The narrator of this edgy, Jim Thompson-like thriller slaughters an apparent stranger after they argue over who killed a deer in the northern Wisconsin woods. But when playwright Andrew Neville rouses himself from his homicidal stupor, he mentions his murder victim's name, revealing to the reader that there may have been a method to his madness all along. Back in Chicago, Neville confesses the murder to his lawyer, recalling that he used to know the dead man, successful TV writer John Dempsey, years before when they were both part of a Chicago theater group. After attending Dempsey's funeral, Neville slowly takes over the dead writer's life, building a relationship with his wife, Clara, and his son, Dante. He takes up residence on their California estate and even changes his appearance to look like Dempsey. Faust deliberately keeps the narration untrustworthy, generating suspense by forcing the reader to question Neville's version of events. There's no suspense, though, in figuring out how Neville is going to deal with Roland Scheiss, the obnoxious PI who's trying to prove that Neville and Clara murdered Dempsey together. When Neville discovers himself as a character in a play that Dempsey was working on when he died, the narrative turns pretentious rather than properly spooky and portentous, with the promising creepiness of the beginning giving way to lackluster questioning about Neville's possible psychopathy. Despite being carried partway by good, clean writing and some strong scenes, the tortured protagonist of this noir tale winds up sleepwalking through his descent into hell. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Sometime playwright Andrew Neville brutally murders a fellow writer in a peculiar hunting incident. He then proceeds to assume his victim's persona. Neville leaves his Chicago condo and insinuates himself into the lives of the victim's wife and child with the offer of help at a time of tragedy. As he sifts through personal effects and papers, he becomes more and more like the late John Dempsey, wearing his clothes, adopting his hairstyle, and falling in love with the widowed Claudia. Only the disgusting gumshoe hired by Dempsey's parents seems to suspect the truth, but he soon becomes victim number two. Neville proceeds to complete Dempsey's unfinished play, proposes marriage to Claudia, and plans a romantic life in Italy. Yet, ultimately, he finds that crime does not pay. Faust (Lord of the Dark Lake, Forge, 1996), a former pro baseball player, has crafted a tidy Hitchcockian tale that will be widely enjoyed. Recommended.‘Susan Gene Clifford, Palos Verdes Lib. Dist., Rolling Hills Estates, Cal. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The talented Faust has written another stunning crime novel, conjuring up a plot of dark and nightmarish irony. Failed playwright Andrew Neville borrows a friend's remote cabin for a get-away-from-it-all weekend and decides to play he-man. But his borrowed bow and arrows become a deadly weapon when he encounters a lone hunter, and the two argue over a deer carcass. Neville kills the man, then conceals the crime. The victim turns out to be John Dempsey, a much changed friend from Neville's long-ago theater days. Dempsey soon becomes Neville's obsession; Neville attends his funeral, woos his beautiful widow, moves onto his estate, borrows his clothes, and even reworks a stage play Dempsey was writing. But the guilt over his crime eats away at Neville, and worse, a seedy detective smells a rat. Faust crafts an imaginative, provocative plot and fills his pages with characters who are at once familiar and terrifying. A thought-provoking, suspenseful, satisfying book that will stimulate readers' brains as well as quicken their pulses. --Emily Melton