First published 2012
Jack Henry stares at mounting bills and IRS notices scattered across his desk. The bestselling crime writer faces bankruptcy despite his success. He blames his agent Stan Wycoff, who collects fifteen percent of Jack's earnings while doing nothing useful. Jack needs money fast or he loses everything. Then he remembers the life insurance policies he and Stan took out on each other. If Stan died in an accident, Jack would collect a substantial payout. Jack has written dozens of perfect crimes in his novels. Now he must execute one in real life. But planning murder proves harder than writing about it. Jack discovers the gap between fictional crime and actual killing. He struggles with whether he can cross the line from imagining violence to committing it. The story explores how desperation pushes someone toward unthinkable acts and whether expertise in fictional crime translates to real criminal skill.
Genres: fiction, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
34 pages · Kindle Edition · Grand Central Publishing
Content warnings: murder, violence