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Summary and Reviews of Man Eater by Ray Shannon

Man Eater by Ray Shannon

Man Eater

by Ray Shannon
  • Critics' Consensus:
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  • First Published:
  • Jan 1, 2003, 288 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jan 2004, 304 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

Fast, furious, and laugh-out-loud funny, Man Eater is a stylish, cinematic thriller fans of Tinseltown high adventure are sure to enjoy.

Drop-dead gorgeous Ronnie Deal is an up-and-comer at Velocity Pictures, whose enviable, fast-paced Hollywood lifestyle takes a major detour after a really bad day at the office. Fuming at the Tiki Shack Bar over a rival's latest attempt to derail her career, Ronnie comes to the rescue of a girl being beaten by an angry thug, unaware that Antsy Carruth has stolen twenty-five grand from her drug mule ex-boyfriend, and hired enforcer Neon Polk has been sent to get the money back. When Ronnie batters Polk unconscious with a beer bottle and Antsy takes a powder, Polk, humiliated and blinded with rage, seeks vengeance.

But people in The Business don't call Ronnie "Raw Deal" for nothing, and Polk won't have his revenge without paying for it. Enter Ellis Langford, ex-con and aspiring screenwriter. Langford has an angry ex-wife, a long-lost child, and a pair of Hispanic killers who want him dead, but if showing Ronnie how to make a real "killing" will earn him the Hollywood payday he's after . . .

Fast, furious, and laugh-out-loud funny, Man Eater is a stylish, cinematic thriller fans of Tinseltown high adventure are sure to enjoy.

Chapter One

IT WAS A typical Hollywood story: At 10:22 Wednesday morning, Ronnie Deal had Brad Pitt; at 4:51 that same afternoon, she didn't.

These things happened to movie producers, of course. Star players drifted in and out of film projects like children on a sugar high running from room to room. No one understood this better than Ronnie. But sometimes the sudden downturn in a producer's fortunes had nothing to do with the cruel hand of fate and everything to do with simple subterfuge. Sometimes the key talent attached to a project went away not on a whim, but because somebody somewhere pushed a button. That was what had happened to Ronnie today. She was certain of it. Brad Pitt's bailout from Trouble Town had Andy Gleason's handwriting all over it.

From her lonely little corner table in the back shadows of the Tiki Shack bar, Ronnie allowed the realization to bring her to a slow boil.

There were all kinds of rivals in the film business--crosstown ...

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Reviews

Media Reviews

Kirkus Reviews
Life is like the movie business in this lean, funny thriller about a producer scrambling to save her life and career.

Publishers Weekly
Few things were admired more in Hollywood than the clean kill... better that you were known for having once cut an adversary's heart out with a scalpel than disemboweled him with a pickax. This is the essence of newcomer Shannon's view of the movie business, and it sums up both the sardonic humor and offhanded brutality of this clever thriller....This novel is a must for fans of Leonard, Wambaugh and Hiaasen.

Reader Reviews

Nataliw

great Read!
What a fun story, totally enjoyed myself!
Paul M

A fun, fast read. Looking forward to more of Ray Shannon work!

Write your own review!

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