First published 2012
Arthur Pfefferkorn teaches college and nurses dead dreams of literary fame. His oldest friend William de Vallèe wrote bestselling thrillers and married the woman Arthur once loved. When William dies in a boating accident, Arthur feels both sorrow and jealousy. He decides to visit William's widow, hoping to reconnect with her after all these years. This choice launches Arthur into a bizarre series of events. He finds himself trapped in a shadowy world where people betray each other constantly. Double crosses pile up around him. No one tells the truth. Arthur discovers he cannot trust anyone, including himself. The line between reality and fiction blurs as his life begins to resemble one of William's pulp novels. Arthur must navigate this treacherous landscape where nothing makes sense and everything seems like an elaborate joke.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
336 pages · Hardcover · Putnam