The Accident by Chris Pavone

Crown, 400 pages, $26

An incendiary manuscript finds its way to the desk of literary agent Isabel Reed. It is by Anonymous and claims to detail the many wrongdoings of media mogul Charlie Wolfe. Soon everyone who has a copy of the manuscript — quaintly in hard copy only — begins to die. Isabel begins a helter-skelter run to save her life.

The Accident is a thriller that mostly held my interest. There was too much splicing of storylines and juggling of timelines to allow the story to be genuinely riveting. The best part was the insider’s look at the book publishing business. Chris Pavone was once part of that book world, so it’s not surprising it sounds so authentic.

There are many twists that are revealed at the end.