SIZZLE C.J.Beck Homemaker Mary Cavanaugh is trapped in a wonderful life; a house by the sea, an adoring husband and two lovely young children. Her husband's sudden death and her family's eviction force a devastating reversal of fortune. Sizzle is about her heroic transformation as she makes her way alone and the unforgettable characters she encounters on the way. Romance beckons but she is unsure she can love again. Richly cast and directed with an insider's eye, this sweeping Beck drama is a mystery wrapped inside a dark secret, set against a backdrop of the menacing waters of the Pacific, herb scented hills of Provence, and politics of Madison Avenue, Hollywood and Washington D.C. Literate, with pitch-perfect dialog, Sizzle is a compelling full-length novel which keeps you guessing until its stunning conclusion. In 1969, a baby boy is sold by a desperate mother to a wealthy couple on a dreary Manhattan quayside. 24 years later, in Marina del Rey, California, the mercurial Milton Stonier, commissions Mary Cavanaugh's husband Sean to build a new super-yacht, the Caveat Emptor. Mary and Sean quarrel, and before they can reconcile, Sean is lost overboard during the sea-trial. While working grueling hours in a job she hates, she discovers her hidden writing talent. Many stand in her way and have their own plans for Mary. They are more worldly and cunning than anyone she encountered during her sheltered married life. Among them is advertising exec Joan Scanlon, her boss, who'll do anything to win a client and cheats her of glory and promotion, and grifter Milton Stonier, whose violent past feeds his increasing paranoia and volatility. Mary learns to build alliances with powerful people to make her way against the odds. However none of the men drawn to her appear to complete all her needs; or perhaps she's too stressed to notice. When murder threatens she is alone and her children nowhere to be found.
