Synopses & Reviews
One winter night in Boston, a man falls to his death in front of a subway train. The sole witness, a shaken young woman, explains to the police how the man pushed by her as he made his way to the tracks. But when her blog turns up in the dead man's computer, the cops begin to look for other connections. Was the man a cyber-stalker, charmed to the point of desperation by the irreverent musings of a 20-something blogger? Or are the connections between subway jumper and innocent bystander more complicated? This dark and intricate tale of obsession and deception is told completely in the form of a blog written by an elusive narrator known only by her online name, "l.g. fickel." Deep into the night, every night, fickel blogs about "Mr. Suicide" and the ensuing police investigation with an eerie prescience. She is joined in her blog chats by a loyal group of "blog buddies," all of whom share with fickel a passion for the dark art of noir. Is fickel's tale that of an innocent woman frantically trying to figure out how her blogging has enmeshed her in a murder spree, or is she a manipulator, playing the part of sexy, hip, young thing as she grinds out her revenge on those she feels have betrayed her?
Synopsis
This suspense-filled noir is told completely in the form of the protagonist's weblog. L.G. Fickel, a young literary editor by day, spends her nights hosting a playful blog devoted to pulp fiction. One
night, however, she posts that she's just witnessed a train suicide, an event that changes her own life to a noirish tale of psychological tension that borders on paranoia as the police discover connections between Fickel and the dead man that she can't explain. Fickel's blog fans are her support system, an unruly Greek chorus of commenters,addicted to Fickel's troubles as every night she pours out the increasingly strange story of her life as a murder suspect. This novel comes about as close as any to breaking down the "third wall" between reader and novel as the reader begins to realize that he's just another voyeur, lurking on Fickel's blog and relishing her growing desperation.
About the Author
Peter Manus is a law professor at a Massachusetts university. This is his first book. He lives in Boston.