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Focus Lost

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The line between passion and obsession runs through us all.

Levi Combs never planned to rocket to stardom.

Eva Florez knew he would the moment she saw him.

Gabe Adams didn’t want anything to do with celebrities.

But after Gabe’s sister sells his photos of Levi with a young starlet to a tabloid website, their lives become intertwined forever, bound by rage and retribution.








Blending the nuance and insight of literary fiction with the big-screen magic of a Hollywood thriller, Focus Lost whisks readers into a world of temptation, indulgence, and revenge, daring them to take a bite of the forbidden fruit.

239 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 16, 2019

2 people are currently reading
981 people want to read

About the author

Doug Cooper

4 books59 followers
I love peanut butter. I mean most people do, but I eat-it-out-of-the-jar-with-a-spoon love it. I also am one of those people who loves both math and reading and writing and has a constant right/left brain battle for control going on. Maybe some day, one of the sides will win. It is quite exhausting.

Outside In was my first novel. My second, the Investment Club is about five broken people who meet at a blackjack table and discover the greatest return comes from what you contribute to others. Hmm...blackjack and fiction? Sounds like the battle wages on.

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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
Profile Image for James.
Author 20 books4,396 followers
April 7, 2020
Doug Cooper is not afraid of a challenge when it comes to his plots and characters. In his latest book, Focus Lost, due to be released next month (yes, I got an early copy!), he tackles another set of complex human emotions that many of us have experienced but usually only in the privacy of our own immediate life circle. Add the fame and fortune of the art world and Hollywood, then you're entire existence is on display for the public and your 'adoring' fans to admire, impugn, and question. And Cooper gets it all right in this intense ride.

The three central characters--Levi, Eva, and Gabe--represent the actor, the agent, and the artist. Yes, they represent a whole lot more, but in this case, we'll start there. Gabe's a photographer who accidentally takes a few photos of Levi and his 17-year-old film co-star having a romp on the beach. Given Levi's in his 30s and playing her father in the next movie, it's quite compromising. Gabe's sister sees the photos and decides to take action. Eva, Levi's agent, is called upon to find the photos. Thus, an elaborate scheme has begun, except... it actually began much further back. You'll have to read to find out what I mean by that.

All three of our main characters have siblings or parental figures who met some sort of tragedy. They're bound together in a way without knowing it. Levi's younger co-star has an odd reaction to the photos becoming public, what game is she playing? Eva plays both sides against one another, what's she truly after? Gabe appears to be innocent but makes a few less-than-proper decisions, what is really going on? Ultimately, Gabe's sister is the one we should all feel the emotional tugs for. She may have done something wrong, but it was for the right reason, and she's just a teenage girl who hasn't had enough life experience yet to know the implications of her actions. Eva should know better, but she's had some painful experiences that have taught her to look out for number one. Levi, while he's suffered, is your true stereotype of a golden boy-turned-egomaniac. But he'll surprise you with his final play near the end of the book. I wasn't expecting some of his decisions!

By now, you either love this plot or know it's not for you. I'd urge you to give it a chance as you will see a different side of life, but it also has a sentimentality running through the story and the words like a small stream that will eventually open into a large body of water. In other books I've read by Cooper, he tackles sex, drugs, and the intensity of the partying lifestyle. While there are touches of those elements in here, it's more driven by an inner desire to succeed despite what hand life has dealt you. The characters aren't very likable, but they're not meant to be. They've been jaded for years, and Cooper drops tons of memories and past events to show us what's made them who they are today. Between the author's descriptions and his actions, I felt fully engaged and connected with the characters' choices. Agreeing with them is a different thing. That's solid writing!

I found myself unable to put the book down on several occasions. Each chapter builds upon the last by showing us what's unfolding in the primary characters' mindsets. Since we follow a few of them around, we know when they're making wrong decisions based on what someone else has just done. But we can't stop them. We're drawn in at this point. We are invested. Well-crafted and clever are the two words that quickly come to mind about this book. We'd all like to say we wouldn't change when fame knocks on our door, but is that a true statement? How far would you go to protect your reputation or survive in a society that quickly shreds you for the littlest of mistakes?

Kudos to Cooper. Definitely my favorite of his books so far. I'm glad to get in early on this one and spread the word. High-recommendation!
Profile Image for Jenny Hobson.
729 reviews25 followers
April 19, 2020
Wow Doug Cooper sure knows how to suck you in on one hell of a ride! This was such a good read. Full of suspense and twists. I love how everyone's lives were tangled up and what started as something innocent turned into so much drama.
What started off as an innocent trip to a waterfall with his Co star soon turns Levi's world upside down when the pair get photographed by Gabe who is trying to make a living selling his photos to support himself and his sister. Gabe has gone out to shoot the waterfall and has no idea who has got in his shots untill his sister points out it no other than a pair of celebrities from a recent blockbuster. Things soon get messy and everyone's life will never be the same.
This book exceeded my expectations it was fast paced and I didn't want to stop once I got going. Doug really knows how to use his descriptive scene setting to his advantage as it draws you in. Loved it!
Profile Image for Chip Jacobs.
Author 14 books48 followers
October 16, 2019
Let's get this out of the way. Doug Cooper is one helluva writer. He paints his scenes and characters with just enough detail to enmesh you in the drama, but never bogs down the storyline with digressions or moralizing. Even though this is a brisk spin on John Milton's masterpiece, the plot never gets dull. In fact, I found myself on the edge of my seat to discover who'd end up dead, whether the sergeant would strike, and how the ultimate puppeteer would be revealed. The book's coda sears in your imagination that Milton himself would applaud. Focus Lost asks something profound: if we despise today's shallow, knee-jerk celebrity culture, why do we continually replenish the showbiz cycle of narcissism with our infatuations with it? Killer book.
Profile Image for Truly Trendy PR.
234 reviews2 followers
October 8, 2019
Focus Lost is a fast-paced thriller by Doug Cooper that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat! A well-written suspense filled story that pulls you in and holds your attention  until the unexpected ending. The characters are intriguing and well-written with mysterious backstories that slowly come to light at just the right time to keep you second guessing. Focus Lost is a remarkable fall read. *I received a complimentary copy form RABT Book Tours and the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.*
Profile Image for Lee.
604 reviews13 followers
September 26, 2019
Focus Lost is a great book! It's a roller coaster of a ride...full of suspense and celebrities and surprises that you don't see coming. Gabe is a photographer, out taking pictures of a beautiful waterfall, who suddenly realizes that there is two people swimming in the water. Using his zoom lens, he discovers the couple is having a private moment. He quickly stops his shooting, but not before the couple notices him. The man chases Gabe and is really angry. Gabe gets out of there, and soon finds out the people are famous. It all starts a series of events that leads to some serious craziness. The story is an adventure, with some edge-of-your-seat action that includes paparazzi, a night at the Oscars, and some pretty steamy romance. And there's even more that happens. I enjoyed the unique people in the story, and I highly recommend this book, Focus Lost.
Profile Image for Gary Lippman.
2 reviews
October 21, 2019
Having written richly imagined contenders for The Great American Drug Novel (Outside In) and The Great American Las Vegas Novel (The Investment Club), Douglas Cooper is now bazooka’ing his way into Hollywood with his superb new novel Focus Lost. Longtime Cooper fans will be thrilled by Focus’s downright decadent and always compelling tale, which is so relevant to our star-obsessed 2019 that it hurts. From their variously tragic pasts to their surprising yet inevitable and morally complex fates, all of the characters ring true. The term “page turner” is a cliché, of course, but here it’s apt.
Profile Image for Seraphia Bunny.
2,115 reviews34 followers
September 27, 2019
Focus Lost by Doug Cooper is a suspense novel that brings together a myriad of characters and situations that escalates to tragedy. This is the first book that I have read by this author and overall I enjoyed it. The author gives me an actor, Levi Combs, who makes one bad mistake after another after another. It's like he's bent on destroying his career and refusing to accept responsibility for his actions that lead to this point. But trust me...nothing is what it seems in this story. Almost everyone is out for themselves in the cutthroat industry that exists in Hollywood.
Levi was once a down-home guy from a small town, but when he makes it big then his ego goes off the rails. His decision to hook up with his 17-year-old co-star is the one decision that sets in motion a chain reaction of events that one by one deems to doom him. Gabe is both innocent and complicit in this downward spiral. He witnesses Levi and his young co-star and instead of stopping taking pictures he continues to do so and more. He could have chosen to delete them when he saw things become intimate, but instead, he chose to take more and more. The variety of characters and situations that they face keep this story moving at a decent pace which keeps it engaging.
The suspense and drama elements are well done in this which helps keep me interested, but I'm disappointed in how certain plot holes are conveniently ignored. The author works very hard to make the characters and story feel as real as possible, but in some elements falls short. I feel that the author has Gabe be too soft towards his sister. Maybe he's had no reason not to trust her before, but when she reveals who it is that he has taken pictures of he should have done his part to secure the pictures to prevent the fall out of problems she ends up creating. Also, I find it convenient that the author chooses to ignore the consequences that should have happened from the sale and posting of the pictures. The pictures depicted a minor in a sexual situation. That alone should have had some consequences raining down on Gabe (since his name was attached to the pictures) and/or his sister who sold them in the first place. The sister can't claim "ignorance of the law" because this is a "present-day" story so stuff like this has been all over the internet, news, etc. I feel that too much of her behavior is rewarded throughout this story. Also, the Deputy DA...he over steps more than once in his pursuit of Combs, but even he doesn't pay any consequences. I at least expected him to be put on leave for a period of time for his deceptions and at times ineptness, but it seems the author is intent on paving the way for this character to gain what it is that he is ultimately after...revenge...for the life choices his sister made on her own.
A common thread throughout this story is how each of the characters has suffered some sort of tragedy at one point in their lives. They each choose to take different paths with how this has molded them. The author gives backstory in the, generally speaking, appropriate places. The backstory helps to flesh out who the characters were before they got to where they are now.
This book has more than a few surprises written in, but in my opinion, for this book is an overall successful novel it falls short. Certain aspects of this story are ignored overall and the characters don't fully come to life like they could have. I feel that the author makes it essentially impossible for the main character, Levi, to have any type of redemption or change has he plummets down a slippery slope of destruction. The world literally falls apart all around him and in the end the truth comes out. I am rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. All in all, Levi's downfall is too straight-forward. You ultimately see each event coming, and the events play to the favor of the rest.
If you are looking for a crime/thriller/suspense novel this book is a good choice as it gives you something new and a bit twisted, but if you are hoping for a character who gets a chance at redemption you'll be disappointed. If you are looking for characters to face obstacles and make you wonder...this book won't be it either. But if you don't mind brief sex scenes, a straight road to destruction then this is the book to pick up.
Profile Image for Gina.
29 reviews
December 21, 2025
Focus Lost by Doug Cooper is a gripping, intelligent novel that masterfully explores the fragile boundary between ambition, obsession, and consequence. From its opening pages, the story pulls readers into a seductive world where fame dazzles, temptation beckons, and every choice carries a cost. Cooper’s prose is sharp and cinematic, yet layered with the emotional depth and psychological insight of literary fiction.

The intersecting lives of Levi Combs, Eva Florez, and Gabe Adams are drawn with nuance and authenticity. Levi’s meteoric rise to stardom feels both exhilarating and unsettling, while Eva’s early recognition of his potential adds an intriguing tension rooted in intuition and desire. Gabe, an unwilling participant in the celebrity machine, becomes the moral anchor of the story his resistance to fame making his eventual entanglement all the more powerful and tragic.

What truly sets Focus Lost apart is its exploration of how quickly admiration can curdle into exploitation, and how private moments become dangerous currency in a public world. The inciting incident Gabe’s sister selling compromising photos to a tabloid sparks a chain reaction of rage and retribution that is both inevitable and haunting. Cooper handles these escalating stakes with precision, never sacrificing character development for plot.

Blending Hollywood glamour with darker undercurrents of vengeance and desire, Focus Lost is as thought-provoking as it is thrilling. It challenges readers to question the price of fame and the seductive pull of forbidden choices. This is a compelling, emotionally charged novel that lingers long after the final page.
Profile Image for Beulah Jenifer.
106 reviews14 followers
October 18, 2019
Focus Lost by Doug Cooper, is a thriller with the protagonist being an Oscar award-winning actor. Levi Combs is an established Hollywood actor. On a particular day, he along with his costar Emily, a seventeen-year-old teen go on an adventure. This adventure is caught by nature photographer, Gabe Adams. When the photos taken by Gabe are leaked by his sister to the media, their lives are changed. What happens succeeding is a thrilling plot?

The characters go great with the plot. The flow in character introduction is done wholly by the author. Each character has its flaw and back story. All the characters are intervened somehow to convey the story. With excellent narration and description, the book keeps you hooked till the end.

The book cover and title go apt with the plot.

If you are looking for famous people, paparazzi, brotherhood, revenge, and so much more then, this book is for you.
Profile Image for Sandra Lopez.
Author 3 books348 followers
September 17, 2019
Levi Combs and Emily James—two up-and-coming Hollywood stars—caught being photographed in flagrante. She was one of the biggest teenage star and he…was not.

Easy to read. Various characters from the Hollywood scene are interlaced in this simple yet twisted plot. The characters have their own personal agenda. At times, I wondered what the ultimate goal was in all this. Was it to make some easy money on some cheap photographs? Was it to ruin the careers of the celebrities? Or was there something more sinister lurking here?

Although I wished there were fewer characters and the plot was quicker, story was, overall, a decent read.
Profile Image for Effy.
302 reviews2 followers
December 4, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really didn't expect to! The premise of the book is that a photographer accidentally takes photographs of two people having sex at a waterfall to later discover that they are celebrities and one of the participants is underage.

The book takes the reader on a crazy ride as events spin more and more out of control after the photographs are released and I enjoyed every moment of it.

The fact that the book is written in present tense threw me a little at first but it worked really well at building suspense.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Mariah Embry.
Author 14 books54 followers
December 25, 2019
Such a great read. This novel pulled me in as soon as I started reading it. Cooper is a genius with words and sure does know how to capture the scenery in his work. Nothing better, in my opinion, than a detailed description of nature that makes me feel like I am there. So good. Focus Lost pulled me in. I read the novel in a day because I kept needing to know what was going to happen next. I can't wait to read more of this author's work. I highly recommend it!
Profile Image for Pat Eroh.
2,618 reviews32 followers
November 17, 2019
This is an amazingly written story that had me on the edge of my seat. I certainly did not want to put the book down once I started reading. Filled with action, this compelling read is one of my favorite reads of the year.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Lisa Jenkins.
144 reviews8 followers
October 10, 2019
Thank you Netgalley and Rare Bird Books for the ARC of focus lost. This book really intrigued me. It is definitely a lot different then the books I usually read but in a good way. I really enjoyed this book full of stardom and lies and manipulation. It was a fun ride and I definitely recommend.
Profile Image for Janice Lombardo.
624 reviews8 followers
September 23, 2019
A story about two superstars who have a days' affair and learn to regret it. Emily James and Levi Combs are literally caught with their pants down. Problem is: Emily is only 17.

Gabe happens upon the two frolicking in the water - and more. An honest guy, Gabe, had to raise his teenage sister, Abbie, due to the untimely death of their parents. He is taking pictures (as he does for a living) and - not intending to - gets a few snapshots of Levi & Emily in compromising positions.

The real fun begins when Abbie sells the pics to an online tabloid for $10,000 without Abe's consent. He thinks the police should have been called, instead.
Yes, the Deputy DA has had an eye on Levi. He's a little old to be a "bad boy" but Levi already has a shaky status with law enforcement.

We weave through the lives of the haves and have nots. This story does not disappoint! I found it to be interesting and surprising all the way! Recommend!!!

Many Thanks to Rare Bird Books and NetGalley for a fine read.
Profile Image for Sophia B.
450 reviews42 followers
December 31, 2020
I really don't know how to begin my review on this one. I don't know if i can give it a star rating. It was an easy quick read but it quickly spiraled downward for me. The storyline: an innocent photographer catches famous actor Levi Combs in a compromising position with an underage actress. His sister sells the photos to the tabloids and all hell breaks loose. You follow the actor and his agent as they scramble for damage control, the underage actress, the DA that tries to build his case against Levi, and the photographer and his sister. There were a lot of players in the game to keep track of. It's definitely not your typical read! I felt that the author gave too many characters little to no redeemable qualities. I won't say more than that in case you're intrigued and choose to read it. You'll definitely be entertained by the storyline, just be forewarned there were a few disturbing moments that popped up. All in all, it seemed like it was written to be a suspenseful action movie, and it might've been successful as a movie but it just didn't work for me in a book.

I'd like to thank @booksprouts and the wonderful people over at @rarebirdlit for sending me this book for my honest review.
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