Getting Rough

The second Monkey Business contemporary (after Playing Dirty) plunges right into the multifaceted liaison between Shaw Matthews and Cassidy Whalen, secret lovers and openly competitive business associates, as heartfelt emotions, misconceived assumptions, and natural disasters make for rough adventures. Shaw wants to give Cassidy a piece of his mind, so he follows her to her hometown, a small fishing village in Maine. To his dismay, there’s no cell phone service, and the only place to stay is an inn owned by Cassidy’s parents. As Cassidy and Shaw easily fall back into their erotic competitiveness, both become more introspective about their relationship. Cassidy has to come to terms with her feelings about her not-entirely-ex-boyfriend Casey, this evolving connection with Shaw, and her hometown. Shaw is contemplating how his past shapes his present reality, enjoying being “adopted” by the townspeople, and figuring out how he feels about being alone. As the tension builds in the personal interactions, an approaching hurricane is the catalyst for assessment and resolution. Parker’s fast pace, rapier wit, and sharp dialogue perfectly merge with the simmering sexual tension in this lust-to-love tale that fans will devour. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, Janklow and Nesbitt. (Feb.)