The Hook

Donald Westlake

Bryce is a successful novelist who can't seem to write his next book. Wayne is a mid-list author who writes books that no one currently wants to publish. When these two old acquaintances reconnect, they strike a deal: Bryce will pass off Wayne's unpublished novel as his own and give Wayne half the million dollar advance. The hook: Wayne must first kill Bryce's wife. Once the deal is set into motion, the psychological consequences of this pact, for each of these characters (including Wayne's wife, who is in on the plot), is what the novel thrives on and what keeps you turning pages. Personalities begin to change, paranoia begins to set in, and lives slowly begin to unravel. You can see the ending coming from a mile away but that doesn't make this book any less enjoyable.