Pandy Wallis is the author of a best-selling book series, which has morphed into an even more successful film franchise. With the public head over heels in love with her main character Monica, Pandy has been enjoying the high life that Manhattan and her big advances offer. But now Pandy wants to write a serious historical novel based on her ancestor Lady Wallis but her publisher isn't keen. Meanwhile Pandy's going through a nasty divorce from her chef husband Jonny and has fallen out with SondraBeth Schnowzer, the actress who plays Monica. As Pandy wonders how she can get her life back on track, all roads seem to point to her killing off her famous creation. Although Candace Bushnell denies the link to Sex and the City and Sarah Jessica Parker, her own most famous creation looms large over this story. Despite being an enjoyable guilty pleasure read, the storyline does get rather convoluted and maybe would have worked better in a different order, with more emphasis given to certain aspects of the plot. It's a story about identity, all wrapped up with a feminist message - with the worst character name ever (Schnowzer, really?).
Candace Bushnell's long-awaited novel, Killing Monica, skewers celebrity worship and examines the meaning of identity. The summary says: "Pandy 'PJ' Wallis is a renowned writer whose novels about a young woman making her way in Manhattan have spawned a series of blockbuster films. After the success of the Monica books and movies, Pandy wants to attempt something different: a historical novel based on her ancestor Lady Wallis. But Pandy's publishers and audience only want her to keep cranking out more Monica - as does her greedy husband, Jonny, who's gone deeply in debt to finance his new restaurant in Las Vegas. When her marriage crumbles and the boathouse of her family home in Connecticut goes up in flames, Pandy suddenly realises she has an opportunity to reinvent herself. But to do so, she will have to reconcile with her ex-best friend and former partner in crime, SondraBeth Schnowzer, who plays Monica on the big screen - and who may have her own reasons to derail Pandy's startling change of plan." Killing Monica is out in June 2015.