Rake

A Novel

By: Scott Phillips

Narrated by: Christian Rummel

The landscape of contemporary Paris, replete with the best restaurants, the trendiest bars and clubs, is usually filled with the wealthy, the famous, and le rake or le rou, the charming, educated sophisticate with little or no conscience. Into this cushy world bursts Dr. Crandall Taylor - or rather the actor who plays him, the star of a dated American soap opera that is now one of the hottest prime-time shows in France. And this newfound fame, as enriching as it is unexpected, is not wasted on Crandall, eager to put his dark and often violent American past behind him and enjoy all the fruits and the women that Paris and fame have to offer him.

But TV fame isn’t enough. Randall wants a feature film. Every actor wants a feature film, and so Crandall uses his charm and intellect to draw into his narcissistic web four different women: an executive at the network that runs his show; an American porn star reaching new heights on the Internet; a bookish university student with a slightly nasty bent; and the beautiful would-be actress wife of an arms dealer. Against his better judgment, Crandall accepts both the arms dealer’s cash and his beautiful wife’s advances. Soon, Crandall is on the run through the alleys and streets of Paris, trying not only to fund a film but simply to stay alive. But this is no ordinary chase and Crandall is no ordinary mouse and soon his penchant for violence, sex, and megalomania erupts into full-blown war.

Rake is the latest noir classic from the author of The Ice Harvest. It features a charming, despicable antihero and a funny, satiric take on modern entertainment culture. Phillips turns his gimlet eye on the lush life of an actor who, on his destructive tour through Paris, crosses the line from garden variety narcissism into full-fledged psycopathy.

©2013 Scott Phillips (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Sex, Crime, Humor—and Paris

Rake, cad, roué, scoundrel. He's the man you love to hate-- or hate to love. The anti-hero of Rake, actor Crandall Taylor, is all these things.

Scott Phillips, author of "The Ice Harvest," has set his latest thriller in Paris. His fox in the henhouse is Crandall, the lead villain of a trashy Santa Barbara-like soap opera which has flopped in the States, but is making it big in Europe.

Taylor moves to Paris to enjoy the life of a celebrity, and exploit his capital to make a film. But by "inhabiting his character," he's has made powerful enemies.

Written with striking immediacy, momentum, and knowing humor, "Rake" is modern noir at its caddish, loutish, suspenseful best.

Caution required....

Zany, crazy, wild, but may be dangerous to your health.

Madcap wonderful story. Great lead character, with brilliant narration. But it should come with a warning:

If laughing hard triggers hiccups, stay away as you may have hiccups for a long long time. If laughing too hard causes snot to come out of your nose, you better have a box of Kleenex nearby. If laughing too hard gives you a stomachache, you best not read this book.

You've been warned.