The Way of All Fish

Starred review from November 18, 2013
This addictive, whimsical follow-up to 2003’s Foul Matter from MWA Grand Master Grimes dives into the cesspool that is the New York publishing world. L. Bass Hess, a despicable literary agent, likes to sue his former clients, claiming, after they fire him, that they owed him a commission. Some authors have settled rather than fought, but not Cindy Sella, a kind woman with an interest in tropical fish who’s suffering from writer’s block. Meanwhile, members of a group led by “mega-bestselling author” Paul Giverney and including two hit men with their own idea of who is worth killing, a publisher, an editor, and a mysterious Malaysian woman named Lena bint Musah, decide to take Hess down. This requires a séance, an alligator, a number of tropical fish, and other esoteric items. The coup de grace alone is worth the price of admission.