The Second Fiddle

Ted Thring is a book reviewer for the Queen’s University radio
station.

Nicholas Rivard, a 45-year-old reporter who covers municipal politics
for a Montreal newspaper, has been married for 18 years and has three
children. The death of a longtime friend appears to trigger a midlife
crisis that begins when Rivard spends the night with the friend’s
widow following the funeral and continues when he picks up a dazzlingly
beautiful young woman on the Metro. They are soon involved in a
passionate affair that causes Rivard to neglect both his family and his
job. On the job, Rivard and a fellow reporter uncover illegal activities
on the part of a Quebec cabinet minister. Bizarre adventures and plot
complications ensue. A certain suspension of disbelief is necessary for
the enjoyment of this novel by the author of the critically acclaimed Le
Matou.