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The Hook |
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T he Hook byDonald Westlake Warner Books (Mysterious Press) 280 pages, 2000 ISBN 0892965886 Reviewed by Nancy Mehl "Wayne, listen," Bryce said. "You know how you – You know, you’re working along in a book, you’re trying to figure out the story, but where’s the hook, the narrative hook, what moves this story, and you can’t get it and you can’t get it and you can’t get it, and then all of a sudden there it is! You know?" "Sure," Wayne said. "It has to come, or where are you?" "And sometimes not at all what you expected, or thought you were looking for." "Those are the best," Wayne said. "I just found my hook," Bryce told him. - From The Hook Bryce Proctorr’s writing career seems to be as blessed as his life. A million-dollar advance for his next book is his for the taking. A life of luxury, invitations to the best parties and a trophy wife. What more could an author want? Just the one thing that will allow him to keep his prosperous lifestyle: An idea. Wayne Prentice was once a fairly successful author, but sliding sales have relegated him to publishing hell. He has a novel, but nowhere to sell it. Bryce Proctorr has a sale, but no book. His idea? To put his name on Wayne’s novel and split the advance. Oh, one last thing. Prentice must kill his ex-wife. Westlake takes his readers into the inner workings of a deal made with the devil - except we’re not exactly certain who the devil is. The relationship between the two men, as well as their own self-perceptions, change and shift in subtle yet dramatic ways. Who owns whom? And who will come out on top? Donald Westlake’s The Hook is rather like watching a train wreck in slow motion. You see disaster coming but you’re still stunned when it happens. This is a thoroughly engrossing read, impossible to put down and impossible to forget. The characters are too alive, seeping into your own psyche. And the plot keeps moving until the last astonishing word. Highly recommended. |
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