In this breezy if somewhat unbelievable mystery, the title refers to an actual publishing term for the writer’s original manuscript before it goes through editing. This is appropriate because this mystery deals with the perils and pitfalls of the literary world in such a zany way that it reads like a parody at times.

Our story begins with Paul, a best-selling author, who meets with Clive, the abrasive acquisitions editor at Mackenzie-Haack publishing company. Paul promises to sign a three-book contract, but only on the condition that Mackenzie-Haack drops its newest writer, Ned. Ned is more of a “literary” writer than most represented by Mackenzie-Haack, and is currently struggling to complete his book.

Clive is dumbfounded by this request, but Paul won’t say why Ned must get the axe. He insists that Clive should find it easy enough to find a loophole in Ned’s contract and get rid of him. However, in a complication that begs us to suspend our disbelief, the contract seems to be water-tight, and Clive and his amoral boss Bobby find themselves so desperate to acquire Paul that they hire two hit-men to murder poor literary Ned.

The hit-men, Karl and Candy, are the best part of the story. They practice their trade with more autonomy than your average contract-killers, and make a point of getting to know their targets so that they may judge for themselves whether or not killing them is warranted.

If the victim doesn’t deserve to die in their opinion, they always return their client’s money. But sometimes they decide to kill their client as well. Whatever it takes to mete out justice to the right person.

Karl and Candy talk like your typical wise-guys; it’s truly funny when one buys Paul’s book and the other buys Ned’s book, and they roam through the trendy meeting places of the literati, following their target and debating the literary merits of the two books.

Ned himself is too involved with his own faltering novel to notice. But he has concerned friends: Sally, an assistant editor who’s in love with him; and Saul, an independently wealthy, reclusive writer whom everyone is dying to sign if he can ever finish anything.

Soon Paul gets worried he’s gone too far. It turns out he’s an okay guy who doesn’t even know Ned. He merely wanted to manipulate poor Ned’s career in order to make a statement about the venal nature of publishing today. Guilt-stricken, he hires his own hit-man Arthur to protect Ned! (At this point, you have to wonder why he doesn’t just make Clive call off Karl and Candy.)

Meanwhile Clive hires his own investigator – a fiery redheaded woman named Blaze – to help him keep tabs upon Ned and Karl and Candy. All these agendas will soon collide in Ned’s hometown of Pittsburg as he wanders around, worrying about his novel, unaware that he is the center of all this scrutiny!

This is a funny, fast-paced mystery – if totally unbelievable! Find yourself a library copy and a notepad to help you keep track of all the characters, and while away a few enjoyable hours. Foul Matter is available on Amazon through this link: Foul Matter