Daniel loves to write mystery novels. He also wants to get back together with his ex, Tad Bentley. So he agrees to rewrite 8 horrible scripts in time for them to be pitched as a new series. If the network goes for it, he gets a week in Bermuda to rebuild their love; if not, he loses the guy forever.
Only Tad wants to keep the rewrite super-hush-hush, so insists Daniel use his family's empty, isolated lodge in upstate New York. Daniel agrees, but a massive snowstorm blows in and he's up trapped there ... and that "isolated lodge" turns into the center of mystery, suspense, lies, sex, betrayal, seduction, revenge, murder, fist-fights, confusion, frostbite, nudity, gunfire, predatory females, homophobic males, an obnoxious caretaker, a hot shower with people who don't exist, a blazing fireplace, wistful dreams, bizarre shower curtains, shredded clothes, off-key TV-show music, secrets in shadows, crooked politicians, $800,000 in bribery money, romance with the proper stranger, a hermit who hates everything except chipmunks, and enough psychosis to fill Washington DC. All in just two hours on a Friday night ...
... as told in glorious detail by Daniel's fictional detective, Ace Shostakovich.
Review :
OMG....This book is absolutely amazing....I have never read a book that's written like this....Daniel is a writer and the book is in the pov of one of his characters and it is done so brilliantly well....I'm not gonna go into the book deeply as you just need to read it......It really feels like your in the book with Daniel and his thoughts....I.E his book character.....Tad his ex boyfriend I did not like...he is a total arse and I was really hoping that Daniel would not get back with him...Read this book you won't be disappointed....Totally awesome read x Sue Bowdley (Goodreads.com, 1st Edition)
You have to know a book is going to be unusual when first of all, it's about a writer, and second of all, it's being told by that writer's fictional character. But that is the premise. Daniel Bettancourt writes mysteries, and his detective (who's telling the story in a wild sort of first person omniscient POV) is named Ace Shostakovich. Well...Daniel's ex-lover audaciously begs him to help rewrite some scripts based on two of his books and sends him to an isolated cabin in upstate New York to do it. Of course, a snowstorm blows in, and that "isolated cabin" turns out to be anything but, and Daniel soon finds himself in the middle of a political scandal that may prove dangerous -- or may prove to be simply a case of him finally losing his mind. Something you really never know until the end.
The story goes at a breakneck pace, almost like farce, and it takes a chapter or two to get into Ace's particular vernacular, but even when it slows down to fill in some of Daniel's background, it's moving fast. Sullivan's like that TV act that winds up with twenty plates spinning in the air on reed-like poles, all threatening to fall and smash into a million pieces...but somehow they don't do that. This is not a simple story; it demands you pay attention...but it pays off, bigtime.
Loved it. Think it's great. Wish the author would do more work like this. Michel Grasley (Amazon.com, 1st Edition)
Kyle Michel Sullivan (aka Theodore J. Bentley, the third) gives us a new side to his ingenious writing and imagination. This is a mystery that is campy, fun and just a pleasure to read. If you are a KMS fan, then all of his other works begin to fall into place after reading this. This is a story that is so hard to describe without giving away too much, and I'm not willing to do that (when you read it, you will understand), except to say "just how real are those imaginary characters?". This is so different from his other works, but still has the vivid details that draw you in, characters that leap off of the page at you and you feel like you know them personally. OK, so I'm a little prejudiced because I like his (train of thought) writing style. This will become a remembered treasure. Bogey (Amazon.com, 1st edition)
