Guy Novel

Set in L.A. in 1996, Ryan’s first novel blends old-fashioned romance and humorous adventure. One unusually rainy day, stand-up comic Robert Wilder drives beautiful bank teller Sabine to her home to Malibu, where they end up in bed, even though he’s supposed to marry his fiancée, Doris, that same day. Robert soon discovers that his pickup’s name isn’t Sabine, it isn’t her home, and, no surprise, his wedding to Doris is off. Sabine disappears only to reappear as the supercompetent Angela Chase, whose business executive brother has been kidnapped and held for ransom. Efforts to free the brother involve a meeting with President Clinton, a visit with a warlord in a yurt in Turkmenistan, and a stay at a luxury hotel in Paris, where it’s now obvious that Robert and Sabine/Angela are in love. She agrees to marry him, but she promptly disappears again. The plot may not make a lot of sense, but Ryan, the author of an autobiography (Secret Life) and five volumes of poetry, takes the reader on a really fun thrill ride. (Aug.)