New York literary agent, Isabel Reed has just stayed up all night reading a manuscript that appeared anonymously in her office.  It was so explosive and good that she couldn’t put it down, and she is no convinced that this book will be blockbuster and make her career, if only she can get it published. And that is the real catch, since it is a tell all book about a powerful media mogul and an incident long buried in his past that if revealed could end his dominance in the media and destroy his reputation.  Although the author’s name is never revealed, Isabel is fairly certain she knows who it is: the only problem is that he supposedly committed suicide after being diagnosed with a fatal disease!

As dawn approaches Isabel carefully considers who she needs to include in the process of getting this manuscript published and settles on Jeffrey Fielder, a great editor and long time friend (and maybe more,) who she feels will treat this book with the care and attention it deserves. What she doesn’t realize however is that her assistant Alexis has also seen the book and has realized its potential and has also passed it on until it eventually reaches Camilla Glyndon-Browning a subsidiary rights agent who sees its potential to get her out of her moribund career and decides to shop the book in Hollywood. When Camilla turns up dead, before she was even able to talk to any producers about the book, Isabel realizes how seriously the “damage control” for this book is being taken and knows that she and Jeffrey will need to use all their wits in order to stay alive.

Hiding overseas, and with the story weighing on his conscience, the anonymous author can only watch helplessly as his carefully laid plans to get this story published explode in treachery, mayhem and murder.

Told as an event that unfolds over one day, the story moves from one character to the next with flashbacks to help us understand their motivations and actions.  Although this is helpful on some level, it does take some getting used to and it took me a few chapters to sink into the rhythm of the story.  With so many characters needed to move the story forward, they were not each as fully developed as I would have liked, but Pavone does a great job giving us a snapshot into their lives and making them memorable.  (For those who read The Expat you will also be happy to see a cameo appearance of Kate Moore! )

It seems that the publishing industry is getting more dangerous all the time since this the second book I have read recently in which a threatened publication causes murder and mayhem. But although The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowlings has a similar theme Pavone’s book is more tautly paced and the characters and their motivations more believable, interesting and memorable.

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 out of 5 Stars) 

Recommend this book to: Sharon, Keith, an  Marian.

Book Study Worthy? Not really

Read in ebook format