The List by Steve Martini

Good vacation book

Written in the wake of the Milli Vanilli music scandal , Steve Martini's The List features an unsuccessful female author (Abby Chandlis) who has written a book that under a male pen name (Gable Cooper) in order to make the book more marketable.

So far, no big deal. Lots of authors use pen names. Several female romance authors have used pen names to write detective books and thrillers. In this case, the author actually hires a person to portray himself as the real Gable Cooper - not just in public appearances, but also in all negotiations with the agents, the publishers and Hollywood studios interested in turning the book into a movie. The reason she goes through such elaborate steps is her belief that male authors, especially handsome, charming ones, are marketed much more aggressively.

Steve Martini

The problem comes in the man chosen to portray Gable Cooper. He is a loose cannon, a frustrated author and, even worse, the real author comes to believe that he may be trying to hijack her book for himself. When the only people who knew about the Gable Cooper pseudonym start to die the real author finds herself in the middle of her own real life action thriller.

The List is a great beach or vacation read - it is not too complicated but the characters are sufficiently interesting to keep the reader involved. Throw in a little romance and a whole lot of danger and it fits the bill.

On a confused note, this is the second Martini book I've read this year and the second Martini book with a title that has nothing to do with the book. What list?

I rate this book 3 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The List.

Reviewed on April 10, 2011.