Aubrey sends mail to a writer and calls his private cellphone in the middle of the night. But this is impossible, because Aubrey is a character from one of the writer's bestselling novels. Threats of blackmail from a fictional person turn into real-life extortion and murder in Laura Lippman's teeth-grinding psychological thriller Dream Girl.
Famous novelist Gerald Andersen is bedridden in his multi-million-dollar high-security condo after a nasty fall. His assistant, Victoria, takes care of his errands during the day; Aileen the night nurse monitors his medication; and Claude, Gerry's physical therapist, makes twice-weekly visits. Gerry's bored, but comfortable--until he starts getting calls and mail from his most popular character, Aubrey. Only Gerry hears the phone ring when Aubrey calls and the phone display shows no record of the call. The mail sent from Aubrey disappears. Thinking his medication might be causing hallucinations, he cuts back, but the late-night calls from Aubrey continue and money begins to disappear from Gerry's accounts. Just when he thinks he is experiencing early signs of dementia, he awakens to find a dead body slumped in the corner of his room.
Laura Lippman (Sunburn) keeps readers on edge with a continuous onslaught of unexplainable moments leading her main character to question his sanity before giving himself completely over to the horrible situation. The novel's conclusion may cause unruly debate, but getting people to talk about a story this well written should be the ultimate goal of all writers. --Paul Dinh-McCrillis, freelance reviewer