Vanity Fire
A Guy Mallon Mystery
$31.10
- Paperback
272 pages
- Release Date
31 December 2011
Summary
The phone rings in the middle of the night. Publisher Guy Mallon’s book warehouse has burned to the ground. In the ashes there is a burned body. Carol Murphy, Guy’s lover and business manager, fed up with the failing operation, has already split. But why is her car spotted parked nearby?It all began when retired businessman Fritz Marburger tempted Guy with a proposition: publish celebrity jazz singer Sweet Lorraine Evans’ novel, which he will underwrite. It’s the first step in a Faustian bargain that finds Guy sniffing increasingly noxious fumes as the crass Marburger rents Guy’s warehouse space and saddles him with an amoral co-tenant: pornographer-turned-vanity publisher Roger Herndon. Supported by two Santa Barbara poets with strong backs and by two strippers who form the core of Roger’s stable of porn stars and production assistants, Guy first tries to make a go of the new venture. But after the murder, he knows he must bring Roger down to reclaim his own soul.
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781590589977 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1590589971 |
| Author: | John M. Daniel |
| Publisher: | Sourcebooks, Inc |
| Imprint: | Poisoned Pen Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 272 |
| Release Date: | 31 December 2011 |
| Weight: | 340g |
| Dimensions: | 140mm x 216mm |
| Series: | Guy Mallon Mysteries |
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Critics Review
”“Entrepreneur Fritz Marburger persuades Santa Barbara poetry publisher Guy Mallon to publish singer Lorraine Evans first novel in hopes of expanding his business. Fritz also rents him a warehouse to store the books, which Guy must share with a crooked vanity publisher. Unfortunately, Lorraine reneges on her offer to publicize the novel, leaving Guys business in deep financial troublecompounded by an arson fire that destroys his warehouse stock, leaving him without any books to sell. The fiasco is further compounded when a body is found in the wreckage, and Guys partner, Carol, leaves him as the publisher slides down the slippery slope of lost integrity in an effort to recover his financial losses. Along with stripper Kitty Katz (an employee of the vanity publisher), Guy investigates, hoping to find the murderer and salvage his career. Fast pacing, a strong sense of place, and plenty of -publishing-business details combine with a likable although flawed main character to produce an engrossing read.”” –Booklist
John M. Daniel
John M. Daniel lived in Santa Barbara, California for twenty years, where he and his wife, Susan, owned (and were owned by) a small-press publishing company. In 2003 they relocated McKinleyville, California, where they continue to publish books while John also does free-lance editing and teaches writing through adult education. He has taught fiction writing at UCLA Extension and Santa Barbara Adult Education and is on the faculty of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. His stories have appeared in dozens of literary magazines, and he is the author of several books.
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