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The Mentor
Twenty-five years ago Charles Davis's first novel made him a literary legend. But with his recent work savaged by reviewers, Charles has been paralyzed by self-doubt. Then fate hands him an unexpected muse. Emma Bowles is the young assistant Charles's wife, Anne, hires to bring order to his pressured existence. Where Anne is sleek and elegant, Emma is awkward and self-effacing. But Charles glimpses the intriguing mysteries beneath her small-town demeanor. Soon he is obsessed with Emma, with understanding her, controlling her. By the time Anne realizes she wants this disturbing young woman out of their lives, it's too late. All three are trapped in their own deceptions, and only a savage, shocking act can free them.
- GenresFiction
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 8, 2012
14 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Sebastian Stuart
14 books19 followersI was born and raised in New York City; my first home was Greenwich Village. I went to a bunch of schools, including two years at a public high school, before finishing up at a ragtag prep school in Connecticut (the setting for my novel The Hour Between).
At 17, I moved to San Francisco, ostensibly to go to San Francisco State College. It was the late sixties and the classroom had a hard time competing with my adolescent craving for adventure and the carnival of the times. I stayed in that dreamy town for seven years, leaving behind my heart and quite a few brain cells.
I moved back to New York City and tried to be an actor. I didn’t have the chops (or the talent), although it was fun appearing as the only man in the off-Broadway hit Women Behind Bars (I hope there are no photos of my nude scenes) and on Broadway in the bomb Legend, starring that spitfire Elizabeth Ashley.
I started writing plays, a surefire way not make a living. To bring in the bacon (which I was still eating back then) I had every job you can imagine: cabdriver (I loved getting fares to forgotten corners of the city); medical transcriptionist; wine salesman; really bad waiter. For a while I lived in an atmospheric little aerie on top of a brownstone -- reached by a private staircase, it had skylights, a roof deck, a clawfoot tub, ancient appliances, it was like being back in the 1940s.
My plays started getting produced off-off Broadway at places like La Mama, Theater for the New City, and The Kitchen. I made some lifelong pals and we would work together again and again, spending hours in cafes after rehearsals. It was la vie boheme circa 1980s. I ended up having close to twenty productions – Michael Musto, bless his heart, called me “the poet laureate of the Lower East Side” -- and it never stopped being a thrill to see my work up on stage.
I also wrote a few screenplays that were optioned, and had some fun experiences out in Hollywood. Especially when Madonna was interested in doing one of my plays and arranged a reading at her bungalow on the Warners lot. The mouth on that girl!
Twenty years ago I fell truly madly deeply in love with a fella I met at a scruffy writers’ colony in Vermont (it was very hard to get into – you had to call them up). I moved to delightful, bosky Cambridge and have been here ever since. I’ve ghostwritten in every genre imaginable, have published four novels, and write a fundraiser called Banned in Boston every year. When I’m not writing, I like to take long walks, run, do a little yoga, read, go to museums, and dance around the kitchen to eclectic playlists Steve puts together.
My love affair with the Hudson Valley/Catskills began over thirty years ago, when I bought a small cottage beside a big stream in West Saugerties. I spent my first summer there exploring the hidden byways and quirky towns, something I still love to do. It’s a wonderfully diverse area in every way, filled with fun, fascinating people and, of course, a lot of mystery.
At 17, I moved to San Francisco, ostensibly to go to San Francisco State College. It was the late sixties and the classroom had a hard time competing with my adolescent craving for adventure and the carnival of the times. I stayed in that dreamy town for seven years, leaving behind my heart and quite a few brain cells.
I moved back to New York City and tried to be an actor. I didn’t have the chops (or the talent), although it was fun appearing as the only man in the off-Broadway hit Women Behind Bars (I hope there are no photos of my nude scenes) and on Broadway in the bomb Legend, starring that spitfire Elizabeth Ashley.
I started writing plays, a surefire way not make a living. To bring in the bacon (which I was still eating back then) I had every job you can imagine: cabdriver (I loved getting fares to forgotten corners of the city); medical transcriptionist; wine salesman; really bad waiter. For a while I lived in an atmospheric little aerie on top of a brownstone -- reached by a private staircase, it had skylights, a roof deck, a clawfoot tub, ancient appliances, it was like being back in the 1940s.
My plays started getting produced off-off Broadway at places like La Mama, Theater for the New City, and The Kitchen. I made some lifelong pals and we would work together again and again, spending hours in cafes after rehearsals. It was la vie boheme circa 1980s. I ended up having close to twenty productions – Michael Musto, bless his heart, called me “the poet laureate of the Lower East Side” -- and it never stopped being a thrill to see my work up on stage.
I also wrote a few screenplays that were optioned, and had some fun experiences out in Hollywood. Especially when Madonna was interested in doing one of my plays and arranged a reading at her bungalow on the Warners lot. The mouth on that girl!
Twenty years ago I fell truly madly deeply in love with a fella I met at a scruffy writers’ colony in Vermont (it was very hard to get into – you had to call them up). I moved to delightful, bosky Cambridge and have been here ever since. I’ve ghostwritten in every genre imaginable, have published four novels, and write a fundraiser called Banned in Boston every year. When I’m not writing, I like to take long walks, run, do a little yoga, read, go to museums, and dance around the kitchen to eclectic playlists Steve puts together.
My love affair with the Hudson Valley/Catskills began over thirty years ago, when I bought a small cottage beside a big stream in West Saugerties. I spent my first summer there exploring the hidden byways and quirky towns, something I still love to do. It’s a wonderfully diverse area in every way, filled with fun, fascinating people and, of course, a lot of mystery.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 14, 2024
Addicting is the word I would use to describe this book. I couldn’t put it down.
This was a totally random library find that I knew nothing about and hardly has any reviews, and honestly it was one of the better psychological thrillers I’ve read for a long time.
If you like books that make you uncomfy, this one is for you.
This was a totally random library find that I knew nothing about and hardly has any reviews, and honestly it was one of the better psychological thrillers I’ve read for a long time.
If you like books that make you uncomfy, this one is for you.
January 22, 2015
I liked this book I really did and yay because I have been reading some duds LOL but this held my attention and made me want to read and to find out what was happening to the characters I got to know..The story follows a beautiful, successful married couple seeming to have it all--money, love, success and fame but also a closet full of secrets, lies and hidden agendas. I liked the way their story was drawn you felt their tense love and their attempt to show a brave front to the world when they were crumbling inside..one of my favorite quotes comes from the wife Anne on page 26 "Her father once told her to learn from ducks on a pond: they glide across the surface seemingly without effort but beneath the surface they are paddling like mad" Loved this quote as it so aptly described each of the characters perfectly.. Day by day Anne and her husband Charles stretch their niceties to push along their marriage when then enters the all too helpful, pretty but plain and extra mysterious Emma as first a temp to Anne at her thriving magazine then as an assistant to novelist Charles as he struggles to make a novel people want to buy after the classic lofty first novel of his career. I really connected to his story too as it must be difficult especially as a writer to continue to get better and sound the same but still recognizable and fresh and so when Emma comes to help fresh off the heels of his latest book failure and happens to show him a sample of her own writing why he is too pleased to mentor the shy girl and in his own way nurse his own creativity on another novel attempt..And it is with this plot that the novel begins and the mounting suspense between the trio builds and builds..overall I liked Emma's character the best and found the ending alittle underwhelming as I just expected more of a twist/surprise but honestly I do suppose it was realistic just not my favorite..In short this was a great read that goes fast and entertains you in a Ruth Rendell/Iris Murdoch/Donald Westlake kinda way...dry and dark humor but entertaining and compulsively addictive reading..:)
August 4, 2012
I didn't really like any of the characters in this book, not because they weren't well developed but because they weren't nice people! They create a mess of their intertwined lives and it spirals out of control. Mi didn't love it but it was compelling
September 14, 2023
The thing I liked most about this book is the flip flop in characters. At first you don’t trust Emma and feel sorry for Charles. By the end you feel sorry for Emma, and don’t trust Charles. On the other hand, most of these characters are unlikable to an extent for different reasons. Out of everyone I liked Anne the most, because she was the least terrible. By the end of it I liked Charles the least, Portia is a close second. I can’t get past her poisoning the wildlife. Why get a cabin in the mountains if you hate wildlife so much? I am definitely open to reading more by this author, this was a great first book in my opinion, for whatever that’s worth. I still have a question that went unanswered. What caused Emma to fixate on Charles? At this point, we won’t know. She did read one of his books, but it can’t be just that. Makes me wonder if something important ended up on the cutting room floor.
January 22, 2023
Emma is freshly arrived in New York, fleeing a dark past in Munsonville, Pennsylvania, and determined to make a fresh start. Through her temp job, she is matched with Anna, the editor of a famous lifestyle catalogue, and then to Anna’s famous husband, Charles.
Charles is a world famous author, struggling to write a book that measures up to his past successes, and Anna is struggling to keep her dream business afloat at any cost. Emma ends up ensconced in Charles’ writing lair, and they begin writing together.
As the book progresses, the various characters become desperate, maddened, obsessed and blinded by their own ambitions, desires and frailties.
This book was darkly entertaining and kept me interested until the end.
Charles is a world famous author, struggling to write a book that measures up to his past successes, and Anna is struggling to keep her dream business afloat at any cost. Emma ends up ensconced in Charles’ writing lair, and they begin writing together.
As the book progresses, the various characters become desperate, maddened, obsessed and blinded by their own ambitions, desires and frailties.
This book was darkly entertaining and kept me interested until the end.
July 9, 2019
Read this book as a teenager and was lucky enough to find it again as an adult. The author does a wonderful job creating a love/hate relationship with all the main characters and brings this dark story to life in all its messy glory. This book initiated a now life long love of psychological thrillers. Sebastian Stuart is brilliant.
October 21, 2023
My first book by this author. It is an interesting read. Keeps one guessing. What I liked most about it is that it doesn’t have a clichéd ending. I thought I knew where the story was going but I was wrong. A very quick and easy read with some surprises at the end. Three and a half stars from me. Would definitely like to read other books by Sebastian Stuart.
July 11, 2017
It was a fast read. The ending was a little too confused for my liking. The main male character had not been developed well enough early in the book for a thorough understanding of his actions later in the book. For instance, there was not the right mix between love and envy & desire and loss.
April 23, 2019
Meh... it was okay. I wanted to like it much more than I did.
February 5, 2022
The story was smooth and clearly visible and portrayal of damsel in distress is subtle. The ending is twist was very fast
February 23, 2023
It took me a while to get into this story, but after a while I couldn't put it down. I especially loved the twists at the good. Well worth the read.
October 4, 2023
This way such a super easy read. It was entertaining but also parts were hard to read due to mental health. Intriguing enough, kept me on my toes enough and the ending came along nicely.
October 31, 2024
Charles becomes obsessed with controlling the young women who had come into his life,
December 4, 2008
It seems that I have stumbled onto some excellent first novels lately. Sebastian Stuart’s The Mentor is yet another one.
I once had a creative writing professor who said every story needs to have two stories within it. I don’t know if Stuart knows Dr. Stern, but this is a writer who has an excellent grasp on the idea. The underlying theme seems to be: What if a person were forced into a desperate situation?
Charles Davis is a literary genius, but his latest book is less than spectacular. His wife, Anne, is a driven entrepreneur who supports her artist husband while pursuing her business deals. When Anne hires mousy Emma Bowles to help Charles put his home office in order, she has no idea what machine she is setting in motion. Emma is quiet, efficient, and maddeningly enigmatic to Charles.
Emma’s agenda is simply to become indispensable. Glimpses into her past reveal a disturbed woman who just wants t olive her simple life. She admires Charles and is inspired by him enough to share her own novel in progress. He is amazed and takes Emma under his wing… and into bed.
Charles looks upon Emma as his muse, but there are dark elements growing between the two. Anne has her own set of problems to contend with and a reader can sympathize with this powerful, classy woman even if he doesn’t necessarily like her.
The second half of the book spirals into focus, with the plot twisting one way, then another. Yet Stuart keeps his creation completely under control while the characters are backed into corner after corner. will leave you wondering if your actions would be much different, given the circumstances.
But where’s the crime? you ask. I don’t want to ruin the book for you, so all I will tell you is, you’ll know it when you see it.
I once had a creative writing professor who said every story needs to have two stories within it. I don’t know if Stuart knows Dr. Stern, but this is a writer who has an excellent grasp on the idea. The underlying theme seems to be: What if a person were forced into a desperate situation?
Charles Davis is a literary genius, but his latest book is less than spectacular. His wife, Anne, is a driven entrepreneur who supports her artist husband while pursuing her business deals. When Anne hires mousy Emma Bowles to help Charles put his home office in order, she has no idea what machine she is setting in motion. Emma is quiet, efficient, and maddeningly enigmatic to Charles.
Emma’s agenda is simply to become indispensable. Glimpses into her past reveal a disturbed woman who just wants t olive her simple life. She admires Charles and is inspired by him enough to share her own novel in progress. He is amazed and takes Emma under his wing… and into bed.
Charles looks upon Emma as his muse, but there are dark elements growing between the two. Anne has her own set of problems to contend with and a reader can sympathize with this powerful, classy woman even if he doesn’t necessarily like her.
The second half of the book spirals into focus, with the plot twisting one way, then another. Yet Stuart keeps his creation completely under control while the characters are backed into corner after corner. will leave you wondering if your actions would be much different, given the circumstances.
But where’s the crime? you ask. I don’t want to ruin the book for you, so all I will tell you is, you’ll know it when you see it.
February 3, 2015
Why the 5 stars? It's was a bloody good read that you can't put down! All the characters are deeply flawed. It starts out normal enough and becomes very twisted. Personally, I think it could have gone further. The main characters were fully developed. I came across this randomly and it was just a good, fun, twisted tale of messed up proportions. Very quick read.
February 22, 2010
Goodreads.com wants to know what I learned from this book. Hmmm, I learned that trite, vapid, stereotypical characters make for a pretty awful book. It was like junk food: you know its terrible but you read it anyway. Resist!
April 14, 2013
I liked it. The characters were developed, but I didn't like any if them. I pretty much thought they all got what they deserved. Of them all I liked Anne the most, and I felt for Emma the most. I would have loved for Emma to prevail, but that wouldn't have lead to the ending.
May 3, 2015
I decided to read this book because I remember skimming through it when I was 11 but never finishing it. It was okay. Prose isn't remarkable and the characterization feels a little flat to me but it was entertaining enough. Wouldn't read it again though.
March 16, 2008
What an intriguing story of ambition, deception; a true psychological thriller.
March 11, 2012
Don't bother reading - none of the characters were rounded out enough to root for. Bleak tale of the depravity of human character, although no one prevails in this trite story.
April 1, 2012
Quick light read, not much new
April 26, 2012
This book was disturbing for a number of reasons. Characters and plots that disappear halfway through, creepy reverse "misery" feeling, just generally unsettling.
May 30, 2012
Quick read, although somewhat predictable. It was a decent psychological thriller, but none of the characters were really believable or sympathetic.
August 12, 2012
a quick-and-easy suspense thriller read. this might have made a mediocre film with its rapid-fire, predictable, and adequately satisfying plot twists.
Read
January 26, 2016I enjoyed it.
July 3, 2021
3.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews