{"product_id":"the-set-up-9781953368942","title":"The Set Up","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlly, an aspiring actress, is about to give up on getting her big break. But then, after another disappointing audition, a charismatic scene partner says he has a fun gig for her. Soon, Ally is making easy money working for a guerrilla-marketing outfit called The Set Up. Now she's getting lots of practice pretending to be someone she's not--but each job seems more suspicious than the last.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMarshall is a washed-up journalist, teaching a summer class at the university and struggling to keep his students (and himself) focused on his planned lessons. Someone has been leaving copies of his old articles on his lectern every morning, forcing him to revisit the story of a decades-old tragedy and mistakes he's made ... both personal and professional.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWeb, a quirky loner, has always been ready to pick up and go at a moment's notice. In fact, he's very good at not being noticed, at least not unless he wants to be. That's been helpful in his years working for the Set Up, but the new hire's questions are starting to make Web feel less confident about his work as a con man.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat is the Set Up, and who's playing whom? The search for answers leads Ally, Web, and Marshall from the glitz of the Strip to the grit of Sin City's strip-mall suburbs, and from an abandoned Unification compound to a deadly bar mitzvah. As their paths converge, this unlikely trio uncover the shadowy power dynamics and shifting personalities that shape a city. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eJon Wynn is a professor and the department chair of sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has written \u003cem\u003eThe Tour Guide: Walking and Talking New York\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eMusic\/City: American Festivals and Placemaking in Austin, Nashville, and Newport\u003c\/em\u003e, and co-authored \u003cem\u003eThe City and the Hospital: The Paradox of Medically Overserved Communities\u003c\/em\u003e. His work has also appeared in \u003cem\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eSalon\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/em\u003e, and other venues. \u003cem\u003eThe Set Up\u003c\/em\u003e is his first novel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Belt Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51276851282194,"sku":"9781953368942","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_3d775cfc-f77e-462f-849c-860a8ea71521.jpg?v=1747142534","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-set-up-9781953368942","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}