Temptation [Hardcover]

Praise for "State of the Union":
"State of the Union has the feel of a handgun primed for Russian roulette. The climax, when past and future collide, is explosive."
--"The Times"
"The story is sit-up-until-3am readable."
--"Sunday Times"

"From the Trade Paperback edition."

Praise for "State of the Union"

"State of the Union has the feel of a handgun primed for Russian roulette. The climax, when past and future collide, is explosive."
--"The Times"

"The story is sit-up-until-3am readable."
--"Sunday Times" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

An enthralling page-turner from the No.1 bestselling author of The Moment and The Pursuit of Happiness. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Like all would-be Hollywood screenwriters, David Armitage wants to be rich and famous. But for the past eleven years, he's tasted nothing but failure. Then, out of nowhere, big time luck comes his way when one of his scripts is bought for television - and before you can say 'overnight success', he's the new toast of Hollywood as the creator of a hit series. Suddenly, a 'player' in Tinsel Town, he finds himself reinventing himself at great speed - especially when it comes to walking out on his wife and daughter for a young producer who worships only at the alter of ambition. But David's upward mobility takes a decidedly strange turn when a billionaire film buff named Philip Fleck barges into his life, proposing a very curious collaboration. David takes the bait, and suddenly finds himself inadvertently entering into a Faustian Pact, and an express ride to the lower depths of the Hollywood jungle.

David Armitage - husband, father and failure - has lived the life of an unsuccessful screenwriter for eleven years. When one of his scripts is bought for television, David's life is transformed, more dramatically than he could have ever imagined. An overnight success and suddenly the toast of Tinseltown, David's upward trajectory finally gives him everything he had ever hoped for.

New found success means total reinvention, and initiation into the Hollywood world of high-flyers. Life for David quickly becomes a heady rush of celebrities, parties and women - but everything comes at a price. Walking out on his wife and daughter, David climbs to dizzy new heights, brimming with luxury, opulence and scandal. But before long a dark figure casts a shadow on the horizon. When an influential film director presents David with an offer, the opportunity of a lifetime - could this temptation be one that jeopardises everything David has worked for.

Enthralling, vivid and addictive, Douglas Kennedy's Temptation masterfullyexplores the destructive power of success,and the choices we have to make between personal gain and the people closest to our hearts.

'This is Kennedy at his brilliant best' Daily Mirror

'Kennedy is a clever learned writer, with a beguiling lightness of touch' The Times

'A racy page-turner, peppered with moral dilemmas... Kennedy has a knack of bringing his characters to life and sitting them right down next to you' Daily Express

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Douglas Kennedy's novels - The Dead Heart, The Big Picture, The Job, The Pursuit of Happiness, A Special Relationship and State of the Union - have all been highly praised bestsellers. He is also the author of three acclaimed travel books: Beyond the Pyramids, In God's Country, and Chasing Mammon. His work has been translated into sixteen languages. In 2006 he received the French decoration of Chevalier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Born in Manhattan in l955, he lives in London with his wife and two children.