten to expose the fiction of his life.

Meanwhile, the biographer is caught up in the big-daddy world where books are properties, films are investments, and ratings are rigged. And he's writing about a brilliant star who will do almost anything to remain untarnished.

Review Quotes

"Immense skill ... a stylish and stimulating performance."--The Times (UK)

"Tremendous... a must read."--Daily Mirror

"The poet of the spy story."--Sunday Times

"Len Deighton's spy novels are so good they make me sad the Cold War is over."--Malcolm Gladwell

"Few authors writing in the rigorous and finite genre of spy fiction have mastered the craft as well as Deighton."--Chicago Tribune

"Deighton is so far in the front of other writers in the field that they are not even in sight."--Sunday Times

"What raises Deighton's genre to art is not only his absorbing characters but his metaphoric grace, droll wit, command of technical detail ... and sure sense of place."--Washington Post

"A master of fictional espionage."--Daily Mail

"Mr. Deighton is really something special."--Sunday Times

"For sheer readability, he has no peer."--Evening Standard

"I love him! So underrated now. The Berlin Game trilogy made lockdown possible."--Olivia Laing

"The authority of these books seems absolute." --The Observer on SS-GB

"Changed the shape of the espionage thriller ... there is an infectious energy about this book which makes it a joy to read."--Daily Telegraph on The IPCRESS File

"Mr. Deighton's touch is unfailing... Never a false note."--The New York Times Book Review on Spy Hook

"Deighton is a master." --Los Angeles Times Book Review on Spy Line

"Cool, intricate plotting ... excitement and applied violence ... exactly how entertainment should be written." --Daily Mirror on Spy Story

About the Author

LEN DEIGHTON (1929-2026) was one of Britain's preeminent thriller writers, considered a defining voice of the genre alongside John Le Carré and Graham Greene. Known for his wit and his scrupulous research, Deighton wrote more than thirty books ranging from espionage, historical, and dystopian alternative fiction to brilliant nonfiction on the Second World War. Never out of print, with over 30 million copies sold and multiple adaptations for film and TV, his books have left an enduring mark on global culture, influencing everything from Motörhead to Quentin Tarantino.