Holden's latest satirical novel (after Farm Fatale) looks at love and lust among players in the London publishing biz. Hapless publicist Grace works for tiny Hatto & Hatto ("we specialize in obscure and unsuccessful—I mean, authors with a more selective appeal"). She is trapped in a loveless relationship with a Labour party political guru who is all talk and no action, and must decide whether to pursue one of her authors, with whom she has already shared an improper one-night affair. In an attempt to clear away the literal and figurative detritus of her life, Grace hires a cleaning lady, who turns out to be as keen on finding Grace a perfect suitor as she is on organizing her sock drawer. A dreaded visit to her diplomat father and snobbish mother in Venice leads Grace to a fortuitous encounter with a Texan media mogul who claims to have what it takes to put Hatto & Hatto on the map—a novel by A-list movie star Red Campion. Since it normally takes a miracle to generate even limited interest in her eccentric authors, Grace thinks she has hit the mother lode, until she learns that Campion wants to publish anonymously—and that his book is about an amphibious race that's taken over the White House. Teeming with outlandishly randy characters, the plot may be somewhat predictable, but it bounces along with smart sendups of the literary scene and shows once again why Holden is a favorite on both sides of the Atlantic. (Mar.)
