Obsessions, unexpected connections, and a resonant frustration with the business of publishing all abound, as Wood demonstrates high ambitions for exploring the relationship between fiction, real life experience, and the impact of writers in the larger world. A tangle of subplots includes Quigley’s hopes to open discussion on justice, the appeal of Catherine’s depiction of college life to contemporary students, the dubious ethics of agent Sandra pushing her lover to invent a better hook for a biography he’s written, and the public obsession with Brady’s self-published novel once he becomes a high-profile criminal. These ambitious themes build to insights and surprises, though readers might wish that the novel explores the written craft of more of its cast of authors. Brady’s disordered writing, the only in-character prose here, provides some of the strongest, most engaging characterization.

A core twist is teased early, but well-planted shocks cutting short some publishing drama are a testament to Wood’s refusal to play things safe. This literate thriller succeeds in making writers’ lives engaging while still honoring the truth of them, the “long, lonely months of writing, rewriting, and incorporating changes”—and, of course, the resentments, grievances, and, yes, even the rewards.

Takeaway: Idea-driven thriller of novelists, publishing, and obsession.

Comparable Titles: Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot, Catherine McKenzie’s Fractured.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A