Temptation
A Novel
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3.9 • 12 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
From the #1 internationally bestselling author of Five Days and The Blue Hour, “a racy page-turner” (London Daily Express) about a Hollywood screenwriter whose overnight success brings about his biggest downfall.
I always wanted to be rich. I know that probably sounds crass, but it’s the truth. A true confession. Like all would-be Hollywood screenwriters, David Armitage wants to be rich and famous. But for the past eleven years, he’s tasted nothing but failure. Then, out of nowhere, big-time luck comes his way when one of his scripts is bought for television. Before you can say “overnight success,” he’s the new toast of Hollywood as the creator of a hit series. Suddenly a major player, he finds that he’s reinventing himself at a great speed, especially when it comes to walking out on his wife and daughter for a young producer who worships only at the altar of ambition.
But David’s upward mobility takes a decidedly strange turn when a billionaire film buff named Philip Fleck barges into his life, proposing a very curious collaboration. David takes the bait and suddenly finds himself inadvertently entering into a Faustian pact and an express ride to the lower depths of the Hollywood jungle.
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.
