Reviews

Plans for revenge spin out of control in this sharp-edged, sizzling novel by bestselling Dickey (Liar's Game; Between Lovers). The unnamed narrator has it all-a loving husband, a beautiful home and a lucrative career as a television producer in Los Angeles. Although she works long hours, she knows that she and her husband, Charles, a middle-school teacher, depend on her earnings to live the good life. Upon receiving strange messages at work from a mysterious man named David Lawrence, she assumes that he is a media-hungry stalker. But when David finally reaches her, he tells her that her husband has been having an affair with his wife, Jessica. The reporter in her takes over, and she immediately confronts Charles, who admits that he had an affair with Jessica, but says it is over. Confused, angry and in complete shock, she demands that Charles give her the intimate details of the affair; he refuses. "And I'm supposed to accept that?... My marriage is supposed to be my place of solace, not a place of fucking grief, and my husband is supposed to my friend, not my fucking enemy. Choose which one you wanna be." Unwilling to go on without answers to her many questions, she soon finds herself commiserating with David Lawrence. As the pieces of the puzzle come together, her world falls apart and she finds herself desperate for revenge. But will revenge heal her tattered soul or destroy her completely? Dickey offers plenty of straight-on sex and violence, but also probes questions of contemporary morals and the psychology of betrayal, writing compellingly and believably from his heroine's point of view. This will be another crowd pleaser. Agent, Sara Camilli. Major ad/promo; author tour. (May 12) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Tracey Leigh's reading is on target in this gritty novel about the devastating consequences of marital infidelity. The unnamed narrator is a hard-working, Hollywood news producer who spends stressful nights at the station, helping to put together the usually depressing local news. She believes her husband, Charles, a middle-school teacher, spends his nights home alone grading papers until she gets a call from a distraught David Lawrence who claims his wife has run off with Charles. When our protagonist confronts Charles, he admits to the affair but says it is over and is reluctant to share the details the news producer in her craves. Her thirst for the truth sends her back to David, who has captured their cheating spouses' electronic correspondences thanks to a special software program. What she learns from those instant messages and email devastates her. Those expecting Dickey's trademark steamy erotica may be somewhat surprised here, as many of the graphic scenes are best described by the unnamed narrator, who says, "Sex without love is violence." Recommended for all adult fiction collections.-Beth Farrell, Portage Cty. Dist. Lib., OH Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.