The List

Avast, ye spoilers!

At first, I thought the plot was lame. Why the need for a stand-in author? People write books under pseudonyms all the time. Then Martini filled me in on how the publishing industry works; if you have been published but were not successful the first time, nothing you write will ever get “big”. They won’t promote you unless you look like a movie star. It’s not about the book, it’s about the package. The property. The money.

So Abby trusts her attorney friend to file the proper copyright paperwork so that she can prove it’s hers. Then people start dying. Her friend. Her friend’s ex-husband. Her own ex-husband. It has to be Jack. He is a failed author himself just waiting for a break. Now she hands it to him show more on a silver platter.

I didn’t want to believe it was Jack. I was seduced by his looks and charisma as much as the publishing idiots that fawned all over him. Then I was forced to take it seriously only to have the real killer show his face. Abby’s attorney friend. He falsified the copyright and had Jack sign a fake contract. After he killed them, he could “come clean” and prove he wrote it because he has the typewriter the original book was written on as well as the laptop with the outline and partial manuscript for the next book. But Jack saves the day and the two of them are the toast of the town when Abby comes out with the truth. Far from being a book and movie ruining scandal, their escapades add a new element of romance and danger that the marketing folks couldn’t have planned better.

It was suspenseful and pretty good. show less

After several attempts to read this book, once I got past the first couple of chapters, Martini drew me in with the romance of the publishing business along with the dark side of the business. The sex-appeal of Jack certainly didn't hinder! Once I understood the publishing business, everything fell into place. The need for a pseudoname, looking for the right "look" for the jacket picture, to marketing for film was fascinating and addictive. I quickly fell into "lust" with Jack, and didn't want to believe he would manipulate Abbey. Martini has a very surprising way of presenting and climaxing the plot. Really enjoyed the story and will look for more of his work.

A far cry from his other books -- written from a female attorney's perspective (and one who doesn't like the law much either). Martini did a fine job of writing a woman's perspective. He almost had me, but I figured it out. Quite entertaining, as usual.

Abby Chandlis had written and published three novels and they all died on the shelf. No publisher would touch her. Her latest novel was well worth touching... so she created a pen name and hired a male hunk to play the part of the lawyer. This story is a good tale but is a great look at the world of publishing.

good mystery

Gable Cooper has penned a novel to kill for. Six million dollars in book and film rights are looming just off the table for this unknown author. But there is a problem: Gable Cooper doesn't exist. Abby Chandlis is an attorney turned novelist and the creator of Gable Cooper. Abby has an intriguing plan to keep her writing career alive: find a charismatic male face to pose as the phantom author for the knock-dead thriller she has written. Jack Jermaine is a man with dangerous good looks and a shadowy past. Trained by the military to kill, his obsession is to pen a blockbuster book. He has a trunk filled with rejected manuscripts and a gnawing problem that has turned him bitter: Jack can't write.

There was a shallow quality to many of the characters that didn't allow me believe either their fear or bravery. I kept hoping for more depth and never really found it.

Very good book! Easy read. Kept me intrigued until close to the end.