Bad things happen to bad people in Matheson's systematic but suspenseful composition about a rapidly escalating war between the sexes. It's the night of the Emmys, and David, a radio show psychologist, and his wife, Liz, Emmy-nominated producer of the hit TV show Country Boy
, are hosting a preshow party. In attendance: Liz's vain, lecherous younger brother, Val, who's the show's star, and Candy Regina, his floozy of the week; Charlie, the show's hard-drinking executive producer; Max, the show's misogynistic head writer, and Barbara, his beaten-down wife. Practically everybody's up for an award, so what's the problem? Besides the fact that no one's very likable—and they don't much like each other—Charlie's brought in this weird girl he found on David's doorstep, the same girl who'd accosted David earlier that evening, begging desperately for his help. (With what, David wasn't sure.) Liz freaks out, but then her splitting headache is suddenly gone: could the girl have something to do with it? And in the subsequent booze-fueled argument about sexual politics that has guests ready to claw out each other's eyes, is she more than just a witness? Pretty soon Charlie's suffering from some inexplicable bleeding and Val may be losing his mind—and that's just the start of the trouble. Dated gender psychologizing morphs into full-on horror in this relentless, gripping little novel. (Apr.)
