{"product_id":"cast-in-doubt","title":"Cast in Doubt","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e'Like Helen I kept a diary when I was young. It was nothing like Helen's. I tried faithfully to record the events of the day, to describe what I was reading and thinking and to scrutinize and explicate my reactions and so on.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eShe does little or none of this.' It is 1974. American and English expatriates, artists, writers, and eccentrics find their home in a quiet town on the island of Crete. Among them is Horace Vaughn, a sixty-five-year-old gay American writer who wants to write the Great American Novel, Household Gods, and who in the meantime supports himself by dashing off detective stories.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHorace's young Greek lover often annoys him, provides little satisfaction, and Horace idles his time away with alcohol, friends, and machinations. That is, until a young, enigmatic nineteen-year-old American woman named Helen arrives, another outsider. In Helen, Horace discovers someone brilliant, beautiful, and stubbornly mysterious.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHe is fascinated by her punk style and elusive pose. In this small town, gossip spreads fast, and Helen's past begins to follow her to Crete: a suicidal ex-lover appears without warning, and there are whispers of her long-dead sister. The Henry Moore crowd dislike her, and a Greek waiter's wife threatens to murder her.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen Helen vanishes, Horace is determined to follow her, to find her, especially her diary. His journey around Crete in his beat-up VW bug is funny and poignant, and for Horace, the mystery continues.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eFormat: Paperback\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003ePublished: UK, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003ePublisher: Peninsula Books \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003ePages: 288\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eLanguage: English\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eISBN: 9781913512958\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"gmail_default\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lynne Tillman","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58549389951307,"sku":null,"price":16.9,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0978\/8755\/1819\/files\/9781913512958.jpg?v=1789994295","url":"https:\/\/desirelinesbookstore.com\/products\/cast-in-doubt","provider":"desirelines books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}