As Jim begins to write, he realizes that instead of him writing the script, the script seems to be writing his life. Jim finds the body of a young woman, only to learn it was meant to be the starlet who may be standing in the way of the production of the movie. When the money man behind the movie is found beaten to death and Jim wakes up beneath the man's window, he realizes that someone else is pulling the strings and he may already be in too deep.

Manifesto for the Dead is a classic noir tale, set in the early 1970's Los Angeles. The settings evoke the atmospheres associated with traditional noir tales. While the premise of the short, tightly written novel is truly chilling, the fear that Jim Thompson feels is not always conveyed. The reasons that have caused Billy Miracle to orchestrate the elaborate plot and his reasons for choosing Thompson, although obvious are never explored fully.

The characters are the characters that would be expected in a story such as this. While readers may get a feel for Thompson's despair and feelings of hopeless, these feelings are not sustained, and it is easy to forget his age, which may alter readers' perceptions of him. However, fans of the noir genre will enjoy this novel, as will readers looking for something a bit different.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry