Pip Drysdale's The Close-Up is a brisk, clever story of stalled ambition, celebrity worship, and betrayal.
Londoner Zoe Weiss thought her writing career would be a guaranteed success after she received a two-book deal with a $1 million advance for her debut thriller, Fractured, so she moved to Los Angeles, Calif., to "make something of [herself]." A few years later, Zoe is stuck. Her novel bombed, her advance is spent, and her self-confidence is gone. Her second manuscript is overdue, stymied by writer's block. Then she accidentally reconnects with Zach Hamilton, the hottest new action movie star, with whom she had a brief relationship three years earlier, when he was a bartender. The chance encounter gives Zoe a workable idea: a thriller about a celebrity. Her romance with Zach heats up, but so does her guilt about exploiting their relationship and her qualms about the nondisclosure agreement his manager made her sign. When a photograph linking her with Zach lands in a gossip column, Zoe begins to receive threats, just like those she chronicled in Fractured.
Drysdale makes the most of the shallowness and superficiality of the film industry, particularly through her well-crafted characters. Zoe seems earnest about her desire to be a serious writer, yet she also may be more interested in fame than the creative process. Zach comes across as charming, a bit naïve, and caught up with the glamour of being a movie star, but Drysdale adds a layer of ruthlessness to him.
The Close-Up follows an unpredictable path to a stunning, neo-noir finale. --Oline H. Cogdill, freelance reviewer