Ponder: Unscripted

Unscripted ©2019 by Davis Bunn, is the fourth book in his Miramar series and the fourth I have read by this author. Unscripted was a huge disappointment; perhaps it should have had a subtitle of "and unedited" as well. It was incoherent. I give it two stars which in my system translates to Ok, not great; some redeeming features; I finished it.  So what were these redeeming features that drew me on and what were the aspects that were lacking?

Redeeming features: 

1. Unscripted completed the Miramar series of books I previously liked by Davis Bunn.
2. There was an interesting aspect into learning what goes into making a movie, both in the technical and the financial skills.

There is a satisfaction in having read all the books in a series and I wanted to check that box. My expectation with an author is that he gets generally gets better as time goes on, but not so with this book. It was difficult to follow because the main characters were to move forward and act based on trust. The reason for them doing so is repeatedly withheld from them, presumably under the excuse of "no time to explain right now". This writing technique does create suspense since the reader is drawn on in an attempt to develop understanding. Unscripted is so titled because it is about the production of a movie for which the script has not been written, the funding has not been secured, the cast has not been contracted, and forward progress in hindered by a sinister undertone that some giant in the film industry wants this endeavor, spearheaded by line producer Daniel Byrd, to fail. From this I did manage to glean a sort of sequence that need to occur in the creation of a movie but I needed to ferret out that process from between the lines.The general conflict is of the David and Goliath variety. Los Angeles lawyer, Megan Pierce, formerly from a high-pressure, hot-shot law firm, manipulates the financial and legal aspects of producing the film. There is an underlying, unsubstantiated romantic interest developing between Daniel and Megan. Throw in a mysterious anonymous inheritance with a heart-rending betrayal by a close friend/partner, and the stewing soup of question marks continues to swirl and confuse. 

Aspects lacking:

1. It was incoherent
2. Characters did not become real or endearing to me
3. Previous reviews had been misleading

Included are three misleading reviews from the introductory pages of this Unscripted. True, a book will never have on the introductory pages, "This book is mediocre - do not bother reading it,". However, these praises are so far from my experience that I had to comment on each.

I did read this book with the hope of getting a better insight in the making of films. But there were so many characters, with first and last names, sometimes referred to by a first name, sometimes by a last name, depending on with whom in the pecking order they were speaking, that I became totally befuddled. The world of lawyers and bankers is not my realm and this book did little to enlighten me. Portrayal of the behavior of prima donna movie stars seemed stale and did little to dismiss or validate stereotypical impressions.

"Eyes damp twice and throat constricted...?" Hardly! If anything my eyes burned from trying to keep them open while forging on with the hope the book would get better. There was little to no emotional connection with the characters for me in Unscripted, unlike Bunn's previous three books in the series. To quote myself from my Jan 12, 2020 post about the first three books in the Miramar series

The first three all bear the author's soft urging style that encourages the reader to turn page after page, not necessarily because of some climactic event, but rather because of a genuine caring for the characters and a yearning to see how their lives unfold.

This reviewer probably had to reread the book to find out what the &^%&% was going on!

So why did I put so much effort into this review? I think I had to convince myself there was something more there that I was missing. I even made the effort of a special library request to borrow this book through an interlibrary loan, so engaged was I with the first three books. Alas. My efforts were for naught. Davis Bunn is a very prolific writer but I will most definitely give his books a rest before seeking out others. Two stars. Not worth your time. I over-invested.