The Way of All Fish: A Novel

Written by Martha Grimes

Narrated by George Newbern

An “absurdly amusing” (The New York Times Book Review) sequel to Martha Grimes’s bestselling novel, Foul Matter, this wicked satire of the publishing industry is “comic, caustic, and relentlessly readable” (Booklist).

Writer Cindy Sella is having trouble with her new novel. Aside from her paralyzing writer’s block, she’s faced with a lawsuit from her ex-agent, L. Bass Hess. Hess will stop at nothing to collect a commission from Cindy on her previous novel, which he did not represent since she had fired him long before it was published.

Hitmen Candy and Karl—first introduced in Foul Matter—are asked to “get rid” of L. Bass Hess. They join forces with a publishing mogul, a bestselling author, an out-of-work Vegas magician, an alligator wrangler, a glamorous Malaysian con lady, and Hess’s aunt in the Everglades who has undergone a wildly successful sex change, and concoct a plan to save Cindy Sella from the odious machinations of Hess by driving him (slowly, hilariously) crazy.

Grimes’s fans will delight in the return of several colorful characters from Foul Matter, including Senior Editor Clive Esterhaus, unprincipled publisher Bobby Mackenzie, and ex-mobster and author Danny Zito, currently under the witness protection program. New readers will find that these characters and their escapades shed an amusing light on the New York publishing scene. Informed and influenced by the author’s own publishing adventures, “The Way of All Fish is a goofily offbeat delight” (The Washington Post).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jan 7, 2014
• ISBN: 9781442366442

Martha Grimes

Bestselling author Martha Grimes is the author of more than thirty books, including twenty-two Richard Jury mysteries. She is also the author of Double Double, a dual memoir of alcoholism written with her son. The winner of the 2012 Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Award, Grimes lives in Bethesda, Maryland.

Reviews for The Way of All Fish

[Gina Schatteman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Big departure from the Richard Jury series. A fun romp with quirky characters who you maybe should hate but can't help but love. If you like Carl Hiassen, you'll love this.

[catstaff1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I just last week read Martha Grimes' The Way of All Fish. While I probably prefer her Jury mysteries, that book is pretty special. For one thing, it's so funny with two underworld hit men who are bound by principle and only take jobs that they feel are justified. They remind me of many of Elmore Leonard characters, except they are funnier. The puns get more and more outrageous (and more clever) as the story moves along, and Grimes shows off a little now and then with some stellar writing, especially in metaphoric descriptions. She really demonstrates the range of her talent, which is great, in this book. Somewhere along the way, I started thinking "enough already," but overall, it was highly recommendable.Cassie Wilson

[romonko · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I'm a huge Martha Grimes fan, and have read all of her books. Somehow I missed Foul Matter though but this book is a sequel to Foul Matter. Because I hadn't read the first book, I wasn't familar with the characters and that made the book puzzling to me right off the bat. But I'm afraid the book remained puzzling to me throughout. This series is supposed to be a spoof on the cutthroat publishing business. The two main characters are contract hitmen by the name of Candy and Karl. These two are the funniest hitmen you'll ever run across. For some reason they have a good reputation in their chosen field of employment, but they don't always kill every person that they receive a contract on. They have to determine if they think the person is reprehensible enough to warrant killing. And they don't hesitate to help someone who they feel needs help. The book is actually quite funny and Ms. Grimes has a wicked sense of humour, but to me the various cons orchestrated by this precious pair throughout the book just got a little nonsensical. I did enjoy the very colourful characters though.