Grosse Pointe Pimp

Like the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Middlesex, Mark Steel's first
novel
Grosse Pointe Pimp is set in the Beverly Hills of the
Midwest, Grosse Pointe, Michigan - a town where beneath the veneer of polite
privilege lurks an intricate web of lies and betrayals. With an uncannily
keen perspective and stinging wit, Steel exposes a secretive network where
ordinary people pay an extraordinary price to satisfy the covert desires of a
privileged few in a cliquey community that values wealth and social standing
above all else.

The story revolves around Max Lexington, an aging, married billionaire.
Drawn by the lure of youth and excitement, he finds himself inextricably
attracted to a girl -- a former stripper -- who uses her Hollywood looks and
intimate charms to stake a claim on his future that goes well beyond his
fortune. Grosse Pointe's power elite, who would ordinarily look down their
turned-up noses at such social disgrace, look the other way. The mighty
religious community that invokes virtue at every gathering also casts a blind
eye at the indiscretion.

But Max's intimidating wealth and power can't prevent the disaster that
ensues. Lives spin out of control. And caught in the middle of the
tangled web is the billionaire's personal trainer who signs on as a body coach
but winds up being much, much more. Seduced by the promise of fortune and
security, he advances from trainer to bodyguard to counselor and confidante
until -- as Steel describes with striking realism and an undaunted sense of
humor -- he ultimately, unwittingly becomes the Grosse Pointe
Pimp.