The Organ Broker

Jack Traynor, the narrator of Strumwasser’s pointed, confessional first novel, which is centered on illegal organ transplants, explains the process that took him from peddling drugs through law school to the seminal incident that led him to arrange a kidney transplant for a former classmate. “New York Jack,” as he becomes known, establishes a worldwide network of sellers and buyers and, of course, hospitals where the transplants can take place safely. In South Africa, affable Dr. Mel Wolff runs a transplant center and the ruthless but efficient Pierre Kleinhans finds the often desperate donors. In Brazil, Dr. Juan Guillermo is his guy. Trayner’s perspective gradually changes as he realizes that there’s more to life than helping sick people and getting rich in the process. Readers will learn a lot about such matters as waiting lists, transplant success rates, and the whole sordid business of black-market transplants. While not terribly suspenseful, this is a real eye-opener. Agent: Jim Fitzgerald, James Fitzgerald Agency. (May)