Temptation
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4.3 • 10 Ratings
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- £3.99
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
David Armitage - husband, father and failure - has lived the life of an unsuccessful screenwriter for eleven years. When one of his scripts is bought for television, David's life is transformed, more dramatically than he could have ever imagined. An overnight success and suddenly the toast of Tinseltown, David's upward trajectory finally gives him everything he had ever hoped for.
New found success means total reinvention, and initiation into the Hollywood world of high-flyers. Life for David quickly becomes a heady rush of celebrities, parties and women - but everything comes at a price. Walking out on his wife and daughter, David climbs to dizzy new heights, brimming with luxury, opulence and scandal. But before long a dark figure casts a shadow on the horizon. When an influential film director presents David with an offer, the opportunity of a lifetime - could this temptation be one that jeopardises everything David has worked for.
Enthralling, vivid and addictive, Douglas Kennedy's Temptation masterfully explores the destructive power of success,and the choices we have to make between personal gain and the people closest to our hearts.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kennedy's riveting new novel charts the changing fortunes of Hollywood screenwriter David Armitage when he crosses paths with wealthy, eccentric, and controlling film buff Phil Fleck. After years of rejection, David's loyal agent sells his television pilot for what becomes a runaway hit show. Despite his wife, Lucy, having given up her acting dreams and supported their small family during his lean years, the now successful David begins an affair with TV executive Sally Birmingham. Lucy responds by demanding a divorce and punishing him by limiting his contact with their daughter, Caitlin. Boorish financial adviser Bobby Barra introduces David to Phil, who likes toying with people and offers David $2.5 million for one of his unproduced screenplays. David, meanwhile, takes an interest in Phil's charming wife, Martha, and begins another affair. Though his good luck seems assured, David soon falls victim to a series of unfortunate events sparked by an accusation of plagiarism from vitriolic gossip columnist Theo McCall. Kennedy (Leaving the World) manages the tricky task of showing why David deserves his comeuppance, while simultaneously earning readers' sympathy.
