by John Godey
First published 1976
Johnny Handsome has lived his entire life marked by facial deformities that shaped his path into crime. Behind bars once again, he faces an unusual opportunity that could transform everything about his existence. Doctors offer him reconstructive surgery to repair the physical flaws that have defined him since birth. Johnny emerges from the operation with a new face, but the streets that forged him remain unchanged. He must navigate between his criminal past and the possibility of a different future, while the violence that has always surrounded him threatens to pull him back. The surgery may have altered his appearance, but Johnny discovers that changing a face proves easier than changing a life. His struggle becomes a test of whether redemption is possible when the world that created you refuses to let go.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, crime, psychological-thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: redemption, transformation
Paperback · Hodder & Stoughton General Division
Content warnings: violence