Publishers Weekly
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This addictive, whimsical follow-up to 2003's Foul Matter from MWA Grand Master Grimes dives into the cesspool that is the New York publishing world. L. Bass Hess, a despicable literary agent, likes to sue his former clients, claiming, after they fire him, that they owed him a commission. Some authors have settled rather than fought, but not Cindy Sella, a kind woman with an interest in tropical fish who's suffering from writer's block. Meanwhile, members of a group led by "mega-bestselling author" Paul Giverney and including two hit men with their own idea of who is worth killing, a publisher, an editor, and a mysterious Malaysian woman named Lena bint Musah, decide to take Hess down. This requires a seance, an alligator, a number of tropical fish, and other esoteric items. The coup de grace alone is worth the price of admission. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

They're back! Candy and Karl, who represent the gold standard for hit men in Manhattan (introduced in Foul Matter, 2003), return with their scruples they kill only persons they think deserve to die and their burgeoning interest in the publishing industry. But their contract on universally disliked literary agent L. Bass Hess hits a snag. Because Hess is suing a former client, author Cindy Sella, Candy and Karl fear that Sella would be the first person suspected if Hess were murdered. So the pair draws on their contacts from the earlier book, including best-selling author Paul Giverney and publisher Bobby Mackensie, to devise a means of obliterating Hess short of killing him. From the opening pages, when other hit men shoot up an aquarium in the downtown Clownfish Cafe, exotic tropical fish are the key to zany action proposed on the fly. This sequel to Foul Matter is a caper that casts an eye on publishing that is comic, caustic, and relentlessly readable. Yes, it's Grimes lite and probably as much fun for the author as it is for her readers.--Leber, Michele Copyright 2010 Booklist