Don't Look Twice (30 page)

My whole life, I dreamed of writing one novel.
Don't Look Twice
is now my tenth! (That includes a handful with James Patterson and one still in the back of the drawer.)

The more I do, yes, the easier it becomes. But the more it also becomes clear what a collaborative process it all truly is.

It starts with the people and resources that help you convince readers you actually know something about what you're writing on. In this case, that's my friend Vito Collucci, of Collucci Investigations, who has worked a whole lot of high-profile cases and whose face can be seen on news channels a lot more than my own. Then there's Stephen Karoul, of Euro-Asian Casino Consulting, who led me through the murky world of casino gambling scams. And not to forget Dr. Greg Zorman, my brother-in-law and longtime medical authority, whose place in this book is due to a sudden expertise on flying. I still won't go up with you, but I will call you every time!

I also want to credit an important book for me,
The Shock Doctrine,
by Naomi Klein, whose research and vision on politics and economics became part of the plot.

Then there's my team at William Morrow and HarperCollins, and that runs all the way to the top. Not only my editor,
David Highfill, for his acumen and guidance, but Pam Jaffee, Lynn Grady, Michael Barrs, Juliette Shapland, Gabe Robinson, Buzzy Porter, and Julia Wisdom and Amanda Ridout in the UK, for putting up with my prickly disposition and stubborn ways. Also, my thanks to Lisa Gallagher, Michael Morrison, Jane Friedman, and Brian Murray for their deep belief in me and strongly felt commitment. I always wondered at what stage I'd be able to look in the mirror and not imagine a famous, top-selling author behind me and say, “You can actually do this thing.”

I guess that's now.

Thanks as well to Simon Lipskar of Writers House for his counsel, and to Josh Getzler as well. Also to Roy Grossman, Liz Scoponich, and Brooke Martinez, early readers of the draft, who helped shape this book into the best it could be. And David Mickleson at Greenwich Research, who didn't have a hand in this book, but whom I forgot to mention last time.

And as always, to the team at home—my narrowing team, with two kids moving away. This is the first book my wife, Lynn, didn't read as I wrote it. Hopefully there won't be a hue and cry to get her back on the job!

Jacket photographs: dashboard by Eddie Hironaka/Getty; car headlights by Jupiter

Jacket design by T. H. Nicholas