When Eleanor was in her early 20s, she went to Italy on a long-postponed trip, met a dashing and charming man, Connor, and got involved in a crime that he--a private investigator--was working on which turned out to be more involved and complicated than anyone initially suspected. On coming back to her regular life in the US, she wrote it all out, trying to make sense of the craziness that had happened to her. She got it published and it became a huge bestseller. But she made a big mistake in the publishing of it: she used Connor's real name and identifying features. He then extorted her for money. Now, facing writer's block for Book Ten, she would really like to kill off his character.
In the meantime, she's in Italy on a trip for her fans, accompanied by her sister, a frustrated writer and Eleanor's assistant, Connor, Connor's ex-wife, Connor's ex-business partner (both of whom wrote books about Connor), her own ex-boyfriend, her stalker, and other assorted fans and adjacent people. While plotting how to fictionally kill off Connor, he comes to her with a request. He needs her help. Someone is trying to kill him in real life! Of course this makes Eleanor's plotting seem highly suspect.
This is a fun romp through an Italian summer with the delightful distraction of a possible murder mystery, loads of suspects and twists, and gorgeous summer days with many aperol spritzes. The writers block and Eleanor's plotting--not only of her fictional murder of Connor but also how to sell killing off a popular character to her publisher--give a fun inside-baseball feel to the book. It was a super enjoyable diversion with low stakes (Connor's an ass so if he did die... not too upsetting.)
This book is published by Minotaur, a division of Macmillan, my employer.
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