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Bryce Proctorr is doing research at the library, or at least sitting there pretending to do research. He's a best-selling author who's way behind on meeting the commitment with his publisher for his next book. He's in the process of obtaining an acrimonious divorce from his money-grubbing second wife, and the Muse has deserted him. As Bryce leaves the library, he spots an old friend that he hasn't seen for 20 years, Wayne Prentice. Wayne is also a writer, but nowhere near as successful as Bryce. As a so-called "mid-list" author, Wayne's books are not promoted heavily; and his books are stocked according to how well they sell. And as sales diminish, so do his publishing advances. As the two men talk, Bryce is struck with an inspiration. He has a publisher and no book. Wayne has a book and no publisher. So what do you think they should do? Aha! Why not submit Wayne's book under Bryce's name and split the 1.1 million dollar advance? That will work, won't it? No problems, right? No problems, wrong! There's one little catch--in order to get the money, Wayne has to get rid of the wicked wife, Lucie, or otherwise, she will be in line for Bryce's share of the advance. He decides that he wants to meet her to see if she's as bad as Bryce says and attends the opening of an off-Broadway play that she will be attending. They engage in some flirtatious banter and arrange to meet for dinner. Even though he is happily married, Wayne's wife Susan has agreed to go along with whatever he needs to do. The after-dinner activities are not quite what either Wayne or Lucie intended. Suffice it to say that Lucie is no longer a problem. The book is accepted by the ublisher, and life goes on. Wayne is still unable to get a contract on his own, although he does start to make some money writing nonfiction magazine articles. In the meantime, Bryce is spiraling into a world of weirdness. He gives up his New York apartment and moves to his home in Connecticut. In a strange twist, Wayne and Susan take over the apartment, including most of the furniture. Bryce puts together plot synopses that are totally off the wall. When his publisher begins to look for the next book, there's nothing there. So who should he turn to but Wayne? And the publisher tacitly goes along with the game, because they have the hook of a brand name. The characters of Bryce Proctorr and Wayne Prentice are very well developed, and it's interesting to watch each of them deal with their various ambitions. The pace of the book could have been a bit brisker. I suppose the book would be classified as psychological suspense, but it tended to drag throughout the middle. There's really no action to speak of, but watching Bryce unravel before our eyes is quite a scary experience. The views of the publishing industry and the world of the best-selling and midlist authors were interesting. I bet there are many Bryce/Wayne type collaborations out there that readers are unaware of. The book is meant to end with a surprising twist, but it is not well executed, having been telegraphed for several pages before the conclusion. In reality, it raises a lot of unanswered questions, which leaves the reader in thin air. We all know that there are consequences for our behavior; but how this ultimately applies to Wayne and Bryce is only hinted at. No doubt about it, Westlake is a great writer; but this book left me wanting something more.
Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, August 2002
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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