Book Description

Great stuff from a great American novelist. Jack Engelhard (Indecent Proposal… The Bathsheba Deadline… The Days of the Bitter End…) brings it as only he can in language that is economical, hard-boiled and fast-paced to uncover through the art of fiction the naked truth about a TV news personality who resembles someone we all know. Brilliant and elegantly done, Engelhard dishes the scoop on this “queen of Chick Power with legs to die for.” What’s it like to live under the glare of the spotlight, and to love after the lights go down? In Engelhard’s masterful rendering, we follow the glamorous Marjorie Carmen’s rise to TV news stardom and what it took to get there, and what it takes to stay there. She came along when network TV news was dominated by living but dull white males. We root for her, hurt for her, love with her, find fault with her, and are always fascinated by her. But she is only half the story. As she keeps winning, her husband, Rick, keeps losing. He’s a failure. He must do something to prove he’s worth keeping. The choice he makes leads to a fascinating result, and in taking us inside a teetering marriage, Engelhard is peerless. Watch for the third major character Engelhard adds to the picture – Ruben Franklin! This is a newsroom swashbuckler you’ll never forget, just as you will never forget Marjorie Carmen, so fictitious, but so true. To know her, is to know our culture. This is a superb, thrilling novel that must be read. Praise Received “Engelhard zeroes in on a news anchor who resembles Megyn Kelly. It’s fiction, but WOW!” - Bonnie Kaye, author of Jennifer Needle in Her Arm “Jack Engelhard’s novels are filled to the brim with clear spirit, serious soul, and gritty honesty. His writing style is so light and bright it carries the reading in an effortless flow.” - Linda Shelnutt, author; most recent book, Myrtle’s Penultimate Walkabout “Engelhard writes with the sparseness of Hemingway and the moral intensity of I.B. Singer.” - Michael Foster, author of Three in Love (HarperCollins) “Jack Engelhard is a writer without peer and the conscience of us all.” - John W. Cassell, author of Crossroads: 1969