Well written literary mystery

It is a joy to pick up a book and enjoy an excellent reading experience from the first page to the conclusion.

Being an author and attempting to have a second novel published, I understand the difficulty in finding an agent and publisher.

In this story, Jo Donovan is the owner of a successful literary agency. One day she is stopped on the street by a man calling himself Sam Spade. He demands her attention and promises that his novel is the new big thing, the best novel in ages and that she will be overwhelmed by its excellence.

The man is so pushy that one of Jo's employees has to help her remove herself from the man's assertive manner and he threatens the employee because of it.

Later, Jo attends a literary function and her laptop is separated from her baggage for a time before it is located. Soon after, many of Jo's clients begin getting letters that their novels have been approved or other good news, all of this written by someone wanting to do Jo harm. This is also humiliating and disappointing to the clients.

Other events follow and Jo comes to fear for her safety. She brings the police into the investigation and a friend who is a FBI profiler. Then a murder occurs and the suspense escalates.

The author, Barbara Rogan has an excellent feel for New York and what goes on in the publishing industry.

The plot is refreshing and the characters are just what a reader would imagine would be in the publishing industry with the gala events and buildings with doormen. The entire story was a joy to read.