Mysterious Press (Hardcover) ISBN 0-892965886
Donald E. Westlake conjures up shades of Twilight Zone and Dorian Gray -- creating a place where art mingles with life resulting in art -- in his latest psychological mystery The Hook.  

A reviewer should never insert the writer into the plot of any novel. Nevertheless, I found myself wondering, has Mrs. Westlake read this book? And if so, how is her health? 

The book presents a sense of realism that made me shiver. I look at Westlake's grinning face on the book cover and wonder what diabolical mind lies hidden beneath that shining dome. 

The Hook, the latest in Westlake's more than respectable list of publications, opens with an encounter between two writers. First we meet Bryce Proctor, a famous author with a multi-million dollar contract. He suffers from writer's block due to the stress of divorce and pending monetary settlements. On his heels we run into Wayne Prentice, a writer victimized by computerized marketing statistics that prevent him from getting a contract for his latest book.  

Bryce and Wayne, like two sides of the same coin, face the end of their writing careers. Both seek the hook, literary and career-wise, on which to hang their futures. These quasi-friends from two decades past, quickly rekindle their relationship and strike up an agreement designed to give them both what they want and need.  

They agree to split Bryce's million dollar advance and submit Wayne's book with Bryce's name on it. Sounds like a lucrative ghost writing agreement, but there's a twist. Before Bryce will pay Wayne his half of the advance, Wayne must kill Bryce's almost-ex-wife. 

The lives and work of these two men and their wives become irretrievably entwined as they venture together into deception fueled by envy, greed -- and admiration. Readers quickly learn the who, what, when, how and where of the murder. But it takes 280 pages to understand the consequences. Like the beating of a tell-tale heart, the deception relentlessly pushes the participants and leads to an unsettling, ironic Hitchcock-like end.  

Westlake writes with simplicity and authority. Obviously he controls this tale and plots every twist and turn with a talented hand. The story fulfills the contract with readers for an exciting read. The writing provides a glimpse of a master storyteller at work. In addition, the multi-faceted content and conscious choices of names and symbolic elements, leaves you contemplating this book long after you turn the last page. 

Dawn Goldsmith

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