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The narrator of this edgy, Jim Thompson-like thriller slaughters an apparent stranger after they argue over who killed a deer in the northern Wisconsin woods. But when playwright Andrew Neville rouses himself from his homicidal stupor, he mentions his murder victim's name, revealing to the reader that there may have been a method to his madness all along. Back in Chicago, Neville confesses the murder to his lawyer, recalling that he used to know the dead man, successful TV writer John Dempsey, years before when they were both part of a Chicago theater group. After attending Dempsey's funeral, Neville slowly takes over the dead writer's life, building a relationship with his wife, Clara, and his son, Dante. He takes up residence on their California estate and even changes his appearance to look like Dempsey. Faust deliberately keeps the narration untrustworthy, generating suspense by forcing the reader to question Neville's version of events. There's no suspense, though, in figuring out how Neville is going to deal with Roland Scheiss, the obnoxious PI who's trying to prove that Neville and Clara murdered Dempsey together. When Neville discovers himself as a character in a play that Dempsey was working on when he died, the narrative turns pretentious rather than properly spooky and portentous, with the promising creepiness of the beginning giving way to lackluster questioning about Neville's possible psychopathy. Despite being carried partway by good, clean writing and some strong scenes, the tortured protagonist of this noir tale winds up sleepwalking through his descent into hell. (June)