Herron adeptly negotiates the rules of satire and the laws of libel to create fictional public figures who simultaneously hit more than one real-life bullseye . . . Stylistically, Herron’s narrative voice swoops from the high to the low but it’s the dialogue that zings: the screenwriters of the inevitable TV version won’t have to change much . . . Herron is a very funny writer, but also a serious plotter.