by Douglas Kennedy
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by Douglas Kennedy
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by Douglas Kennedy
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by Douglas Kennedy
|
by Douglas Kennedy
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Ben is trapped in success, a prominent Wall Street lawyer with a beautiful home and family. But it was not supposed to be like this for him and his wife, Beth; his first career never got off the ground and family pressures forced him into the law. Then Beth disappears and Ben is propelled into a new life. A cleverly written book. (Kirkus UK)
Kennedy's well-hyped debut showcases a Connecticut lawyer who loses his designer life to a moment of murderous rage - and then squirms frantically to avoid retribution. Ben Bradford has it all, even though he doesn't want it. Years ago he surrendered his desire to be a photographer to his father's demand that he go to law school; now he's immured in a junior partnership in his New York firm's cozy Trusts & Estates division; in family responsibilities - a second child who's keeping him up nights, a wife who's stopped loving him; in the upscale consumables that holler success; and in the excess acid that pays for it. Shattered by the news that his wife Beth prefers the embraces of Gary Summers, a neighbor who's never given up his technical status as a professional photographer, Ben sees his life held hostage to this layabout. But he's the one who gives it the final calamitous push when he punctuates an ugly scene with Gary by killing him. Desperate for confession and absolution, Ben steels himself instead to hide every trace of the murder - and since he's a lawyer with money and unexpected leisure (Beth has bolted with his sons) as well as extended access to Gary's place, it's a world-class effort that involves faking an accident that will apparently kill Ben but will leave Gary dead in his place. Ben's taut narrative, which deftly mingles yuppie angst with obsessive plotting, almost makes you overlook how ancient this gambit is, and how cheesy its pulp antecedents. The accident staged, Ben flees the scene, lights out for the territories, scans the Times daily for his obituary, settles into a new life backed by Gary's ID and trust fund - and waits for the postman to ring twice, as he does in a satisfyingly ironic way. A startlingly unoriginal story whipped up by Kennedy's overdrive pacing and mastery of detail. (Kirkus Reviews)
MAIL ON SUNDAY
'THE HORSE WHISPERER recast by Patricia Highsmith ... a compulsive pageturner and a dark moral fable.'
See all Product Description
Ben is trapped in success, a prominent Wall Street lawyer with a beautiful home and family. But it was not supposed to be like this for him and his wife, Beth; his first career never got off the ground and family pressures forced him into the law. Then Beth disappears and Ben is propelled into a new life. A cleverly written book. (Kirkus UK)
Kennedy's well-hyped debut showcases a Connecticut lawyer who loses his designer life to a moment of murderous rage - and then squirms frantically to avoid retribution. Ben Bradford has it all, even though he doesn't want it. Years ago he surrendered his desire to be a photographer to his father's demand that he go to law school; now he's immured in a junior partnership in his New York firm's cozy Trusts & Estates division; in family responsibilities - a second child who's keeping him up nights, a wife who's stopped loving him; in the upscale consumables that holler success; and in the excess acid that pays for it. Shattered by the news that his wife Beth prefers the embraces of Gary Summers, a neighbor who's never given up his technical status as a professional photographer, Ben sees his life held hostage to this layabout. But he's the one who gives it the final calamitous push when he punctuates an ugly scene with Gary by killing him. Desperate for confession and absolution, Ben steels himself instead to hide every trace of the murder - and since he's a lawyer with money and unexpected leisure (Beth has bolted with his sons) as well as extended access to Gary's place, it's a world-class effort that involves faking an accident that will apparently kill Ben but will leave Gary dead in his place. Ben's taut narrative, which deftly mingles yuppie angst with obsessive plotting, almost makes you overlook how ancient this gambit is, and how cheesy its pulp antecedents. The accident staged, Ben flees the scene, lights out for the territories, scans the Times daily for his obituary, settles into a new life backed by Gary's ID and trust fund - and waits for the postman to ring twice, as he does in a satisfyingly ironic way. A startlingly unoriginal story whipped up by Kennedy's overdrive pacing and mastery of detail. (Kirkus Reviews)
MAIL ON SUNDAY
'THE HORSE WHISPERER recast by Patricia Highsmith ... a compulsive pageturner and a dark moral fable.'
See all Product Description
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It was four in the morning, I hadn't slept in weeks, and the baby was crying again. Read the first page
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It was four in the morning, I hadn't slept in weeks, and the baby was crying again. Read the first page
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