Thinner Blonder Whiter » (Bargain)

This dashing debut novel opens with Julia Moran at the height of the publishing world and at the center of New York culture. As editor of the country’s most prominent African-American writers, Julia is the white queen of black literature—she’s also sleeping with its reigning king, Samuel Reid. His bestselling book—which she coauthored—has made his support essential for any candidate’s appeal to black voters in the current mayoral race. While candidates squabble over the issues, one issue takes top priority: improving the city’s education. When a friend of Julia’s turns up murdered and Samuel Reid mysteriously disappears, Julia leaves her day job in a quest for the truth. Ultimately, Julia emerges as a woman ready to tackle whatever may lie in her path.

Publishers Weekly

Julia Moran, "the white queen of black literature," is trying to savor her moment as a publishing whiz kid when she hits gravel in this high-concept debut from book editor/publisher Maguire. The debacle is precipitated by the unexplained murder of a family friend, William Fitzgerald ("Fitz"), a gentle soul who tutored disadvantaged kids and moonlighted at a midtown Manhattan hotel. That the killer was sending a message seems obvious the victim's corpse was splayed in the hotel's freezer like jumbo shrimp on ice. Meanwhile, Julia's most important author vanishes during a fund-raiser honoring black achievement. A stirring orator with a prosthetic arm and a prodigious ego, Samuel Reid is the new messiah of African-American letters and hot for Julia, whenever he can get away from the wife and family. Maguire's cunning social portraiture may dampen the suspense, but most readers will be mesmerized as Julia cruises the black wine-and-cheese circuit, bar-crawls with her lesbian co-worker, Mel, and noshes on precinct coffee and corned beef with detective Thomas Lynch, who is investigating both Fitz's murder and Reid's disappearance (and surprises Julia with his temperance and couth). The only clue to the killer's identity a folder of standardized score sheets from one of the city's poorest school districts is utterly bemusing at first, yet Maguire ultimately wrests a provocative denouement from this unlikely smoking gun. Still, the best fun in the novel may be the noir characterizations and asides of Julia's smart-aleck publishing pals. Agent, Betsy Lerner. (June 12) FYI: The associate publisher of Basic Books, Maguire has long been active in bringing African-American scholarship to a wider audience though any resemblance between personalities in the novel and real life is strictly coincidental. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.