Basement of Wolves — Daniel Allen Cox

In this taut, beautifully layered novel by Lambda Literary and Ferro-Grumley Award finalist Cox (Shuck, Krakow Melt), Michael-David is a paranoid actor who feels that fame has ruined him. When a film shoot with wolves for co-stars takes a troubling turn, he disappears shortly before the premiere and barricades himself in an L.A. hotel, convinced that he's cursed and must ride it out in hiding. He begins to explore the hotel's secret passageways with the help of a young skateboarder he befriends, away from the glare of the spotlight. Meanwhile, the film's director, suspicious that Michael-David is having an affair with his ex, is trying to find him in time for the premiere. A long-dormant nicotine addiction leads him closer to the target and into the path of danger, while the olves also sniff out Michael-David for one final scene.

A work of dream logic, Basement of Wolves is a haunting and cinematic romp through the minefields of identity crisis.