Imani Nichols is a Grammy-winning pop star. She’s also the most underpaid artist in the world. As a teenager with no guidance, Imani entered a shady record deal with her now ex-husband who became rich off Imani’s royalties.
Seasoned legal thriller writer James Grippando released “Goodbye Girl” Jan. 9, a novel inspired by the 2019 music ownership battles between Taylor Swift and record executive Scooter Braun. Braun acquired Swift’s first six albums, present and future royalties included. “Goodbye Girl” showcases how such strife can turn sour when handled by the wrong people.
“Goodbye Girl” is the 18th installment of the author’s Jack Swyteck series. Grippando’s own experiences as a lawyer inspire criminal defense attorney Swyteck’s adventures in Miami. Swyteck is notorious in the area, having already acquitted plenty of shady characters. Luckily for readers, you don’t need the first 17 novels for “Goodbye Girl” to make sense.
Club owners, Russian oligarchs, and trained assassins flood the plot of “Goodbye Girl” and keep readers hooked with brief chapters, exchanging character points of view each time. Despite its moderate length, the novel is concise and easy to follow with storylines that intersect appropriately. Nothing feels too rushed or contrived, and the drama seems to happen in real time.
At her concerts, Imani encourages her fans to pirate her music, and Shaky, now losing that profit from the royalties, decides to sue. A mutual friend brings in Swyteck to defend Nichols, and he gets sucked into a case much deeper than just intellectual property.
“Piracy” might be as outdated a term as “CDs” to young readers, but “Goodbye Girl” makes it more relevant than ever. The novel reveals the rich underground of industry pirating, giving characters the space to represent different viewpoints on pirating. Many people who pirate music do so to “stick it to the man,” when really they’re robbing their favorite artists. Some people who pirate just don’t want to spend the money. There are even vigilante groups against pirating who go to extremes in order to catch those at the top of the pirating food chain.
Years prior to the music ownership debacle between Imani and Shaky, FBI agents found the body of a man named Tyler McCormick tied to a piling with the novel’s title words carved into his chest. The seemingly random homicide from years before becomes deeply involved with the trial, adding layers of unfaithful marriages, crooked ex-boyfriends, and even Russian mafia ties to the plot.
With Grippando’s past legal expertise and present thumb on the cultural pulse, “Goodbye Girl” offers an exciting, twisted alternative reality to the music ownership news stories that hit Twitter feeds weekly.