The Liar's Diary

Since I've spent the last two years going through one of those weird hermetic periods that writers apparently go through, I haven't really been keeping up certain social niceties, like meeting new and interesting people, so regretably I have not yet met Patry, and I must confess I have not yet read her new novel, The Liar's Diary.  But I'm buying it today, the day it is being released in paperback, and you should to, primarily because apparently it's a hell of a novel.  But then there's this - an email that hundreds of authors got and responded to.  To wit:

Patry is a talented author who was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. She's had several surgeries, and her prognosis is good. Her debut novel The Liar's Diary came out in hardcover from Dutton last spring. The trade paper release is January 29th; however, given that Patry won't have much energy to promote the release, a large number of blogging authors are banding together to do it for her.

That's pretty compelling, wouldn't you say?  Of course you would.  But then there is this, from Susan Henderson of Litpark.

What if you worked for years as a waitress and then went home at the end of the day to your husband and four kids, and in those rare minutes of free time, you dared to dream that one day you might write a book? This is the story of my friend, Patry - a story that leaves out years of false starts, revisions, and rejection slips. It's a story that writers know intimately, though the details are different. Every one of us is well acquainted with the struggle of getting a story on paper, of honing it and believing in it enough to send it out, only to receive rejection, or worse, silence for our efforts.

Imagine, after many years, you beat the odds. You finish that book. You find that agent who sells your manuscript. Your dream is about to become a reality. But just as your book is due to be released, you discover you have an aggressive form of cancer.

Well, there you go.  How's that for compelling?  You should buy this book just on principle.  But if you're into things like plot, well, we've got some of them apples too.  Again, to wit (this time from her publisher):

Answering the question of what is more powerful—family or friendship? this debut novel unforgettably shows how far one woman would go to protect either.

They couldn’t be more different, but they form a friendship that will alter both their fates. When Ali Mather blows into town, breaking all the rules and breaking hearts (despite the fact that she is pushing forty), she also makes a mark on an unlikely family. Almost against her will, Jeanne Cross feels drawn to this strangely vibrant woman, a fascination that begins to infect Jeanne’s “perfect” husband as well as their teenaged son.

At the heart of the friendship between Ali and Jeanne are deep-seated emotional needs, vulnerabilities they have each been recording in their diaries. Ali also senses another kind of vulnerability; she believes someone has been entering her house when she is not at home—and not with the usual intentions. What this burglar wants is nothing less than a piece of Ali’s soul.

When a murderer strikes and Jeanne’s son is arrested, we learn that the key to the crime lies in the diaries of two very different women . . . but only one of them is telling the truth. A chilling tour of troubled minds, The Liar’s Diary signals the launch of an immensely talented new novelist who knows just how to keep her readers guessing.

Go buy the book, and best wishes for continued success and recovery to Patry.