Providence Journal:

Scott Singer, protagonist of this debut novel, is a publicist of sorts. He's a spin doctor, a media manipulator, a puppeteer of people's perceptions. When the rich and famous have a problem, he's one of the people they call in to fix it. His latest assignment is "to save the public character of a certain man by destroying the character of a certain woman." To do this, he orchestrates "a grand and epic hoax that would have saved all and destroyed none. It would have been my greatest achievement to date, had it worked."

His client, a rising young rapper who goes by the name Hunta, has two publicity nightmares brewing: His music has been vaguely connected to a school-shooting (think Marilyn Manson and Columbine), and he is about to be accused of rape (think Kobe Bryant, or any number of other celebrities).

It's Scott's job to save him. He does this by adding another character to the drama -- one secretly on his client's payroll, and therefore under their control. But the woman he chooses has a mind of her own, and is a bit smarter than he first thought.

While concocting his hoax, a fender-bender introduces him to Jean Gray and her daughter Madison. Jean is smart, deaf, and a comic book fan; Madison is a troubled adolescent who shares her mother's wit. Scott is immediately taken with both of them. Madison becomes his intern/assistant, while he and Jean circle one another, warily giving in to their growing attraction.

Slick is written in Scott's sometimes hyperkinetic, always wry voice, littered with pop culture references and obscure anecdotes. It's a big book filled with discomforting observations on our media- and celebrity-obsessed society, and depicts behind-the-scenes skullduggery that you hope isn't realistic but fear probably is.

It'll make you think at least twice about product placement, truth in advertising, and how the news is reported. And it gives the reader much to think about during an election year.

Despite the less-than-honorable aspects of his work, Scott maintains that he
means well. One wonders if he's repeating this to make himself believe it. And interestingly, there is no real villain in the novel -- most of the characters mean well, but end up making poor choices, with unexpected consequences. The result is that each character probably ends up with more
than he bargained for, and an ending that, while not happy, almost seems inevitable.. (Rory O'Brien -- 9/12/04)