"'A lean, careening thrill … one of my favourite books of the year' Megan Nolan
‘Riveting reading' The Times
'Irresistible … A page-turning story of sex, power, and money' Vogue, Best Books of 2024 So Far
A razor-sharp novel that skewers the life of the uber-rich in the vein of The White Lotus, with shades of The Talented Mr Ripley and The Graduate
Conor comes from nothing, but he knows how to win.
Tennis has taught him how to be relentless. How to work hard and stay patient, even when your opponent has every advantage.
Tennis is what takes Conor to a gated community for the summer, where he can give overpriced lessons to the super-rich. It brings him to Catherine, a bored but intoxicating divorcee twice his age. And to Emily, a girl he might actually love.
As the summer heats up, Conor finds himself not just playing a game, but fighting for survival. Will he put his emotions aside for a greater prize? After all, in tennis, love means nothing.
TOP OF THE LIST ON THE NEW YORK TIMES' BEST THRILLERS OF 2024
‘Wayne’s plot was made to gallop, and it does not disappoint’ New York Times
'Terrific' Wall Street Journal
'Well-paced, smart … A savvy take on sex, money and power … A movie-ready page turner' Washington Post
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING…
'Wow, talk about a can’t-put-down book' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Aced it! An absolute page turner!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I had hard time going to sleep at night because I was so engaged and couldn’t stop reading' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Where in the world have I been that I have never discovered this writer before??' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"
"Paul is a recently demoted adjunct instructor of freshman comp, a divorced but doting Brooklyn father, and a self-described “curmudgeonly crank” cataloging his resentment of the priorities of modern life in a book called The Luddite Manifesto. Outraged by the authoritarian creeps ruining the country, he is determined to better the future for his young daughter, one aggrieved lecture at a time. Shockingly, others aren't very receptive to Paul's scoldings. His child grows distant, preferring superficial entertainment to her father's terrarium and anti-technological tutelage. His careerist students are less interested than ever in what he has to say, and his last remaining friends appear ready to ditch him. To make up for lost income, he moonlights as a ride-share driver and moves in with his elderly mother, whose third-act changes confound and upset him. As one indignity follows the next, and Paul's disaffection with his circumstances and society mounts, he concocts a dramatic plan to right the world's wrongs and gives himself a more significant place in it."
