Martha Grimes: The Way of all Fish (USA 2014)

From the Publisher:
An "absurdly amusing" (The New York Times Book Review) sequel to Martha Grimes's bestselling novel, Foul Matter, this wicked satire of the publishing industry is "comic, caustic, and relentlessly readable" (Booklist).

Writer Cindy Sella is having trouble with her new 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. They join forces with a publishing mogul, a bestselling author, an out-of-work Vegas magician, an alligator wrangler, a glamorous Malaysian con lady, and Hess's aunt in the Everglades who has undergone a wildly successful sex change, and concoct a plan to save Cindy Sella from the odious machinations of Hess by driving him (slowly, hilariously) crazy.

Grimes's fans will delight in the return of several colorful characters from Foul Matter, including Senior Editor Clive Esterhaus, unprincipled publisher Bobby Mackenzie, and ex-mobster and author Danny Zito, currently under the witness protection program. New readers will find that these characters and their escapades shed an amusing light on the New York publishing scene. Informed and influenced by the author's own publishing adventures, "The Way of All Fish is a goofily offbeat delight" (The Washington Post).

Martha Grimes: The Way of all Fish. A Novel. Scribner's, ISBN: 9781476723976 (October, 2014), 341 p., $16.00.

Martha Grimes: The Way of all Fish (USA 2014)

From the Publisher:
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.

Martha Grimes: The Way of all Fish. A Novel. Scribner's, ISBN: 9781476723952 (January, 2014), 341 p., $26.99, eBook $12.99.