Hate to say I wasted part of a Friday evening reading this book. Cardboard characters, the attempt to deal with huge issues in the space of a paragraph--totally unconvincing. I didn't even care whether or not the murder attempt was successful. My favorite scene was in the hospital when, supposedly devastated by his father-in-law's death, the writer was still able to wonder if his wife had had time to peruse his manuscript for the fourth time. I guess deciding not to ask right at the moment was real sensitive of him! And he was one of the good guys! Don't bother.