The Marriage of True Minds Book

Together as husband and wife, Nick Ward and Lena Grant ran a successful law firm in Minneapolis, vanquishing their legal foes side by side. When Nick's charmingly erratic behavior finally became too much for Lena, the marriage and the partnership ended.

But it seems that they just can't quite separate.

Lena works out fiercely, keeps her dates with the boring and conventional Preston Winter, and daily battles on against corporate greed. But Nick's not doing so well — he doesn't make plans; he has visions. Still brilliant and devilishly clever, he is also now prone to some political and personal fantasies. And he's suddenly become engaged in illegal guerrilla warfare for the sake of animals wild and domestic. Eventually his antics put him back into Lena's hands. While she tries to navigate their new legal waters, Nick veers into the midst of a simpatico set of companions, including Oscar, his psychiatric attendant and devoted Marvel Comics collector; Ralph and Alice Wilson, the rebellious managers of the city animal shelter; and an aging Irish hound named Wolfram.

Publishers Weekly

Evans demonstrates his playwright's mastery of dialogue and tension in his accomplished and whimsical first novel about love and the bizarre behavior it ignites. Lawyers Lena and Nick are divorced, with Lena retaining control of their Minneapolis firm and Nick pulling political protest stunts with a hand-puppet named Sancho. When Nick lands himself in jail for filling the pool at the mayor's mansion with lobsters, Lena, feeling guilty about maybe having given up on the marriage too soon, shepherds Nick into rehabilitation, saving him from jail time or, worse, commitment to a mental institution. Between long, painfully comedic conversations with Lena about their failed marriage, Nick performs community service at an animal shelter, where he finds a new cause to rally against: animal euthanasia. The real "rehabilitation" takes place in Nick and Lena's relationship, but even that doesn't stop Nick from pulling one final stunt that will shock the entire community, person and animal alike. As with any good trial, Evans's book has closing statements to resolve any questions he has left unanswered, and solid proof that he is just as much a talented novelist as he is a playwright. (May)

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