Interruption of the Cocktail Hour: A Washington Yarn of Art, Murder, and the Attempted Assassination of the President

Unexpected power yields some absurdly catastrophic results in Arthur Cotton Moore's wildly entertaining new novel, "Interruption of the Cocktail Hour." Painting is the lifeblood of the aristocratic A. Pierpont Preston, despite the fact that recognition has eluded him. Ravaged by critics, without hope of sales, commissions, or a gallery show, Pete takes his new inheritance and his reluctant wife to Scapoosa County, Maryland, in search of artistic rejuvenation and a new beginning. After meeting H2O, the Japanese-American inventor of the perfect untraceable killing machine, Pete steals it to use to his advantage. After a few unfortunate accidental deaths, he removes obstacles in his career, saves hundreds of innocent people, and silences evil on behalf of good. He becomes a hero in Pouletville by killing "The Abominable Chicken" which had been marauding the town and terrifying its citizens. Pete pretends to be an architect during his affair with The White House Chief of Staff, which leads to his being hired to design a secret presidential hideaway--which then leads to his being offered millions to assassinate the president, just one more unexpected twist in his ridiculously bizarre life. The outlandish comedy takes place throughout Washington, DC and Scapoosa County, via a large cast of memorable characters comprising art critics, White House and Secret Service staff, local construction workers, a police officer, a wealthy and vicious mother-in-law, a former wrestler, NRA supporters, a Pakistani bookmaker, a WASP family, illegal Chinese laborers, a billionaire and his fourth wife, and a New Jersey construction company.