The Mentor

November 1, 1999
Containing traces of The Babysitter, Gaslight, All About Eve and Deathtrap, Stuart's debut psychological thriller creates a wholly original, believable drama out of an archetypal love triangle involving a broken-down literary "genius," his mentally unstable but devoted prot g and his icy wife. Novelist Charles Davis was once New York's literary wunderkind, but that was more than two decades ago. Now 49 and bruised from a series of flops, he is sure his newest novel will be a hit: "Through some confluence of good fortune, DeLillo, Banks and Ford are all absent from this fall's list. There's room for him at the top. Again, after all these years." His wife, Anne Turner, is 13 years younger, a marketing hotshot and media celeb, head of an upscale housewares catalogue. One of Manhattan's most glamorous couples, they hit the skids in public when Charles's book is viciously panned in the New York Times Book Review, and he sinks into depression. Anne hires mousy but efficient temp secretary Emma Bowles to restore order to Charles's disheveled office. But Emma is a seriously troubled young woman who calls herself the "BadGirlSickGirl," and is running from a horrifying past. The story picks up speed while lingering exquisitely on eerie plot twists as Charles seduces Emma, and Anne's suspicions heighten. Discovering that Emma is writing her own novel, creatively blocked Charles "helps" her, while endeavoring to steal it, but he must make sure that his quickly disintegrating muse/workhorse will stay sane enough to keep writing. Meanwhile, Anne is pregnant, but Charles probably isn't the father, and Charles's own beloved mentor, his most trusted friend, is the only person who senses, and threatens to spoil, Charles's plagiarist scheme. The unraveling of the plot is ultra-stylish, equal parts ghoulish and cavalier; in Stuart's sharply observed Manhattan, an air of bemused morbidity festers amid the swanky circles of publishing and publicity, and the ambitious souls of the three main characters are creepily, masterfully authentic. BOMC alternate selection; rights sold in the U.K.

October 15, 1999
In his first novel, Stuart moves a familiar, suspenseful plot to a surprising conclusion. Charles and Anne Davis seem to have the perfect life together. Charles is a renowned author whose first book made him a literary legend, and Anne runs a successful, upscale catalog company. Unfortunately, Charles has not been able to repeat the commercial and critical success he achieved with his first book 25 years before. In fact, his most recent effort has received savage reviews, and he is lashing out at Anne. Even though she is dealing with stress in her own work, Anne wants to help Charles. Enter Emma Bowles, the awkward young woman Anne hires to be his assistant. Charles becomes fascinated and then obsessed with Emma. Each step in Stuart's set-up is carefully written, so that the reader seems sure to know where the book will end. But Stuart successfully turns the tale on its head, creating complex relationships along the way. Recommended for larger public libraries.--Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI

Copyright 1999 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 1999
Novelist Charles Davis scored a smash hit with his first novel. But that was a quarter-century ago, and since then things haven't been going so well. Reviews have been bad, money's tight, and Davis is staring a big, fat writer's slump in the face. Then his wife hires him an assistant, the beautiful and rather odd Emma, and, when he discovers that the girl's a budding writer, Davis sees a chance to get his name on another best-seller. Fans of such established thriller writers as William Goldman or Ira Levin will recognize in Stuart's first novel the subtly eerie atmosphere, the characters with dark shadows flickering in their eyes, the sense of something about to happen. But this is no imitation of other writers' books. It's fresh, stylish, full of interesting details about the publishing business, and boasts a neat little twist at the end. A tight and tidy thriller that will make readers look forward to Stuart's next offering. ((Reviewed September 1, 1999))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1999, American Library Association.)