Drawn by sheer possibility and that magic, golden-hour light of Los Angeles, Zoe Ann Weiss moves from London to California when she gets her two-book-deal break. It鈥檚 that Hollywood allure that also prompts her to accept an invitation from a famous actor on her 30th birthday, sparking a string of events that leads her to inspiration 鈥� and desperation.
In reality, this is Australian author Pip Drysdale鈥檚 fifth book. In this fictional world, 鈥淭he Close-Up鈥� is written as Zoe鈥檚 overdue sophomore book, inspired by the things she sees and experiences now that she has access to celebrity life via Zach Hamilton, an old flame who made his big break as an action star and was recently dubbed sexiest man alive.
The book's title and the fact that both the real author and her fictional character are thriller writers are about as far as the similarities go 鈥� fortunately for Drysdale, as her character finds herself running into worse luck and more dangerous secrets than she ever could have anticipated.
Because when the press leaks that Zach has a new love interest, the hate comes unrelenting.
Zoe soon finds herself the target of a stalker who seems to be following the plot of her debut novel 鈥� the one in which a human heart is left on the protagonist鈥檚 windshield and the main character dies in the end. She could just walk away and hope this all blows over, but Zoe needs to deliver the manuscript for her second book yesterday, and every scary thing that happens to her becomes fodder for her new novel. Each sexy, scandalous detail of Zach鈥檚 life and their romance can be catalogued and used, if she can blur the lines enough to get around the non-disclosure agreement and not ruin the good thing she has going with him.
All the while, LA nudges her, almost a character itself. The city鈥檚 influence is undeniable and persistent, persuasive in its ability to make your dreams come true even if, as the narrator notes, odds are you won鈥檛 make it there.
Combined with the present-tense, first-person perspective quintessential of thrillers, Drysdale drives up suspense by leaning heavily on the foreshadowing and fourth-wall breaking, particularly early on before things really pick up speed.
An unforeseeable penultimate reveal follows a rapid-fire, late-stage progression of twists and turns that would leave your head spinning if Drysdale wasn鈥檛 so skillfully keeping track of all the criss-crossing threads.
Everything is explained in the end in a bold but gratifying plot-dump 鈥� a relief after all the buildup. Because it's not so much about the plot points as much as it is about the underlying theme that calls into question the impact of a person's life and actions. What makes 鈥淭he Close-Up鈥� compelling is Zoe鈥檚 constant struggle with her legacy, with taking agency in her life and making it meaningful, weighing her career versus her relationships.
鈥淭he Close-Up鈥� checks many boxes: steamy, suspenseful, surprising, meta. But it鈥檚 Drysdale鈥檚 momentous writing and underlying musings that really drive this novel home.
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AP book reviews:
Donna Edwards, The Associated Press
