Smoke Screen Book

In Smoke Screen Kyle Mills produces a deliciously sly fantasy on what would happen if the tobacco industry saw sense. His hero, Trevor, is a thirtysomething trustafarian whose eventual wealth depends on his staying part of the family firm--an integral part of Big Tobacco. His capacity for useful candour gets him promoted to a senior PR job at just the point where a maverick CEO tries to blackmail the US government and people by shutting down the entire tobacco industry--to demonstrate that multi-billion lawsuits and endless regulation aside, America cannot do without tobacco. Trevor, though, has a different agenda--presumably Mills' own--which is to bring common sense and humanity to the debate; he also wants to hang onto his personal wealth and get the woman he loves--which is harder than it sounds, since she is an anti-smoking advocacy lawyer. At times, this is a talky book, and has some slightly artificial melodrama about Serbian tobacco smugglers; Trevor is an attractive and entertaining advocate for his political positions and Mills manages to involve us in all the political and boardroom chicanery that his charm and honesty cut through like a cigar clipper. --Roz KaveneyRead More