Backstory

Backstory is a compelling page-turner about the perils of trying to rewrite one's personal narrative. Starting with a dramatic night of six tight-knit friends studying at Dublin's Trinity College, the story explores how secrets never stay buried and the past is never truly past. Beginning with cad Ansel Tone, a rock star among historians, and frustrated novelist Charlie Piedmont, each character is complicated, flawed and human. Ansel is a womanizer who sleeps with students and plagiarizes their work; Charlie marries Ansel's girlfriend from Trinity and decides to base his next novel on winning the girl. That kicks off an escalating series of infidelities, manipulation and lies about the past and eventually murder. Through deft writing and clever plot complications, Backstory compares the theme of rewriting the past to the concept of “fake news.” Lies pile upon lies, ensnaring Ansel and Charlie and their ex-classmates, along with the detectives searching for the truth.

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“a smart, fast-paced, edgy whodunnit/ whodiditagain that keeps the reader guessing until the very end” - BookLife Prize Critic’s Report

"An original and deftly crafted novel that is an inherently riveting read from cover to cover, "Backstory" showcases author William Michael Ried's genuine flair for the kind of narrative storytelling style that brings his characters to life and holds the reader's rapt attention from first page to last." - Midwest Book Review

"Backstory is an “exciting thriller…that compares rewriting the past to bolster one's own narrative to the concept of fake news,” as a series of “betrayals, alliances, lies, and secrets show how the past is never truly past.” – BookLife Reviews