The Close-Up

July 1, 2024

Bestselling Drysdale (The Sunday Girl; The Next Girl) centers her newest on Zoe Ann Weiss, a struggling novelist with one thriller under her belt. She goes viral when she is seen with her ex, a famous actor. A stalker is not happy and starts to enact Zoe's violent first book against her. Prepub Alert.

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October 7, 2024
A writer’s life takes a turn for the metafictional in this glossy neo-noir from Drysdale (The Paris Affair). Zoe Weiss moves to L.A. after the manuscript for her debut thriller, Fractured, earns her a million-dollar two-book deal. When the novel is published, however, it bombs, shattering Zoe’s self-confidence. Two years later, her advance is gone, her second book is long overdue, and she fears it’s only a matter of time until her publisher demands its money back. When her agent requests an update, Zoe panics and claims she’s writing a high-concept thriller based on a celebrity she knows. While it’s true that Zoe has recently reconnected with Zach, a former fling who’s now a movie star, his manager has made her sign a nondisclosure agreement, taking their time together off the table as literary inspiration. Then Zoe and Zach’s rekindled relationship makes the tabloids, and Zoe gets violent threats resembling the ones received by Fractured’s protagonist. It’s perfect thriller fodder—provided she can skirt the NDA and stay alive. Drysdale’s tale takes the form of an after the fact tell-all written by Zoe, characterized by clever foreshadowing and an intoxicating Hollywood buzz. This offers plenty of frothy fun. Agent: Mollie Glick, CAA.

December 1, 2024
Drysdale's fifth novel (after The Next Girl, 2023) is a fast-paced domestic-suspense thriller set in Los Angeles. Zoe Ann Weiss is an aspiring author looking to hit it big in the glamorous city of dreams. Despite the lackluster reviews of her first novel, she is obliged to fulfill her two-book publishing contract. Unfortunately, ever since being rejected by her muse, Zach Hamilton, she has been suffering from writer's block. Three years later, she runs into Zach, who has recently made a name for himself as a successful Hollywood actor. She pursues him in order to get a close-up view of the celebrity lifestyle. Despite signing an NDA, Zoe begins to write her next book based on their fling. However, when a stalker reenacts terrifying scenes from her first book, she realizes she is in terrible danger. Who is targeting her? Should Zoe have listened to her father's pleas to come home? Drysdale portrays the dark side of Hollywood in a book perfect for readers of Jessica Knoll and Megan Collins.

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