Bright, ambitious and handsome, Ross Ohrenstedt, a high-flier in the fashionable field of Queer Studies is flourishing amid the back-stabbing, resentments and petty intrigues of academia. He has just taken up a prestigious university post in Los Angeles and has been appointed to oversee the collection of the papers and works of Damon Von Slyke, prominent man of letters and leading light of the gay literary salon known as the Purple Circle. Sorting through the papers, Ross stumbles across a 'lost' work by an unknown author. His quest to identify the mystery writer and achieve the glory of scholastic tenure unveils the lives and wild times of a group of writers who in the 1970s and 1980s broke new ground in the creation of a gay literary sensibility. But the truth contained within THE BOOK OF LIES is even more surprising... With sharp wit, powerfully unexpected revelations and a luscious sense of place and character, Felice Picano's new novel explores the ties of love, friendship and betrayal with rewarding depth and emotional honesty. With a luscious sense of place and character and with powerfully unexpected revelations, Felice Picano's new novel explores the ties of love, friendship and betrayal with rewarding depth and emotional honesty.