The Close-Up: A Novel

After reconnecting with an ex—now a Hollywood star—a struggling author discovers the dark side of fame when a stalker begins reenacting violent events from her novel.

When Zoe Ann Weiss moves to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of becoming a writer, her whole future is wide open. But then Zach, the bartender and aspiring actor she’s falling for, ghosts her. Her debut novel, a thriller, fails. And she has writer’s block worse than ever before. Now, three years later, Zach is famous and Zoe is facing a dead-end job at a flower shop and a demanding agent, terrified she’ll never get her life back on track.

But when she makes a flower delivery and unexpectedly finds Zach at the address, it’s like no time has passed. They start casually dating in secret and Zoe starts writing again—the first time she’s felt inspired in months. Then the inevitable happens and photos are leaked, landing Zoe in the press. Her first book goes viral, and everyone seems to know her name.

Except the problem with everyone knowing your name is that everyone knows your name—including a mysterious stalker obsessed with Zach. A stalker who starts re-creating violent scenes from Zoe’s book, step-by-step. And Zoe knows exactly how this story ends…