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Foul Matter #1
Foul Matter
The bestselling author of the Richard Jury novels delivers a razor-sharp and raucously funny send-up of the cutthroat world of publishing. And the praise is pouring "A hilarious and wicked caper-adventure on the evils of the book business."
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "Does laughing uncontrollably on a subway train constitute legitimate literary criticism? If it does, then Foul Matter ...gets a great review from me." — New York Times Book Review "She can kick literary butt—in more ways than one." — USA Today
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "Does laughing uncontrollably on a subway train constitute legitimate literary criticism? If it does, then Foul Matter ...gets a great review from me." — New York Times Book Review "She can kick literary butt—in more ways than one." — USA Today
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
97 people are currently reading
631 people want to read
About the author
Martha Grimes
113 books1,457 followersMartha Grimes is an American author of detective fiction.
She was born May 2 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to D.W., a city solicitor, and to June, who owned the Mountain Lake Hotel in Western Maryland where Martha and her brother spent much of their childhood. Grimes earned her B.A. and M.A. at the University of Maryland. She has taught at the University of Iowa, Frostburg State University, and Montgomery College.
Grimes is best known for her series of novels featuring Richard Jury, an inspector with Scotland Yard, and his friend Melrose Plant, a British aristocrat who has given up his titles. Each of the Jury mysteries is named after a pub. Her page-turning, character-driven tales fall into the mystery subdivision of "cozies." In 1983, Grimes received the Nero Wolfe Award for best mystery of the year for The Anodyne Necklace.
The background to Hotel Paradise is drawn on the experiences she enjoyed spending summers at her mother's hotel in Mountain Lake Park, Maryland. One of the characters, Mr Britain, is drawn on Britten Leo Martin, Sr, who then ran Marti's Store which he owned with his father and brother. Martin's Store is accessible by a short walkway from Mountain Lake, the site of the former Hotel, which was torn down in 1967.
She splits her time between homes in Washington, D.C., and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
She was born May 2 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to D.W., a city solicitor, and to June, who owned the Mountain Lake Hotel in Western Maryland where Martha and her brother spent much of their childhood. Grimes earned her B.A. and M.A. at the University of Maryland. She has taught at the University of Iowa, Frostburg State University, and Montgomery College.
Grimes is best known for her series of novels featuring Richard Jury, an inspector with Scotland Yard, and his friend Melrose Plant, a British aristocrat who has given up his titles. Each of the Jury mysteries is named after a pub. Her page-turning, character-driven tales fall into the mystery subdivision of "cozies." In 1983, Grimes received the Nero Wolfe Award for best mystery of the year for The Anodyne Necklace.
The background to Hotel Paradise is drawn on the experiences she enjoyed spending summers at her mother's hotel in Mountain Lake Park, Maryland. One of the characters, Mr Britain, is drawn on Britten Leo Martin, Sr, who then ran Marti's Store which he owned with his father and brother. Martin's Store is accessible by a short walkway from Mountain Lake, the site of the former Hotel, which was torn down in 1967.
She splits her time between homes in Washington, D.C., and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 182 reviews
February 2, 2023
Painfully unfunny mystery/satire set in the publishing industry.
Raises such questions as:
--Why was this released in 2003 but reads like it was written decades earlier?
--Why does Grimes paint publishing as such a sausagefest when actually it's an industry that mostly employs (white) women? (I also don't think there's a single person of color in this entire book, which could be bleakly accurate if I thought it were in any way on purpose.)
--Why did Grimes include passages from one character's supposedly award-winning literary writing when it's some of the most laughably bad trash I have ever seen?
--Why the fuck did Grimes choose to make one of the compassionate, lovable hitmen (a real type of guy!) virulently homophobic for no reason, as if this were a quirky personality trait?
--Why are there so many POVs?
--Why is this SO LONG?
--Why is there a sequel?
--Is this just really a lengthy fantasy axe-grind on the part of the author because she was mad at her editor???
Anyway, don't non-con me into your scene, author, thanks.
Raises such questions as:
--Why was this released in 2003 but reads like it was written decades earlier?
--Why does Grimes paint publishing as such a sausagefest when actually it's an industry that mostly employs (white) women? (I also don't think there's a single person of color in this entire book, which could be bleakly accurate if I thought it were in any way on purpose.)
--Why did Grimes include passages from one character's supposedly award-winning literary writing when it's some of the most laughably bad trash I have ever seen?
--Why the fuck did Grimes choose to make one of the compassionate, lovable hitmen (a real type of guy!) virulently homophobic for no reason, as if this were a quirky personality trait?
--Why are there so many POVs?
--Why is this SO LONG?
--Why is there a sequel?
--Is this just really a lengthy fantasy axe-grind on the part of the author because she was mad at her editor???
Anyway, don't non-con me into your scene, author, thanks.
February 22, 2021
Foul Matter certainly wasn't what I expected! And I almost abandoned it because I needed something familiar and cozy what with the ice storm and all. But I hung in a little longer and ended up loving it. There was a bit of tension as bad guys seemed to abound, but as time went on I seemed to chuckle more and more. I learned a lot about the publishing industry, at least through the eyes of Martha Grimes, and had a good time doing it.
January 19, 2014
Written in 2003, “Foul Matter” is Martha Grimes’ satire of the contemporary publishing industry (or should I write “world” since it seemed to be spinning in its own orbit), perhaps driven by her own personal experience “dropped” by a publishing house. For all of us who love to read, who breathe more easily in bookstores and libraries, who have shelves or piles of unread books waiting at home, who can’t wait for the next book by a favorite author and marvel at the number of new, talented writers, we think about all that is written in the book in hand, not how it got there. Grimes relentlessly leads us on that very path, revealing the mine fields, the egos and the whimsy of publishing. We quickly discover that “debut novel” is a pejorative, “the list” is a lofty goal, and what the siren song of publication means for a writer.
The cast of characters draw strong emotions. While some are bright, committed to literature, collaborative and compassionate, others are self-absorbed, ruthless, with or without talent.
The plot reveals the competition with other publishing houses, the jealousies courted among the competitions, all the jockeying for advantage, and how far a publisher would go to sign an author. In an early chapter of the novel, hit men Karl and Candy observe “what a shitty business you guys are in.”…”It’s like another world in here, and it ain’t ours.”…”You could waste your entire life doing this shit.” Filled with irony and humor, Grimes’ masterful touches, the hit men need to “know their mark” before fulfilling their contract. Thus, one reads the antagonist’s novel, “Don’t Go There,” and the other reads “Solace,” the novel the “mark” has written, philosophically discussing each throughout the novel.
The plot involves moves and countermoves (and a side trip to Pittsburgh, “the city that had reinvented itself,” for the entire group) that are unpredictable and sometimes parallel the books in progress that several authors are struggling to resolve. Chapters are given over to this, the relationship between the author and character, adding substance to the novel. “What Ned remembered of his childhood was not love, but solace for the lack of it and solace had come in many forms.”…”He had wanted to see how far she’d go, and so he’d cut her loose…and she didn’t even move.”…”You can feel nostalgia about a time or place you’ve never been to attaching a feeling to somewhere that wasn’t even the source of it. That’s what I’m writing about.”
In addition to the great friendship between Karl and Candy, there are others including Ned, Saul and Sally, hanging out at Swill’s (where everyone is writing a book) and eating dinner at the exclusive (but no one seems to know the basis of who gets accepted or not) “Old Hotel.” The dynamic and dialogue among this group will remind readers of the relationship between Richard Jury and Melrose Plant, the aristocrat from Long Piddleton, who assists Jury in solving mysteries, from Grimes’ previous novels.
In the end, the bad guys lose, many life lessons are learned, and the good prevail. The reader may be disillusioned about publishing, discovering how bad a publisher could be but hopefully and more importantly, “how good a writer can be.”
The cast of characters draw strong emotions. While some are bright, committed to literature, collaborative and compassionate, others are self-absorbed, ruthless, with or without talent.
The plot reveals the competition with other publishing houses, the jealousies courted among the competitions, all the jockeying for advantage, and how far a publisher would go to sign an author. In an early chapter of the novel, hit men Karl and Candy observe “what a shitty business you guys are in.”…”It’s like another world in here, and it ain’t ours.”…”You could waste your entire life doing this shit.” Filled with irony and humor, Grimes’ masterful touches, the hit men need to “know their mark” before fulfilling their contract. Thus, one reads the antagonist’s novel, “Don’t Go There,” and the other reads “Solace,” the novel the “mark” has written, philosophically discussing each throughout the novel.
The plot involves moves and countermoves (and a side trip to Pittsburgh, “the city that had reinvented itself,” for the entire group) that are unpredictable and sometimes parallel the books in progress that several authors are struggling to resolve. Chapters are given over to this, the relationship between the author and character, adding substance to the novel. “What Ned remembered of his childhood was not love, but solace for the lack of it and solace had come in many forms.”…”He had wanted to see how far she’d go, and so he’d cut her loose…and she didn’t even move.”…”You can feel nostalgia about a time or place you’ve never been to attaching a feeling to somewhere that wasn’t even the source of it. That’s what I’m writing about.”
In addition to the great friendship between Karl and Candy, there are others including Ned, Saul and Sally, hanging out at Swill’s (where everyone is writing a book) and eating dinner at the exclusive (but no one seems to know the basis of who gets accepted or not) “Old Hotel.” The dynamic and dialogue among this group will remind readers of the relationship between Richard Jury and Melrose Plant, the aristocrat from Long Piddleton, who assists Jury in solving mysteries, from Grimes’ previous novels.
In the end, the bad guys lose, many life lessons are learned, and the good prevail. The reader may be disillusioned about publishing, discovering how bad a publisher could be but hopefully and more importantly, “how good a writer can be.”
June 13, 2012
Most boring book I have ever read. I don't know if it's because I'm not a writer, but literally not one aspect of this book kept me interested. It dragged on for what felt like years, and it has never taken me so long to finish a book. I dreaded carrying this thing around with me just so I could get through to the end. (Keep in mind I have reading OCD, so if I start a book, I MUST finish it.)
February 8, 2024
I had a hard time getting interested in this one, but eventually came to enjoy it. It’s preposterous but it’s a comedy, and once it finally starts being funny the preposterousness is no longer a problem. 2 hit men whose modus operandi is to get to know their Vic before deciding whether to take him out? Well, ok, once you get by that huge improbability, you can just go along and enjoy the ride. The hitmen, Karl and Candy, are actually pretty funny characters; their target is a clueless likable writer with his head in the clouds, and there are a lot of other characters too, some moderately interesting. I listened to the audiobook and it was mildly fun once it got my interest, which did take a while. Glad I did not quit in it, worth a listen.
March 20, 2008
As a writer, I enjoyed this wicked and cynical view of New York book publishing (my publishers have been in Berkeley, CA, Indianapolis, IN, Nashville, TN, Macon, GA, and Renton, WA, respectively, so we're not talking about MY publishers here). Although my publishers were located elsewhere, I have been involved with NY publishers who were advertisers in magazines I published or associated with me through my former membership in SFWA.
I thought this book was setting itself up as a black comedy, but it proved to have more overt comic elements than I originally expected. I don't think the "thriller" or "mystery" elements are as strong here as they are in the Jury series by the same author, but it was well worth reading and worth more than a couple of chuckles (which I cannot reveal without moving into spoiler territory).
At times, the characters seemed stereotypical. The book publisher as amoral consumer/repackager of intellectual property would certainly not have been a difficult stretch for any published writer. The "author's" editor versus the "mere" acquisitions editor seemed almost cliche'. I've seen a little bit of both in every editor, but I can't imagine too many people in the business that didn't care about the business (I'm not talking about some of the weasels in marketing and sales, however.). And one of the many gangsters who populate this world of publishing (no surprise to anyone who has read Kenneth C. Davis' Two Bit Culture: The Paperbacking of America) seems to be a more ruthless descendant of some Damon Runyon story crossbred with Mario Puzo.
Fortunately, there is a team of hit-men in the book where both may be drawn with rather more bold strokes than you'd expect, but they are both amusing and interesting. Even better, as the book progressed, I put aside my initial skepticism and enjoyed the ride.
I thought the denouement was marvelous, though portions were telegraphed ahead faster than the "wire" scam in The Sting. Even though that was the case, though, I truly believe Foul Matter was worth the trip. I was glad to get to know the characters, even though they weren't quite as "real" or "endearing" as those in the Jury series.
I thought this book was setting itself up as a black comedy, but it proved to have more overt comic elements than I originally expected. I don't think the "thriller" or "mystery" elements are as strong here as they are in the Jury series by the same author, but it was well worth reading and worth more than a couple of chuckles (which I cannot reveal without moving into spoiler territory).
At times, the characters seemed stereotypical. The book publisher as amoral consumer/repackager of intellectual property would certainly not have been a difficult stretch for any published writer. The "author's" editor versus the "mere" acquisitions editor seemed almost cliche'. I've seen a little bit of both in every editor, but I can't imagine too many people in the business that didn't care about the business (I'm not talking about some of the weasels in marketing and sales, however.). And one of the many gangsters who populate this world of publishing (no surprise to anyone who has read Kenneth C. Davis' Two Bit Culture: The Paperbacking of America) seems to be a more ruthless descendant of some Damon Runyon story crossbred with Mario Puzo.
Fortunately, there is a team of hit-men in the book where both may be drawn with rather more bold strokes than you'd expect, but they are both amusing and interesting. Even better, as the book progressed, I put aside my initial skepticism and enjoyed the ride.
I thought the denouement was marvelous, though portions were telegraphed ahead faster than the "wire" scam in The Sting. Even though that was the case, though, I truly believe Foul Matter was worth the trip. I was glad to get to know the characters, even though they weren't quite as "real" or "endearing" as those in the Jury series.
July 22, 2022
This is a true 3.5 for me; both 3 stars and 4 stars seem wrong. I went with 3 stars because I can't say that I "really liked" this book, though I did enjoy it well enough--I did, in fact, even laugh out loud a few times.
I was describing the plot of this book to my husband (!) and he commented that it sounded a bit like Fargo. It's a satire of the publishing industry; a bestselling author is switching publishers and has as a condition of his contract that the new publisher break its contract with one of their more prestigious, award-winning authors. The publisher decides the best way to handle this would be not to come up with a reason to tear up the contract, but instead to hire hit men to kill the author. Hijinks, naturally, ensue.
Parts of the book are fun; the hit men hired are a treat (it looks like the sequel to this book focuses on them), and the Pittsburgh sequence is a hoot. I also loved the detail of The Old Hotel, a restaurant who only lets certain people eat there. The book also moves incredibly quickly, and Grimes did a good job of drawing me in and powering me through.
However, there are just too many characters and the plot is a bit too convoluted. I also got annoyed at Grimes's names of some fictional publishers; I don't even know that she was trying to be clever (including the word "Dreck" in the name of one). But the book is pretty enjoyable and overall a fun read.
I was describing the plot of this book to my husband (!) and he commented that it sounded a bit like Fargo. It's a satire of the publishing industry; a bestselling author is switching publishers and has as a condition of his contract that the new publisher break its contract with one of their more prestigious, award-winning authors. The publisher decides the best way to handle this would be not to come up with a reason to tear up the contract, but instead to hire hit men to kill the author. Hijinks, naturally, ensue.
Parts of the book are fun; the hit men hired are a treat (it looks like the sequel to this book focuses on them), and the Pittsburgh sequence is a hoot. I also loved the detail of The Old Hotel, a restaurant who only lets certain people eat there. The book also moves incredibly quickly, and Grimes did a good job of drawing me in and powering me through.
However, there are just too many characters and the plot is a bit too convoluted. I also got annoyed at Grimes's names of some fictional publishers; I don't even know that she was trying to be clever (including the word "Dreck" in the name of one). But the book is pretty enjoyable and overall a fun read.
December 22, 2010
I understand the need to expand your repitoire as an author, but I was extremely dissapointed with thsi book. It was dark, slow and boring. One of the things I like most about Martha Grimes' books are her well thought out, interesting assortment of characters, but I felt this book had none of that.
Read
August 29, 2024I could not finish this book.
June 14, 2022
I've read a lot of Martha Grimes' mysteries but none of those are anything like this one. It's more like Lucky Jim, except it's set in the publishing world rather than academia. (Caveat, I haven't read Lucky Jim in 50 years, so I might be misremembering it.) It's funny, more literary than mystery, and it's full of bizarre characters and situations.
Bestselling author Paul Giverny decides to change publishing houses, but he imposes a condition on the highbrow place he chooses: they have to dump their best, most literary, author, Ned Isaly. Slimy Bobby MacKenzie, the guy in charge, decides this means have Ned killed, not take the easy route of finding a way out of the contract. They've published a mobster's memoir, so they have the connections, but the guys they hire have their own ideas. I loved Karl and Candy and their discussions of the relative merits of Ned's book and Paul's latest, which they decide they need to read to help them decide whether to do the job or return the money to slimy Bobby MacKenzie.
The story switches around between Clive, the editor Bobby gets to carry out his plan; Ned, who's near the end of his new book and wandering around having imaginary conversations with his heroine; the hitmen Karl and Candy; and various minor characters like Saul, another highbrow author, and Sally, an editorial assistant who overhears some of the plotting and of course misunderstands everything. By the time Ned goes off to visit Pittsburgh, his home town, he has a full-blown entourage of followers including Karl and Candy, Clive, Sally, Saul, another hitman hired as a bodyguard, and a private investigator named Blaze Pascal.
There's a coffeehouse called Swill where everyone hangs out at one time or another, an exclusive restaurant called the Old Hotel that has unfathomable rules about who can and can't get a reservation, and a park overlooked by Ned's apartment where his long-suffering heroine Nathalie sits and pines for her married lover. There's also a hilarious bit about Jimmy, a poet/agent, and his trial weekend at a fancy writing retreat in the woods.
It's strange and it definitely had a slow start but once I had a handle on the characters and situations it moved quickly. If I knew anything about the publishing industry I'd probably have enjoyed it even more. It has a cynical edge, no doubt because of the author's extensive experience with the industry, and also a reverence for the magic of writing when the author isn't hell-bent on hitting the bestseller list.
Bestselling author Paul Giverny decides to change publishing houses, but he imposes a condition on the highbrow place he chooses: they have to dump their best, most literary, author, Ned Isaly. Slimy Bobby MacKenzie, the guy in charge, decides this means have Ned killed, not take the easy route of finding a way out of the contract. They've published a mobster's memoir, so they have the connections, but the guys they hire have their own ideas. I loved Karl and Candy and their discussions of the relative merits of Ned's book and Paul's latest, which they decide they need to read to help them decide whether to do the job or return the money to slimy Bobby MacKenzie.
The story switches around between Clive, the editor Bobby gets to carry out his plan; Ned, who's near the end of his new book and wandering around having imaginary conversations with his heroine; the hitmen Karl and Candy; and various minor characters like Saul, another highbrow author, and Sally, an editorial assistant who overhears some of the plotting and of course misunderstands everything. By the time Ned goes off to visit Pittsburgh, his home town, he has a full-blown entourage of followers including Karl and Candy, Clive, Sally, Saul, another hitman hired as a bodyguard, and a private investigator named Blaze Pascal.
There's a coffeehouse called Swill where everyone hangs out at one time or another, an exclusive restaurant called the Old Hotel that has unfathomable rules about who can and can't get a reservation, and a park overlooked by Ned's apartment where his long-suffering heroine Nathalie sits and pines for her married lover. There's also a hilarious bit about Jimmy, a poet/agent, and his trial weekend at a fancy writing retreat in the woods.
It's strange and it definitely had a slow start but once I had a handle on the characters and situations it moved quickly. If I knew anything about the publishing industry I'd probably have enjoyed it even more. It has a cynical edge, no doubt because of the author's extensive experience with the industry, and also a reverence for the magic of writing when the author isn't hell-bent on hitting the bestseller list.
July 19, 2023
I first read this book some years ago, but was prompted to re-read it after another novel about the publishing industry. It’s a real switch from Ms. Grimes’ usual British mysteries, but it does have its moments!
I particularly liked the long scene with so many characters do-si-do-ing through the streets of Pittsburgh, with ice cream and occasional gunfire. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Now I think I have to queue up the author’s The Way of All Fish.
I particularly liked the long scene with so many characters do-si-do-ing through the streets of Pittsburgh, with ice cream and occasional gunfire. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Now I think I have to queue up the author’s The Way of All Fish.
November 7, 2012
The back of the book promises an "evil-minded satire of the venal, not to say murderous, practices of the New York publishing industry." That seemed just the thing for a gloomy, rainy end of the weekend. It will be interesting to see what I think of this book by Grimes. The last one I tried that did not feature Richard Jury (The End of the Pier) left me sadly disappointed. I much preferred her treatment of England to that particular American foray. Starting with an open mind....
*****
Part I
Foul Matter is turning out to be quite different from Martha Grimes' other books. I see the humor and satire....but what I'm really tuning into is the focus on the past. Ned Isaly, one of the primary characters, seems to me to be almost obsessed with the idea. In one scene he is contemplating the past and thinks: "The past--there was hardly anything it wasn't or couldn't be. It could aim straight as an arrow, or walk like a drunken lout, cavort, dissemble, deceive, seduce: anything to be let in." And later when he is visiting his friend, who has a legacy of several generations living in one house, they contemplate the portraits of the ancestors gazing down on them and Saul (his friend) decides that Ned has "cracked the code" of the past. But in truth--so far--neither of them have done so. One lives with the past and one dwells on the past, but neither have come to the understanding they seek.
*****
Part II
While this is, indeed, a funny book and a terrific send-up of the publishing industry, I'm still caught up in what I found to be a running theme: the past. Ned and Saul both spend a lot of time thinking about this subject. Saul says about himself, "I live in a houseful of artifacts. It's drenched in the past. I never change anything, beyond turning a desk around so that it faces a window. I want it to stay the same." Ned feels like he's lost the past--in part because he "lost" his parents when he was young. "He wished he hadn't been so careless of the past....His parents had died within a year of each other, and he was orphaned. Everyone made sure he was aware of this particular disgrace, as if he'd been careless with his parents as well as with the past and now look what had happened." Grimes makes some very good observations about how the past can haunt us or envelop us or even weigh us down...I do wish she had brought it to some kind of closure in the final chapters, though. She seemed to abandon the theme....perhaps losing it like Ned "lost" his parents.
*****
Funny! The scenes on the streets of Pittsburgh alone are worth it. But I was also taken with her running theme on the past. Didn't make as much of it as she could have...but she made some very good observations.
These observations were originally published on my blog (click above). Please request permission before reposting. thanks.
*****
Part I
Foul Matter is turning out to be quite different from Martha Grimes' other books. I see the humor and satire....but what I'm really tuning into is the focus on the past. Ned Isaly, one of the primary characters, seems to me to be almost obsessed with the idea. In one scene he is contemplating the past and thinks: "The past--there was hardly anything it wasn't or couldn't be. It could aim straight as an arrow, or walk like a drunken lout, cavort, dissemble, deceive, seduce: anything to be let in." And later when he is visiting his friend, who has a legacy of several generations living in one house, they contemplate the portraits of the ancestors gazing down on them and Saul (his friend) decides that Ned has "cracked the code" of the past. But in truth--so far--neither of them have done so. One lives with the past and one dwells on the past, but neither have come to the understanding they seek.
*****
Part II
While this is, indeed, a funny book and a terrific send-up of the publishing industry, I'm still caught up in what I found to be a running theme: the past. Ned and Saul both spend a lot of time thinking about this subject. Saul says about himself, "I live in a houseful of artifacts. It's drenched in the past. I never change anything, beyond turning a desk around so that it faces a window. I want it to stay the same." Ned feels like he's lost the past--in part because he "lost" his parents when he was young. "He wished he hadn't been so careless of the past....His parents had died within a year of each other, and he was orphaned. Everyone made sure he was aware of this particular disgrace, as if he'd been careless with his parents as well as with the past and now look what had happened." Grimes makes some very good observations about how the past can haunt us or envelop us or even weigh us down...I do wish she had brought it to some kind of closure in the final chapters, though. She seemed to abandon the theme....perhaps losing it like Ned "lost" his parents.
*****
Funny! The scenes on the streets of Pittsburgh alone are worth it. But I was also taken with her running theme on the past. Didn't make as much of it as she could have...but she made some very good observations.
These observations were originally published on my blog (click above). Please request permission before reposting. thanks.
May 19, 2023
Martha Grimes war mir bislang eher als Krimiautorin bekannt, deswegen war ich auch positiv überrascht als sich die Geschichte als Gangsterkomödie entpuppte. Getreu dem Motto: So phantasievoll wie das Leben kann eine erfundene Geschichte gar nicht sein, beschließt der Bestsellerautor Paul Giverney ein Experiment zu starten. Im ganzen Verlagswesen ist bekannt das er sich einen neuen Verlag suchen möchte und natürlich will jeder diese goldene Kuh melken. Der Autor knüpft an seine Unterschrift unter den Vertrag jedoch die Bedingung, sein Schriftstellerkollege Ned Isaly in Verlagskreisen unmöglich zu machen. Womit er nicht gerechnet hat, war der skrupellose Verleger. Denn dieser heuert das Gangsterduo Karl und Candy an. Zum Glück aller Beteiligten haben die beiden aber ihre Prinzipien und bringen nur Leute um, die es auch verdient haben. Da Paul Giverney es jetzt mit der Angst bekommen hat, angesichts dessen was er mit seiner Forderung losgetreten hat, engagiert auch er einen Gangster um zu verhindern das Isaly letzten Endes doch getötet wird. Doch sie sind nicht die Einzigen die den introvertierten Schriftsteller beschatten. Schon bald folgen ihm mehrere Personen, alle aus unterschiedlichen Gründen. Der Einzige der sich dem Wirbel um seine Person nicht bewusst ist, ist die Zielperson selbst. Er lebt in seinen Romanen und hadert mit seinen Figuren, der ganze Rummel um ihn entgeht ihm völlig.
Durch die ersten einhundert Seiten habe ich mich zugegebenermaßen gequält, die Geschichte wollte einfach nicht in Gang kommen, aber je weiter ich eintauchte desto lustiger wurden die Verwicklungen. Der Verleger wird zum Gangster und die Gangster zu Literaturexperten Alles beginnt mit scheinbar parallelen Handlungssträngen um einzelne Charaktere die dann gegen Ende alle in einem Punkt zusammenlaufen und in der absurden Verfolgung des Schriftstellers enden. Wenn man sich einmal von der Idee verabschiedet, einen Krimi lesen zu wollen, ist dieser Roman richtig unterhaltsam, vor allem durch die Charaktere von Karl und Candy, die Verbrecher mit Gewissen. Eine wirklich amüsante Geschichte, über die Untiefen und Abgründe der Literaturkreise, in der sich fast jeder berufen fühlt ein Buch zu schreiben.
Durch die ersten einhundert Seiten habe ich mich zugegebenermaßen gequält, die Geschichte wollte einfach nicht in Gang kommen, aber je weiter ich eintauchte desto lustiger wurden die Verwicklungen. Der Verleger wird zum Gangster und die Gangster zu Literaturexperten Alles beginnt mit scheinbar parallelen Handlungssträngen um einzelne Charaktere die dann gegen Ende alle in einem Punkt zusammenlaufen und in der absurden Verfolgung des Schriftstellers enden. Wenn man sich einmal von der Idee verabschiedet, einen Krimi lesen zu wollen, ist dieser Roman richtig unterhaltsam, vor allem durch die Charaktere von Karl und Candy, die Verbrecher mit Gewissen. Eine wirklich amüsante Geschichte, über die Untiefen und Abgründe der Literaturkreise, in der sich fast jeder berufen fühlt ein Buch zu schreiben.
October 24, 2016
Well, I read, and I read, and I read. This book about the down & dirty of the book publishing business should have been captivating. Paul Giverny, a popular, sought-after, headline-and-money-making author chooses a low-on-the-totem-pole publisher for his next book with the caveat that the company drop one of its serious intellectual, but non-selling authors, Ned Isaly, and designate Isaly's editor to Giverny. In order to fulfill Giverny's request, the company's head orders Clive ??? to look up one of their former authors, a mafia informant, and have him find someone to do away with Isaly. After two days of wading through, I just didn't care any more. I flipped past 3/4 of the book & easily picked up the story line for a couple of pages, then to the end to discover that Giverny made the request in order to see just how far a publishing company would go to get a best selling author, albeit with no idea that it would be that far! Maybe an interesing plot, but the reading was entirely too dull.
November 18, 2010
"The shadows were turning into night. She tried to see her future; it was full of blank pages. They fluttered away like the pages of a calendar in a film, dated buy empty."
"Think not, because I wonder where you fled,
That I would lift a pin to see you there;
You may, for me, be prowling anywhere,
So long as you show not your little head:
No dark and evil story of the dead
Would leave you less pernicious or less fair—
Not even Lilith, with her famous hair;
And Lilith was the devil, I have read.
I cannot hate you, for I loved you then.
The woods were golden then. There was a road
Through beeches; and I said their smooth feet showed
Like yours. Truth must have heard me from afar,
For I shall never have to learn again
That yours are cloven as no beech’s are. "
"Another Dark Lady" - Edwin Arlington Robinson
"Think not, because I wonder where you fled,
That I would lift a pin to see you there;
You may, for me, be prowling anywhere,
So long as you show not your little head:
No dark and evil story of the dead
Would leave you less pernicious or less fair—
Not even Lilith, with her famous hair;
And Lilith was the devil, I have read.
I cannot hate you, for I loved you then.
The woods were golden then. There was a road
Through beeches; and I said their smooth feet showed
Like yours. Truth must have heard me from afar,
For I shall never have to learn again
That yours are cloven as no beech’s are. "
"Another Dark Lady" - Edwin Arlington Robinson
March 15, 2020
What a pleasant surprise! I bought this book expecting another Richard Jury police procedural. It must have sat on my to-read shelf for 10 years. When it finally made it to the top of the pile, I was disappointed to discover a story about the New York publishing biz. But before long I found myself in the middle of a Keystone Cops comedy about a clueless author being pursued by a couple hilarious hit men, a wanna-be girlfriend, a strikingly gorgeous detective, a hit man hired to hit the hit men, another author and a bungling editor. They all collide in a moment to die for -- though nobody dies. I'll admit it spends a little more time on internal monologues than I would like, though some of that is the point of the book to make fun of authors stuck in people's heads. And the ending leaves a few threads dangling. But I sure had fun reading it.
January 28, 2014
Quite a let down. This book was mentioned in the NYTimes Book Review's mystery column as excellent satire on the publishing industry. To me, it did not even come close to that mark. It probably was a lot more fun for Grimes to write than it was for me to read.
The plot is silly without being funny, and the characters are caricatures without much appeal. The writing is far below the level Grimes maintains in the Richard Jury series. This book does not even make it to the "engaging beach reading" category for me, though it is indeed a fast read. The book's most redeeming quality is pretty cool typography and book design, and an eye-friendly text quality.
A much more effective satire on publishing is "Publish and Be Murdered" by Ruth Dudley Edwards, by the way.
The plot is silly without being funny, and the characters are caricatures without much appeal. The writing is far below the level Grimes maintains in the Richard Jury series. This book does not even make it to the "engaging beach reading" category for me, though it is indeed a fast read. The book's most redeeming quality is pretty cool typography and book design, and an eye-friendly text quality.
A much more effective satire on publishing is "Publish and Be Murdered" by Ruth Dudley Edwards, by the way.
Read
July 14, 2008Yeah, I'm giving up on this one too. It's been sitting on my bedside table for weeks, and recently my wife pointed out that the bookmark is still somewhere within the first 30 pages or so. Apparently the only books I can finish lately are tiny ones on pop music. 130 pages or fewer, if possible.
One of my issues with this book is the same that I had with the movie "State & Main" -- it's a bit too "insiderish" for me. I assume that if you're a writer, or want to be a writer, you might find this skewering of the NY publishing world to be simply delicious or something. But otherwise it might seem a little boring. Meh.
One of my issues with this book is the same that I had with the movie "State & Main" -- it's a bit too "insiderish" for me. I assume that if you're a writer, or want to be a writer, you might find this skewering of the NY publishing world to be simply delicious or something. But otherwise it might seem a little boring. Meh.
November 1, 2009
I dipped a tentative toe into the murky waters of genre fiction, Grimes coming highly recommended by three smart, well-read friends, and--whaddya know!--I'm now swimming happily along. This is my third Grimes book. I started with Dakota, with its poignant animal rights subtext; then a random Richard jury mystery, The Dirty Duck, a yellowed mass market paperback of which one of said friends dug up for me--vastly entertaining!--and then this one, which you might say is to publishing as James Hynes is to academe. Candy and Karl the principled hit men are in themselves worth the investment of valuable reading time. Next up: Hotel Paradise.
March 12, 2012
I really didn't enjoy this book. I think the author thought she was being a lot funnier, a lot more clever, than she was. This is a satire on big NY publishing houses and writers, which I thought I'd love since I work in the publishing industry. Not at all, however. Most of the characters were detestable, Grimes made a big deal over little details that didn't advance the plot or deepen characters (including some nonsense about kids playing in the park with a ball and multiple characters saying they're playing soccer, but they would have called it kickball when they were kids--kickball is like baseball but you kick the ball, and soccer isn't anything like that).
May 21, 2014
I've read most of Martha Grimes Richard Jury novels and truly enjoyed them. I wasn't expecting this novel to be like them, because the story line in this book was so different from them. The story line in Foul Matter is interesting, but the execution of the plot was ploddingly dull. I kept waiting for "a sharp, satisfying caper", which is one of the praises on the back cover. I had a couple of
laugh out loud moments, but that just wasn't enough to compensate for pages of uninspired writing. The book just didn't draw me in so that I wanted to pick it up to read it, although I did force myself to read it to the end.
laugh out loud moments, but that just wasn't enough to compensate for pages of uninspired writing. The book just didn't draw me in so that I wanted to pick it up to read it, although I did force myself to read it to the end.
June 16, 2018
I am surprised at the low ratings this book received. If it had been written in the 1930's, a screenwriter would have turned this into a screwball comedy by developing a stronger relationship between Ned and Sally. In the 1960's, this could have been filmed as a multi-star farce along the lines of "Clue." Unfortunately, Grimes' marketing people gazed at their own navel and hyped it as a skewering of the publishing industry. Really, the setting could have been politics or any business in which gossip and backstabbing count as billable hours.
August 26, 2008
Excellent novel tho unusual for Grimes. The plot is interesting and the characters range from meloncholy to hilarious. The only objection is th continuous foul language. The "f-word" is on almost every page.
November 19, 2016
Abandoned. So many snide comments and in-jokes about the publishing world. Seemed petty and mean-spirited. Plus I'm 93 pages in and can't figure out who's who and why I should care. Might make a good dark comedy movie though.
October 5, 2019
Loved this book! Yes, it was different than her usual, but not negatively at all. I see so many who didn't enjoy it and I am wondering if they would've enjoyed it more had they listened to the audiobook. The reader is excellent and does the hitmen's Brooklyn accent perfectly.
July 22, 2017
I love this new series, unusually funny hit men making the world right. Martha Grimes is always a good read.
April 16, 2021
I LOVED it. (Try to save 5 stars for the literary high blazers.) Having spent hundreds of hours on Grimes's Richard Jury series--early books wonderful, then a sag, then back to superb--I was most interested in a novel set in NYC's publishing world. And then I got hooked on the names:
Authors: Saul and Paul, Dwight Staines, Jamie Flynn (female, writer in MULTIPLE series, romance, mystery, etc.)
Publishers: Mackenzie-Haack (Just go with how they sound), Queeg & Hyde, Grunge, DreckSneed and American Dreck, Inc. (my favorite), Bludenraven and Fritz Pearls.
Agents: Mort Durban (think of Morte d'Arthur)
Writer hang-outs: Swills, The Old Hotel
Hit men: Candy and Karl (remember the uncle ghosts in Casper the Friendly? Candy and Karl are 2 of them, in person), Arthur Mordred, Blaze Pascal (she's female with really red hair), Danny Zito.
I have omitted the names of the good guys in the interest of spoilers--and a few of the really bad guys.
Not even going to get into plot development. If those names don't send you straight to the library or your local independent bookstore...well, I'm sorry, Martha Grimes. I failed you. And I'm going for The Way of All Fish, #2 in the series.
Authors: Saul and Paul, Dwight Staines, Jamie Flynn (female, writer in MULTIPLE series, romance, mystery, etc.)
Publishers: Mackenzie-Haack (Just go with how they sound), Queeg & Hyde, Grunge, DreckSneed and American Dreck, Inc. (my favorite), Bludenraven and Fritz Pearls.
Agents: Mort Durban (think of Morte d'Arthur)
Writer hang-outs: Swills, The Old Hotel
Hit men: Candy and Karl (remember the uncle ghosts in Casper the Friendly? Candy and Karl are 2 of them, in person), Arthur Mordred, Blaze Pascal (she's female with really red hair), Danny Zito.
I have omitted the names of the good guys in the interest of spoilers--and a few of the really bad guys.
Not even going to get into plot development. If those names don't send you straight to the library or your local independent bookstore...well, I'm sorry, Martha Grimes. I failed you. And I'm going for The Way of All Fish, #2 in the series.
February 22, 2022
Fair warning I love the Richard Jury series by this author so I was naturally pre-disposed to like this series right off the bat. That being said, I loved it! The plot sucked me in right away in a "what the heck is going on here" kind of way. The two hitmen with a conscience were my favorite characters. I'm about to read the 2nd book in the series and I hope they are the characters that carry through....wait, is it weird I finished the book but dont know who the "main character" was? I don't know if I've ever read a book and had that happen before! On to the next!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2024
Martha Grimes is the author of the Richard Jury mystery series set in London and the English countryside, mostly (definitely start at the beginning and a must read!). She also has a smaller series set in the U.S. with lead character, pre-teen Emma Graham who accidentally solves old mysteries. "Foul Matter" is about the book publishing business and set in New York City. It is funny and fun to read. It's very different from her other books, but that doesn't detract. There is also a sequel. All of Martha Grimes' books are wonderful reads.
October 14, 2023
Foul Matter has a very unique, creative plot set primarily in New York City. It is a satire about the American book publishing industry. Unfortunately, the book tends to plod along through 370+ pages. Other readers mentioned Grimes' detective series is much more enjoyable. I will try those. Best quote from the book: "The public doesn't control anything. They are controlled by whomever or whatever blows the strongest wind their way."
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