Editorial Content for The Sympathizer
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Reviewer (text)
“I am a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces. Perhaps, not surprisingly, I am also a man of two minds,” confesses Captain, the incognito narrator in this riveting debut novel that opens with the imminent capture of Saigon in April 1975. While serving as a special aide to a high-ranking South Vietnamese general, the Communist mole secretly chronicles the movements of his superior and fellow countrymen as they narrowly escape the falling republic, seek shelter in refugee camps and tent cities, and then attempt to rebuild their lives in Southern California. Read More
Teaser
It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a general of the South Vietnamese army is drinking whiskey and, with the help of his trusted captain, drawing up a list of those who will be given passage aboard the last flights out of the country. The general and his compatriots start a new life in Los Angeles, unaware that one among their number, the captain, is secretly observing and reporting on the group to a higher-up in the Viet Cong.
Promo
It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a general of the South Vietnamese army is drinking whiskey and, with the help of his trusted captain, drawing up a list of those who will be given passage aboard the last flights out of the country. The general and his compatriots start a new life in Los Angeles, unaware that one among their number, the captain, is secretly observing and reporting on the group to a higher-up in the Viet Cong.
About the Book
One of 2015’s most highly acclaimed debuts, THE SYMPATHIZER is a Vietnam War novel unlike any other. The narrator, one of the most arresting of recent fiction, is a man of two minds and divided loyalties, a half-French half-Vietnamese communist sleeper agent living in America after the end of the war.
It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a general of the South Vietnamese army is drinking whiskey and, with the help of his trusted captain, drawing up a list of those who will be given passage aboard the last flights out of the country. But, unbeknownst to the general, this captain is an undercover operative for the communists, who instruct him to add his own name to the list and accompany the general to America. As the general and his compatriots start a new life in Los Angeles, the captain continues to observe the group, sending coded letters to an old friend who is now a higher-up within the communist administration. Under suspicion, the captain is forced to contemplate terrible acts in order to remain undetected. And when he falls in love, he finds that his lofty ideals clash violently with his loyalties to the people close to him, a contradiction that may prove unresolvable.
A gripping spy novel, a moving story of love and friendship, and a layered portrayal of a young man drawn into extreme politics, THE SYMPATHIZER examines the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, film and the wars we fight today.
Editorial Content for The Royal We
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Anyone who follows the blog Go Fug Yourself (and if you don't, what are you waiting for?) knows that its hilariously brilliant authors, Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, have a bit of a thing for the British royal family. Their blog, which skewers celebrity fashion choices, has somewhat of a soft spot when it comes to Kate and Wills --- and especially Prince William's younger brother, Harry. Read More
Teaser
American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister, Lacey, has always been the romantic who fantasized about glamour and royalty, fame and fortune. Yet it's Bex who seeks adventure at Oxford and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, Great Britain's future king. And when Bex can't resist falling for Nick, the person behind the prince, it propels her into a world she did not expect to inhabit, under a spotlight she is not prepared to face.
Promo
American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister, Lacey, has always been the romantic who fantasized about glamour and royalty, fame and fortune. Yet it's Bex who seeks adventure at Oxford and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, Great Britain's future king. And when Bex can't resist falling for Nick, the person behind the prince, it propels her into a world she did not expect to inhabit, under a spotlight she is not prepared to face.
About the Book
"I might be Cinderella today, but I dread who they'll think I am tomorrow. I guess it depends on what I do next."
American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister, Lacey, has always been the romantic who fantasized about glamour and royalty, fame and fortune. Yet it's Bex who seeks adventure at Oxford and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, Great Britain's future king. And when Bex can't resist falling for Nick, the person behind the prince, it propels her into a world she did not expect to inhabit, under a spotlight she is not prepared to face.
Dating Nick immerses Bex in ritzy society, dazzling ski trips, and dinners at Kensington Palace with him and his charming, troublesome brother, Freddie. But the relationship also comes with unimaginable baggage: hysterical tabloids, Nick's sparkling and far more suitable ex-girlfriends, and a royal family whose private life is much thornier and more tragic than anyone on the outside knows. The pressures are almost too much to bear, as Bex struggles to reconcile the man she loves with the monarch he's fated to become.
Which is how she gets into trouble.
Now, on the eve of the wedding of the century, Bex is faced with whether everything she's sacrificed for love --- her career, her home, her family, maybe even herself --- will have been for nothing.
Editorial Content for Words Without Music: A Memoir
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Reviewer (text)
Philip Glass is known the world over as one of the most adventurous music composers of our time, yet is still vastly underappreciated for what he’s contributed --- and still contributes --- on the leading edge of all art forms. Read More
Teaser
Philip Glass has, almost single-handedly, crafted the dominant sound of late-20th-century classical music. Yet in WORDS WITHOUT MUSIC, he creates an entirely new and unexpected voice: that of a born storyteller and an acutely insightful chronicler, whose behind-the-scenes recollections allow readers to experience those moments of creative fusion when life so magically merged with art. From his childhood in Baltimore to his student days in Chicago and at Juilliard, to his first journey to Paris and a life-changing trip to India, Glass movingly recalls his early mentors, while reconstructing the places that helped shape his creative consciousness.
Promo
Philip Glass has, almost single-handedly, crafted the dominant sound of late-20th-century classical music. Yet in WORDS WITHOUT MUSIC, he creates an entirely new and unexpected voice: that of a born storyteller and an acutely insightful chronicler, whose behind-the-scenes recollections allow readers to experience those moments of creative fusion when life so magically merged with art. From his childhood in Baltimore to his student days in Chicago and at Juilliard, to his first journey to Paris and a life-changing trip to India, Glass movingly recalls his early mentors, while reconstructing the places that helped shape his creative consciousness.
About the Book
Philip Glass has, almost single-handedly, crafted the dominant sound of late-20th-century classical music. Yet in WORDS WITHOUT MUSIC, his critically acclaimed memoir, he creates an entirely new and unexpected voice, that of a born storyteller and an acutely insightful chronicler, whose behind-the-scenes recollections allow readers to experience those moments of creative fusion when life so magically merged with art. From his childhood in Baltimore to his student days in Chicago and at Juilliard, to his first journey to Paris and a life-changing trip to India, Glass movingly recalls his early mentors, while reconstructing the places that helped shape his creative consciousness.
Whether describing working as an unlicensed plumber in gritty 1970s New York or composing Satyagraha, Glass breaks across genres and re-creates, here in words, the thrill that results from artistic creation. WORDS WITHOUT MUSIC ultimately affirms the power of music to change the world.
Editorial Content for I Refuse
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The first word of I REFUSE, “Dark,” describes the book’s tenor from start to finish. It begins in the dark, when Jim is driving toward the bridge where he fishes. On this day in September 2006, his childhood friend Tommy happens by in his gray Mercedes --- a chance meeting that takes them back in memory to 35 years before. Read More
Teaser
Per Petterson weaves a tale of two men whose accidental meeting one morning recalls their boyhood 35 years ago. Back then, Tommy was separated from his sisters after he stood up to their abusive father. Jim was by Tommy's side through it all. But one winter night, a chance event on a frozen lake forever changed the balance of their friendship. Now Jim fishes alone on a bridge as Tommy drives by in a new Mercedes, and it's clear their fortunes have reversed. Over the course of the day, the life of each man will be irrevocably altered.
Promo
Per Petterson weaves a tale of two men whose accidental meeting one morning recalls their boyhood 35 years ago. Back then, Tommy was separated from his sisters after he stood up to their abusive father. Jim was by Tommy's side through it all. But one winter night, a chance event on a frozen lake forever changed the balance of their friendship. Now Jim fishes alone on a bridge as Tommy drives by in a new Mercedes, and it's clear their fortunes have reversed. Over the course of the day, the life of each man will be irrevocably altered.
About the Book
Per Petterson’s hotly anticipated new novel, I REFUSE, is the work of an internationally acclaimed novelist at the height of his powers. In Norway the book has been a huge bestseller, and rights have already been sold to 16 countries.
In his signature spare style, Petterson weaves a tale of two men whose accidental meeting one morning recalls their boyhood 35 years ago. Back then, Tommy was separated from his sisters after he stood up to their abusive father. Jim was by Tommy’s side through it all. But one winter night, a chance event on a frozen lake forever changes the balance of their friendship. Now, Jim fishes alone on a bridge as Tommy drives by in a new Mercedes, and it’s clear their fortunes have reversed. Over the course of the day, the lives of each man will be irrevocably altered.
I REFUSE is a powerful, unforgettable novel, and its publication is an event to be celebrated.
Editorial Content for The Invention of Fire
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Reviewer (text)
THE INVENTION OF FIRE is Bruce Holsinger’s sequel to A BURNABLE BOOK, featuring medieval poet John Gower and a host of very interesting London characters mixed up with a bit of mystery. Read More
Teaser
London, 1386: A mass murder has taken place within the city walls. Sixteen corpses have been dumped where they are sure to be found, bearing wounds like none seen before. John Gower, middling poet and expert trader in secrets, is summoned to investigate the killings even as the ruthless mayor of London seeks to thwart an open inquiry for reasons unknown. Gower learns that the men have fallen victim to handgonnes, new and terrifying weapons that threaten to change the future of war.
Promo
When 16 bodies turn up in London riddled with small puncture holes, everyone is stumped and seems to be hiding something. That’s when John Gower, a poor poet but excellent trader of secrets, is at his best. Summoned to investigate these strange murders, Gower finds only treachery and the possibility of a very real threat to the city and its inhabitants: a terrifying new weapon very few know of --- the handgonne.
About the Book
The author of the acclaimed medieval mystery A BURNABLE BOOK once again brings 14th-century London alive in all its color and detail in this riveting thriller featuring medieval poet and fixer John Gower --- a twisty tale rife with intrigue, danger, mystery and murder.
Though he is one of England’s most acclaimed intellectuals, John Gower is no stranger to London’s wretched slums and dark corners, and he knows how to trade on the secrets of the kingdom’s most powerful men. When the bodies of 16 unknown men are found in a privy, the Sheriff of London seeks Gower’s help. The men’s wounds --- ragged holes created by an unknown object --- are unlike anything the sheriff’s men have ever seen. Tossed into the sewer, the bodies were meant to be found. Gower believes the men may have been used in an experiment --- a test for a fearsome new war weapon his informants call the “handgonne,” claiming it will be the “future of death” if its design can be perfected.
Propelled by questions of his own, Gower turns to courtier and civil servant Geoffrey Chaucer, who is working on some poems about pilgrims that Gower finds rather vulgar. Chaucer thinks he just may know who commissioned this new weapon, an extremely valuable piece of information that some will pay a high price for --- and others will kill to conceal…
Editorial Content for Believer: My Forty Years in Politics
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Reviewer (text)
Whether you are a Republican, a Democrat, an Independent or a Libertarian, if you’ve ever been involved in the political process, David Axelrod’s exciting book is a must read. From the enthusiastic envelope stuffers and door knockers to the hardcore precinct chairmen and state or national conventioneers, Axelrod brings into vivid focus what it’s like to work for a candidate you support and a cause in which you truly believe. Read More
Teaser
Whether as a young journalist investigating city corruption, a campaign consultant guiding underdog candidates against entrenched orthodoxy, or as senior adviser to the president during one of the worst crises in American history, David Axelrod held fast to his faith in the power of stories to unite diverse communities and ignite transformative political change. Now this legendary strategist, the mastermind behind Barack Obama’s historic election campaigns, shares a wealth of stories from his 40-year journey through the inner workings of American democracy.
Promo
Whether as a young journalist investigating city corruption, a campaign consultant guiding underdog candidates against entrenched orthodoxy, or as senior adviser to the president during one of the worst crises in American history, David Axelrod held fast to his faith in the power of stories to unite diverse communities and ignite transformative political change. Now this legendary strategist, the mastermind behind Barack Obama’s historic election campaigns, shares a wealth of stories from his 40-year journey through the inner workings of American democracy.
About the Book
David Axelrod has always been a believer. Whether as a young journalist investigating city corruption, a campaign consultant guiding underdog candidates against entrenched orthodoxy, or as senior adviser to the president during one of the worst crises in American history, Axelrod held fast to his faith in the power of stories to unite diverse communities and ignite transformative political change. Now this legendary strategist, the mastermind behind Barack Obama’s historic election campaigns, shares a wealth of stories from his forty-year journey through the inner workings of American democracy. Believer is the tale of a political life well lived, of a man who never gave up on the deepest promises our country has to offer.
The heart of Believer is Axelrod’s twenty-year friendship with Barack Obama, a warm partnership that inspired both men even as it propelled each to great heights. Taking a chance on an unlikely candidate for the U.S. Senate, Axelrod ultimately collaborated closely Obama on his political campaigns, and served as the invaluable strategist who contributed to the tremendous victories in 2008 and 2012. Switching careers again, Axelrod served as senior adviser to the president during one of the most challenging periods in national history: working at Obama’s side as he battled an economic disaster; navigated America through two wars; and fought to reform health care, the financial sector, and our gridlocked political institutions. In Believer, Axelrod offers a deeper and richer profile of this extraordinary figure—who in just four years vaulted from the Illinois State Senate to the Oval Office—from the perspective of one who was at his side every step of the way.
Spanning forty years that include corruption and transformation, turmoil and progress, Believer takes readers behind the closed doors of politics even as it offers a thrilling call to democratic action. Axelrod’s Believer is a powerful and inspiring memoir enlivened by the charm and candor of one of the greatest political strategists in recent American history.
Editorial Content for The Doll Maker
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Reviewer (text)
Don’t start reading THE DOLL MAKER just before your bedtime. If you do, you will want to finish it. Its length --- a bit under 500 pages --- prohibits a one-sit read, though it doesn’t feel like a long book by any means. But you’ll try to get it done anyway, given that it seems to be nearly impossible to put down. It has everything that suspense/thriller fans could possibly want: compelling mysteries, very capable and dangerous antagonists, vulnerable victims, and a couple of ticking clocks. You couldn’t reasonably ask for anything more. Read More
Teaser
A murdered girl is found posed on a newly painted bench. Beside her is a formal invitation to a tea dance in a week's time. Seven days later, two more young victims are discovered in an abandoned house, posed on painted swings. At the scene is an identical invitation. This time, though, there is something extra waiting for Detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano: a delicate porcelain doll. They have just seven more days to find the link between the murders before another innocent child is snatched from the streets.
Promo
A murdered girl is found posed on a newly painted bench. Beside her is a formal invitation to a tea dance in a week's time. Seven days later, two more young victims are discovered in an abandoned house, posed on painted swings. At the scene is an identical invitation. This time, though, there is something extra waiting for Detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano: a delicate porcelain doll. They have just seven more days to find the link between the murders before another innocent child is snatched from the streets.
About the Book
Detectives Byrne and Balzano return to the streets of Philadelphia to put an end to a macabre succession of murdered children.
A quiet Philadelphia suburb. A woman cycles past a train depot with her young daughter. There she finds a murdered girl posed on a newly painted bench. Beside her is a formal invitation to a tea dance in a week's time.
Seven days later, two more young victims are discovered in an abandoned house, posed on painted swings. At the scene is an identical invitation. This time, though, there is something extra waiting for Detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano: a delicate porcelain doll.
It's a message. And a threat. With the killers at large, Detectives Byrne and Balzano have just seven more days to find the link between the murders before another innocent child is snatched from the streets.
Editorial Content for Dark City Lights: New York Stories
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Reviewer (text)
DARK CITY LIGHTS is a short story anthology that, interestingly enough, is Part Four of the Have a NYC series. I will confess to being unfamiliar with the first three volumes, an omission that I intend to rectify on the strength of this latest installment. It attracted my attention due to the presence of author extraordinaire Lawrence Block at the editing helm. Read More
Teaser
Famed detective and mystery writer Lawrence Block takes the helm as guest editor for DARK CITY LIGHTS, the fourth edition of the Have a NYC series. Here are 23 thrilling, hilarious and poignant short stories --- all based in New York City --- written by new and acclaimed fiction masters, including Robert Silverberg, Ed Park, Jim Fusilli, Parnell Hall, SJ Rozan, Brian Koppelman, Elaine Kagan and more. Additional authors include Thomas Pluck, Warren Moore, Erin Mitchell and Tom Callahan.
Promo
Famed detective and mystery writer Lawrence Block takes the helm as guest editor for DARK CITY LIGHTS, the fourth edition of the Have a NYC series. Here are 23 thrilling, hilarious and poignant short stories --- all based in New York City --- written by new and acclaimed fiction masters, including Robert Silverberg, Ed Park, Jim Fusilli, Parnell Hall, SJ Rozan, Brian Koppelman, Elaine Kagan and more. Additional authors include Thomas Pluck, Warren Moore, Erin Mitchell and Tom Callahan.
About the Book
Famed detective and mystery writer Lawrence Block (A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES, 8 MILLION WAYS TO DIE) takes the helm as guest editor for DARK CITY LIGHTS, the fourth edition of the Have a NYC series. Twenty-three thrilling, hilarious and poignant short stories --- all based in New York City --- written by new and acclaimed fiction masters, including Robert Silverberg (Hugo and Nebula Award multiple winner; grand master of SFWA); Ed Park (author, PERSONAL DAYS; senior editor, Amazon’s literary imprint, Little A); Jim Fusilli (rock and pop music critic, Wall Street Journal; author, CLOSING TIME and A WELL-KNOWN SECRET); Parnell Hall (author, LAST PUZZLE & TESTAMENT); SJ Rozan (Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, Nero and Macavity Award-wining author); Brian Koppelman (co-writer, Ocean’s 13 and Rounders); and Elaine Kagan (author, NO GOOD-BYES; actress, GoodFellas).
Additional authors include Thomas Pluck (BLADE OF DISHONOR), Warren Moore (BROKEN GLASS WALTZES), Jerrold Mundis (HOW TO GET OUT OF DEBT, THE DOGS), Jonathan Santlofer (THE DEATH ARTIST, ANATOMY OF FEAR), David Levien (co-writer, Ocean’s 13 and Rounders; author, CITY OF SUN), Jill D. Block (contributor to Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine), Jane Dentinger (author, MURDER ON CUE), Erin Mitchell (Crimespree magazine contributor); Peter Carlaftes (author, I FOLD WITH THE HAND I WAS DEALT; co-director, Three Rooms Press and A YEAR ON FACEBOOK), Tom Callahan (author, JOHNNY U and THE GM), Eve Kagan (actress and international teaching artist), Bill Bernico (author, Cooper, PI series), Kat Georges (author, OUR LADY OF THE HUNGER; co-director, Three Rooms Press), Annette Meyers (author, The Smith & Wetzon Wall Street Wall Street mystery series), and Peter Hochstein (author, HEIRESS STRANGLED IN MOLTEN CHOCOLATE AT NAZI SEX ORGY). Editor Lawrence Block also contributes a story.
A brilliant book that redefines the New York of today --- and tomorrow.
Editorial Content for What You Left Behind
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Reviewer (text)
In 2014, a new talent in the psychological thriller genre emerged in the form of British author Samantha Hayes. Her debut novel, UNTIL YOU’RE MINE, was an unpredictable, Hitchcockian affair involving a series of attacks on pregnant women and an expectant mother who hires a nanny who may have unsavory desires towards her unborn child. Read More
Teaser
Two years after a terrifying spate of teenage suicides, the remote village of Radcote has just begun to heal. Then a young man is killed in a freak motorcycle accident, and a suicide note is found among his belongings. When a second boy is found dead shortly thereafter, the nightmare of repeat suicides once again threatens the community. Detective Inspector Lorraine Fisher becomes determined to discover the truth behind these deaths. Are they suicides, or is there something more sinister at work?
Promo
Two years after a terrifying spate of teenage suicides, the remote village of Radcote has just begun to heal. Then a young man is killed in a freak motorcycle accident, and a suicide note is found among his belongings. When a second boy is found dead shortly thereafter, the nightmare of repeat suicides once again threatens the community. Detective Inspector Lorraine Fisher becomes determined to discover the truth behind these deaths. Are they suicides, or is there something more sinister at work?
About the Book
A mesmerizing new thriller from the author of UNTIL YOU'RE MINE
Two years after a terrifying spate of teenage suicides, the remote village of Radcote has just begun to heal. Then a young man is killed in a freak motorcycle accident and a suicide note is found among his belongings. When a second boy is found dead shortly thereafter, the nightmare of repeat suicides once again threatens the community.
Desperate for a vacation, Detective Inspector Lorraine Fisher has just come to Radcote for a stay with her sister, Jo, but the atmosphere of the country house is unusually tense. Freddie, Jo's son, seems troubled and uncommunicative, and Jo is struggling to reach out to him. Meanwhile, Lorraine becomes determined to discover the truth behind these deaths. Are they suicides, or is there something more sinister at work? Finding answers might help Freddie, but they'll also lead to a shocking truth: whatever it is --- or whoever it is --- that's killing these young people is far more disturbing than she ever could have imagined, and unraveling the secret is just as dangerous as the secret itself.
Wicked, intense, and utterly compulsive, WHAT YOU LEFT BEHIND confirms Samantha Hayes as a top thriller writer.
Editorial Content for GBH
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Reviewer (text)
Get ready to have your skull blasted quickly and quietly off your neck. Ted Lewis (and, let me assure you, we are not talking about the American bandleader here) is almost unanimously regarded as the father of British noir fiction. He arguably is best known in the United States as the author of the (retitled) GET CARTER, which was adapted for film on three separate occasions. GBH, the reason we are here at the moment, was published in Great Britain in 1980 and almost immediately went out of print; it has not seen the light of day in the US until now. Read More
Teaser
In London, George Fowler heads a lucrative criminal syndicate that specializes in the production and distribution of “blue films” --- nasty illegal pornography. But his entire world is in jeopardy. Someone is undermining his empire from within, and he becomes increasingly ruthless in his pursuit of the unknown traitor. As his paranoia envelops him, Fowler loses trust in just about everyone, including his closest friends and associates, and begins to rely on the opinions of an increasingly smaller set of advisors.
Promo
In London, George Fowler heads a lucrative criminal syndicate that specializes in the production and distribution of “blue films” --- nasty illegal pornography. But his entire world is in jeopardy. Someone is undermining his empire from within, and he becomes increasingly ruthless in his pursuit of the unknown traitor. As his paranoia envelops him, Fowler loses trust in just about everyone, including his closest friends and associates, and begins to rely on the opinions of an increasingly smaller set of advisors.
About the Book
The lost masterwork of British crime icon Ted Lewis --- author of GET CARTER --- is an unnerving tale of paranoia and madness in the heart of the late 1970s London criminal underworld.
In London, George Fowler heads a lucrative criminal syndicate that specializes in the production and distribution of “blue films” --- nasty illegal pornography. Fowler is king, with a beautiful girl at his side and a swanky penthouse office, but his entire world is in jeopardy. Someone is undermining his empire from within, and Fowler becomes increasingly ruthless in his pursuit of the unknown traitor. As his paranoia envelops him, Fowler loses trust in just about everyone, including his closest friends and associates, and begins to rely on the opinions of an increasingly smaller set of advisors.
Juxtaposed with the terror and violence of Fowler’s last days in London is the flash-forward narrative of his hideout bunker in a tiny English beach town, where Fowler skulks during the off-season amongst the locals, trying to put together the pieces of his fallen empire. Just as it seems possible for Fowler to reclaim his throne, another trigger threatens to cause his total, irreparable unraveling.


