Pleasure

Is obsession required to experience the ultimate in sexual fulfillment? Dickey searches for the answer to that question in his latest steamy romance (after Waking with Enemies ) via Nia Simone Bijoux, a ghostwriter recently moved to Atlanta. A devout Anaïs Nin fan, Nia’s in hot pursuit of the perfect lay. Enlivened by sometimes catchy narration (“Self-pleasuring was popcorn.... My body was telling me it needed steak”), Nia’s adventures with “identical sins,” twins Mark and Karl, introduce her to the dubious delights of threesomes and more, leading eventually to a showdown with Mark’s wife, Jewell Stewark, a TV anchorwoman. Marred somewhat by Nia’s pretentious airs (her self-involvement can be crippling to the narrative), this erotic potboiler still delivers its message that saying “yes” to pleasure can also lead to self-enlightenment. (Apr.)