When Zoe Ann Weiss moves to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of becoming a writer, her whole future is wide open. But then Zach, the bartender and aspiring actor she’s falling for, ghosts her. Her debut novel, a thriller, fails. And she has writer’s block worse than ever before. Now, three years later, Zach is famous and Zoe is…not.
She’s facing her thirtieth birthday, a dead-end job at a flower shop, and a demanding agent, terrified she’ll never get her life back on track. But when she goes to make a flower delivery and Zach is at the address, it’s like no time has passed at all. They start casually dating in secret, her writer’s block disappears, and Zoe realizes: Zach inspired her first novel, so why can’t he inspire her second?
But then the inevitable happens and photos are leaked, landing Zoe in the press. Her first novel goes viral, and now everyone seems to know her name. Except the problem with everyone knowing your name is that everyone knows your name—including the mysterious stalker obsessed with Zach. A stalker who begins reenacting violent events from Zoe’s book, step by step, against her…
I think I’ve had a weird relationship with true thrillers. I’ve enjoyed some to a point. I’ve DNF’d quite a few, including one by a really notable author. I think what I’ve come to realize is that I’m always going to be a much bigger fan of crime fiction…stuff with private detectives, vigilantes, crooked cops…that whole vibe.
So I was at least somewhat skeptical heading into Pip Drysdale’s THE CLOSE-UP, but goddamn! What an addictive & compelling read this turned out to be! This book is written to be unputdownable (apparently that’s a real word, what a time to be alive!) and it succeeds mightily on that front.
While the main character & first-person narrator, Zoe Ann Weiss, is British, this is such a classic Los Angeles story. Zoe is an author; she wrote a thriller that did not sell well at all, and she’s currently Very Fucking Stuck trying to write her second book in order to fulfill her contract. Her agent is…very patient to a point, but running low on extensions to give Zoe.
Meanwhile, Zoe earns a living working at a florist, arranging & delivering flowers. It’s Hollywood, and she delivers to some fancy houses and people. One such delivery brings her back into contact with an actor named Zach. The two have a history: they hooked up before Zach was famous, Zach ghosted her, and Zoe went on to finish her novel.
So what if…she starts spending time with Zach again? Surely that’s the key to unlocking her writer’s block & turning some pages in to her agent. And bonus: she can use Zach’s newfound mega-stardom and Hollywood life as a loose basis for her new book (despite the pesky NDA that Zach has Zoe sign).
I mean, what could go wrong?
Everything, that’s what! Soon enough a stalker that’s obsessed with Zach starts targeting Zoe, and recreating the twisted events of Zoe’s first novel, but IN REAL LIFE. Things begin to spiral, quick.
Drysdale strikes a really interesting tone here, because Zoe’s narration is frequently sarcastic as hell & really funny. But at the same time, things feel quite out of control and dangerous. I guess what I’m saying is I feel a little conflicted about saying I HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH THIS BOOK when at times, the subject matter can feel really dark & scary. Some of the stalking behaviors here are very upsetting, so just take care reading this book if that’s something that might be a problem for you.
There’s also like a meta/fourth-wall-breaking aspect to this story that I loved. It really contributes to the breakneck pace of the book & also TOTALLY ramps up the intense anxiety and paranoia that Zoe begins to feel. Oof.
I just loved reading this. I wish I could nail down exactly what it was about this that worked for me, so I could maybe have better luck picking thrillers to read! Just something about the voice it was written in & the incredible way this book captured the feel of its location…you can just feel the LA heat seeping into your pores here. You do feel this sense of both possibility & danger lurking down every street in this city.
This was so awesome! Really looking forward to checking out more of Pip Drysdale’s books in the future!
Huge thanks to Gallery Books for sending this one my way!!
Grimdark Dad 