Synopses & Reviews
A wickedly funny sequel to Grimes’s bestselling novel, Foul Matter, “a satire of the venal, not to say murderous practices of the New York publishing industry” (The New York Times Book Review). Writer Cindy Sella is having trouble with her next novel. Aside from her paralyzing writer’s block, she’s faced with a lawsuit from her ex-agent, L. Bass Hess. Hess will stop at nothing to collect a commission from Cindy on her previous novel, which he did not represent since she had fired him long before it was published.
Hitmen Candy and Karl—first introduced in Foul Matter—are asked to “get rid” of L. Bass Hess, but almost decline the assignment after their initial surveillance of him. When they hear about his preposterous lawsuit against Cindy Sella, though, they decide to help. Candy and Karl devise a series of zany capers to drive Hess out of New York City—permanently.
Grimes’s loyal fans will delight in the return of several colorful characters from Foul Matter, including the successful writer Paul Giverney and his seven-year-old daughter Hannah (who is still writing her book); editor Clive Esterhaus (who has a penchant for long, boozy lunches); unprincipled publisher Bobby Mackenzie and one of his assistants, Bunny Fogg; and ex-hitman and bestselling author Danny Zito (currently living in the Chelsea section of NYC under the witness protection program). New readers will find these characters and their escapades shed an amusing light on the New York publishing scene.
Review
Martha Grimes is a very funny writer and TheWay of All Fish is a hilarious and worthy sequel to her bestselling FoulMatter. Like all great satirists, Ms. Grimes sees the world from the other side of the looking glass andinvites us to come along for a wild and wacky ride. A very entertainingand fun read.
Review
Few people have ever succeeded in making book publishing of all things seem funny and suspenseful, but Martha Grimes does so brilliantly in The Way of All Fish.
Review
"Martha Grimes is back with a deliciously hilarious send-up of the book business. The Way of All Fish nails all the foul matter of publishing dead on, and is a smashingly great read as well."
Synopsis
A wickedly funny sequel to Grimes's bestselling novel, Foul Matter, "a satire of the venal, not to say murderous practices of the New York publishing industry" (The New York Times Book Review). Writer Cindy
Synopsis
MARTHA GRIMES “GOES ENTERTAININGLY WONKY WITH THIS SEQUEL TO HER BESTSELLING FOUL MATTER . . . DELIVERING INSIDER PUBLISHING STUFF WITH ACIDULOUS WIT” (LIBRARY JOURNAL).
In Grimes’s new sendup of a world she knows very well, Candy and Karl, hitmen with a difference— they have scruples—once again venture into the murky Manhattan publishing scene. This time they come to the aid of a writer who is being sued by her unscrupulous literary agent, L. Bass Hess, a man determined to get a 15 percent commission for a book he didn’t sell.
The contract killers join forces with publishing mogul Bobby Mackenzie and megabestselling writer Paul Giverney to rid the mean streets of Hess, not by shooting him, but by driving him crazy. They are helped by other characters from Foul Matter and a crew of new colorful personalities, including an out-of-work Vegas magician, an alligator wrangler, a glamorous Malaysian con lady, and Hess’s aunt in Everglades City, who has undergone a wildly successful sex change.
This wickedly funny sequel to Grimes’s bestselling novel Foul Matter is another character-driven “satire of the venal, not to say murderous, practices of the New York publishing industry” (The New York Times Book Review).
About the Author
Bestselling author Martha Grimes is the author of more than thirty books, including twenty-two Richard Jury mysteries. She is also the author of Double Double, a dual memoir of alcoholism written with her son. The winner of the 2012 Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Award, Grimes lives in Bethesda, Maryland.