Hostile reviews may have hastened the deaths of some writers, but Cubby Greenwich is made of sterner stuff. At least this is what he tells himself, meanwhile obsessing about the scathing review of his latest bestseller by Shearman Waxx in a national newspaper.A feared and therefore revered critic, Waxx has an aura of mystery about him that has carried him far as an arbiter of taste, but the mystery itself is about to break cover. For it soon becomes apparent that Waxx is not merely a ferocious literary enemy, but a ruthless sociopath, and Cubby and his family are forced into hiding.But the terror has only just begun... it will be relentless. When Cubby finally learns the truth, the worst of his fears seem naive, and he has no idea how to save himself or, more importantly, his wife and son...