Verity Stanford, a shy schoolteacher, discovers that her father's gambling debts, held by her neighbour, Lord Melrose, must be repaid in full. He agrees to cancel the debt if she becomes a courtesan. Will the injured officer, Major James Mitford, who is still grieving the death of his wife, help her? Or will Verity have to yield to Lord Melrose's demands and give up her much-valued freedom? Views: 40
A scary, funny novel — a riff on recent history and the American obsession with assassination.
It's winter in New Hampshire, the economy is booming, the vice president is running for president, and his Secret Service people are very, very tense.
Meet Vi Asplund, a young Secret Service agent mourning her dead father. She goes home to New Hampshire to see her brother Jens, a computer genius who just might be going mad—and is poised to make a fortune on Big If, a viciously nihilistic computer game aimed at teenagers. Vi's America, as she sees it in the crowds, in her brother, and in her fellow agents, is affluent, anxious, and abuzz with vague fantasies of violence.
Through a gallery of vivid characters — heroic, ignoble, or desperate — Mark Costello's hilarious novel limns the strategies, both sound and absurd, that we conjure to survive in daily life.
Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Substantial insider detail and highly developed, creatively drawn characters help make Mark Costello's Big If a highly memorable work. Struggling to find her place in the Secret Service, Vi Asplund has accepted the high-stress position of guarding the vice president during his New Hampshire primary run. Her brother Jens, co-creator of the realistically brutal computer game Big If, can cash in his lucrative stock options soon if his increasingly troubled conscience and mental imbalance don't overwhelm him first. Both are reeling from the death of their father Walter, a respected insurance-adjusting atheist. Vi's boss Gretchen, a single mom, is trying to maintain unity among her team as well as a connection to her troubled son. Her diverse crew includes Tashmo, a veteran agent with an overactive libido, and Lloyd Felker, a revered protection theorist and creator of The Dome, the Service-implemented area of safety.
While Jens reluctantly bows to pressure from his superiors to create human-like monsters for Big If, Felker's mysterious disappearance heightens apprehensions among the team, who are increasingly uncertain about their ability to protect the vice president against a dense and volatile public. Costello offers a remarkable level of accessible and fascinating governmental information, and he's rendered his cast with inventive depth, such as Tashmo's fixation on Ronald Reagan and the woman on the Land O'Lakes logo, or Walter's habit of crossing out the word "God" on every dollar bill. Big If is a rare novel: a complex examination of conflicting American ideals that's also accessible, fun, and totally worthwhile. --Ross Doll
From Publishers Weekly
Costello's second novel, the first under his own name (he published Bag Men as John Flood), may well be the literary discovery of the season. Organized around the presidential campaign of an unnamed vice-president who is barely glimpsed, Costello shines the plot light on the man's Secret Service guard. In Costello's America, the citizenry has given up on politics except as sort of a minor holiday; passionate political commitment belongs primarily to potential assassins. The Dome (the Secret Service's nickname) is headed by Gretchen Williams, a black single mother from L.A. haunted by the specter of riots. Her crew contains two veterans of the Reagan years: Lloyd Felker (a protection intellectual and the founder of the Dome) and Tashmo, a '70s-style philanderer suffering through the waning of his adulterous impulses. There's also the diva of Protection, beautiful, horny Bobbie Niles, and heroine Vi Asplund. Vi comes from Center Effing, N.H., where her father, Walter, was an atheist Republican insurance adjuster. Vi joined the Dome after Walter died (the compliment at his funeral from an arson squad cop was that no one could read scorch marks like her father ), and Jens, Vi's brother, works for Big If, an interactive fantasy role-playing game company. Jens is suffering a crisis of cyber faith: his code is beautiful, but the end products are literally monsters. Costello moves easily between riffs, with a truly magical feeling for insider's knowledgehow a cop sits at a bar, how a real estate agent spiels a sale, how an insurance adjuster analyzes damage. Costello might be this season's Jonathan Franzen, a dazzling literary novelist with popular appeal.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Views: 40
Lead by Hawk Hunter, the freedom fighters have brought revolution to the Emperor's door. But those who rule the galactic empire under militaristic oppression will do anything to maintain power-and the billion-years old secret that lies behind it. Views: 40
Gwendolen Lynch has come a long way since her role as mousy, overworked bridal assistant to Grace Taylor. She's established her own event planning agency and is weeks away from marrying the love of her life, Ryan Miller, in a Christmas Day ceremony.But Gwen's wedding plans are sidetracked when her agency gets tapped by celebrity bride and cosmetic spokeswoman Erica Hilbert. Erica is obsessed with appearances and expects her wedding to be as flawless as her Botox-enhanced features. No easy task, considering the media frenzy that surrounds the marriage, with eager tabloid journalists and reporters clamoring for an inside scoop.To make matters worse, Gwen's former boss is determined to make trouble should Gwen have any problems pulling off the big day. Between her client's expectations and the make-or-break moment for her career, can Gwen still find time for her own dreams? Or will she lose the job of a lifetime, along with her chances for happy-ever-after? Views: 40
Emma never knew a trip to the tattoo shop would result in a bloody lip or that it would change her life forever. Luke fell for Emma the moment her green eyes met his, even as she lay on his floor. Crazy fate brings them together once more, and he lets her know he gets what he wants. And he wants is her. But no one knows that there's someone who wants her more and will stop at nothing to get her. Views: 40
Dr. Kelsie Madison can’t remember the last time she’s had no-strings sex and that’s her clue she’s been working way too hard. It’s time to unwind at the Key Club by indulging in a yummy Christmas present for herself. Something she’s never experienced before - a red-hot ménage. Views: 40
Amazon.com Review
Penzler Pick, Those of us who have been waiting for Walter Mosley to return to mystery writing--and there are many of us--have cause to rejoice. Not only has Mosley written a mystery, he is introducing a new character who could turn out to be as popular as Fearless Jones has a lot in common with Easy, but he also has some characteristics reminiscent of Socrates Fortlow, the "hero" of . When the story begins, the reader is transported to the Los Angeles of the 1950s, a dangerous place and time for a black man. But Paris Minton seems to have beaten the odds. He owns a moderately successful and very satisfying business--a used book store. He spends the time he's not in the store scouring libraries for discarded books and selling them in just enough quantity to be independent and happy. Yes, he is visited on a regular basis by members of the LAPD who want him to prove to them that he did not steal the books, but that is a small price to pay for independence. Minton's peaceful life is interrupted one day when a beautiful woman walks into his store and asks for the Reverend William Grove. In no time flat, Paris has been beaten into unconsciousness by a man following her and has been rewarded by the woman with sex. The lovely Elana Love is obviously trouble, but Paris jumps in feet first and, as a consequence, his store is burned to the ground. It is obviously time to call in Fearless Jones, a man well named. Jones is afraid of nothing, but there is a little matter to be taken care of before he can help. He's in jail and Paris must raise bail to get him out. Once he does that, the pair embark on a wild ride through Los Angeles on behalf of Elana Love. As always, Mosley depicts the hard-boiled L.A. in a powerful and distinctive way, and we can only hope that this is the first of a series. --Otto Penzler
From Publishers Weekly
HAbandoning the voice of his premier creation, Easy Rawlins, Mosley mines a new shaft of 1950s Los Angeles with a hero who combines the principles of Easy with the deadliness of Ray "Mouse" Alexander. The result is a violent, heroic and classic piece of noir fiction. Narrator Paris Minton is an appealing figure an easygoing black man for whom the written word is salvation and whose nameless used bookstore in Watts is paradise. Then the beautiful Elana Love enters his store and brings with her more trouble than Paris has ever seen enough trouble that Paris knows his only hope is his friend Fearless Jones. A former soldier, Jones is a riveting new creation. He's a man of both principle and action with an innate sense of justice and as his name makes clear, he's afraid of nothing. The novel rips along with a hunt for the girl and a race among competing factions to find a missing bond that's the key to a fortune. For the black characters it's a desperate struggle to stay alive in a white world where the deck is stacked. One sly reference tells the reader we're still in the same world and time inhabited by Easy Rawlins, and that Fearless and Mouse are equally "bad." But Fearless is also a knight-errant and hopefully destined for further adventures as fine as this one. (June 5)Forecast: With a 20-city author tour and major advertising, Mosley's first thriller since 1996's A Little Yellow Dog is sure to generate lots of interest and sales.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Views: 40
Dunkum Mifflin's end-of-school party turns into a huge mystery when his cousin's guide-dog, Honey, suddenly disappears after the celebration. At midnight! Feeling responsible, Dunkum starts looking for the pup and gets some help from the Cul-de-sac Kids. Abby Hunter and the rest of the others gladly join in playing detective. But it's not all fun and games. Who'd want to steal Ellen's beloved dog in the first place? And what will happen if Dunkum doesn't unravel the mystery? It's the dognapping adventure of the year. Views: 40
