When did fiction authors start writing extensive acknowledgement sections? If you're using, for example, a lot of Harry Truman's letters and need to spend oodles of time at the Truman library, then by all means thank the extremely helpful librarians there.But your cat? You need to thank your cat? In print?
In Hollywood, I think thanking your agent is in your contract, as is thanking the Weinstein brothers. They're standing in the wings backstage, saying, "I made you. You're going to let everyone out there know or you'll never work in this town again!"
Somehow, I just don't imagine that going on in the publishing world. Your agent's secretary might be extremely helpful, and the junior copyeditor at the publishing house may really know her stuff, but I doubt they're going to drop you if you don't include an acknowledgements section singing their praises.
I was going to rant about acknowledgements in fiction books at some point - this book was the one that drove me over that edge.
The story's good. Twisted and ugly and suffocating and very readable. I'm not a huge fan of 1st person p.o.v., but it's appropriate to this book.
However...
If one writes a book which involves a lot of puzzles and clues and traps and falsehoods, readers are going to read quite closely, trying to detect same. So if the story isn't absolutely airtight, your readers will notice any little gaps in credibility or storyline or whatnot. So dammit, I should not be left thinking, "Yes but, what about..." at the end.
I know. I always find something to complain about.
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