Book description
At the annual convention of the American Booksellers Association,
everything goes wrong. Julia Child's cooking demonstration in the Random
House aisle catches fire. A top New York editor catches a pie in the
face. Invitations to the most exclusive publisher's party are stolen,
and all the wrong people show up. Worse, Heidi Yamada, the world-famous
poet, is found dead, spread over the late Elvis Presley's king-sized
bed. It's all caught on film by a busy photographer from Publishers
Weekly, a woman soon kidnapped. When the Las Vegas police shrug their
shoulders, Guy Mallon, Heidi's first publisher (and a discarded lover)
wonders what to do. Poor Guy. He's a book man from Santa Barbara who,
despite fellow residents Ross Macdonald and Sue Grafton, never felt
inspired to be a sleuth, but he feels he owes it to Heidi. Besides,
catching her killer may be his only chance to leave Las Vegas alive....
The annual trade show of the American Booksellers Association draws a
colorful crowd--bookpeople who work the convention floor by day and
attend myriad parties by night. Though some may find Daniel's wacky
characters over the top, previous attendees of the ABA (now Book Expo)
show will chuckle in recognition. In fact, Daniel, a publisher himself,
peppers his story with numerous references to real-life authors and
publishers, and sets the action at the real-life 1990 ABA convention in
Las Vegas. Publisher Guy Mallon narrates the story, which chronicles the
life and untimely death of poet Heidi Yamada, whose talent for
manipulating men far eclipsed her writing skill. Part of the story is
set in the present, and focuses on Guy's investigation into Heidi's
death--which the police are calling an accidental drug overdose. Daniel
ladles plenty of tasty publishing tidbits into his narrative stew but
never at the expense of the suspenseful plot. An affectionate look at
the publishing industry from one who clearly knows that world. John M.
Daniel lived in Santa Barbara, California for twenty years, where he and
his wife, Susan, owned (and were owned by) a small-press publishing
company. In 2003 they relocated McKinleyville, California, where they
continue to publish books while John also does free-lance editing and
teaches writing through adult education. He has taught fiction writing
at UCLA Extension and Santa Barbara Adult Education and is on the
faculty of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. His stories have
appeared in dozens of literary magazines, and he is the author of
several books, including two mystery novels: Play Melancholy Baby and
(most recently) The Poet's Funeral.
