Wishing to escape tabloid journalism, Sara Joslyn is disgusted when her new editor gives her a story involving a gory sex-murder trial, until she learns that a country singer, known to her, may be involved. 50,000 first printing. National ad/promo. Tour.
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From Publishers Weekly
In Trust Me on This , his comedy mystery published in 1988, Westlake and the reader both had a great deal of fun with the scurrilous goings-on at a supermarket tabloid whose models are on view every day at--well, supermarkets. This time the Weekly Galaxy is covering (and how!) the murder case against popular Missouri country singer Ray Jones. So is pretty Sara Joslyn, a Galaxy escapee who now works for a trendy New York magazine called--well, Trend. Ray is also being pursued for zillions in back taxes by the IRS and seems determined, despite his lawyers' best efforts, to screw up everything in sight, in court and without. Meanwhile, can Trend expose Galaxy 's hideous newsgathering methods and get their own scoop as well? Westlake's practiced hand soon has these elements spinning cheerfully. Sara is a delightfully feisty, smart heroine; Ray is suitably enigmatic; there are some spot-on takeoffs on typical country lyrics; and the windup is both utterly surprising and entirely logical. For light entertainment conducted by an ace practitioner, they don't come any better that this. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This novel, yet another of the author's sprightly comic crime capers (e.g., Don't Ask, LJ 3/1/93), is set in "the new Nashville": Branson, Missouri. Singer Ray Jones is accused of one murder and then of a second. Out on bail, he continues to entertain in his theater. Meanwhile, an army of troops from the sleazy tabloid Weekly Galaxy descends to bug offices, lie, infiltrate, and do anything else necessary to get some sort of story on the upcoming trial. Also arriving are reporters Sara and Jack, lovers and representatives of a trendy New York magazine called Trend: The Magazine for the Way We Live This Instant. The action is jet-fast, and the satiric commentary on country western stars and fans is wonderfully wicked. This enjoyable romp will do well in popular collections.
--Robert H. Donahugh, formerly with Youngstown & Mahoning Cty. P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--Robert H. Donahugh, formerly with Youngstown & Mahoning Cty. P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By "papinkston"
Format:Mass Market Paperback
An open letter to all those who assumed that they were cheated by Mr. Westlakeke's " Baby Would I Lie". Westlake has been writing for more years than you have drawn breath. Exit criticism 1. "Trust Me On This" was so fun that I gave it to some Journo pukes to lighten them up. I,Phil, did want to know what happened afterward, the drama queers had no interest. I,(fanfare of trumpets) would seldom criticise (sorry about the spelling, but sometimes an "S" is better than a "Zed") a man who has afforded me so much thought provoking entertainment. "The Winner" is the finest human drama story that I know. "Nackles" is the creepiest. Loose your venom on a worthy target, you little coney-catchers, Read "Anarchaos" or a little Parker and shut up. Pinkyprime
Format:Mass Market Paperback
_Baby, Would I Lie?_ is the sequel to Donald Westlake's _Trust Me on This_. That book concerned Sara Joslyn's time working for the Weekly Galaxy, a sleazy tabloid. At the end of that book Sara and her editor, now lover, Jack Ingersoll, manage to escape to New York and respectable journalism, in the form of Trend, a weekly modelled as far as I can tell on the New Yorker.
As this book opens, Sara is on her way to Branson, MO. Her latest assignment is to cover the murder trial of Ray Jones, a middle-aged country music star with a theater in Branson. One of Jones' employees was found murdered and dumped in Table Rock Lake, and Ray's car was seen with incriminating bloodstains. The evidence against him is purely circumstantial, and fairly weak, but the trial is also being held in the court of public opinion.
As Sara arrives, she encounters to her dismay some of her former colleagues from the Weekly Galaxy. Naturally, they too are covering this celebrity trial. And before long Jack is in Branson as well, chomping at the bit to nail the Galaxy at their nefarious journalistic tricks.
The story is told from several points of view, but mostly those of Sara and Ray Jones. We soon learn that Ray is also in trouble with the IRS, and we get hints that he is not guilty of the murder but that he knows more than he is letting on, and that he has some curious scheme afoot. Much to the dismay of his legal team, which is confident they can get him off if they can keep him reined in. Meanwhile, he is mysteriously letting Sara have significant access to his legal preparations, much to the further consternation of his lawyers. Is he setting up Sara somehow?
The resolution is pretty clever with a nice twist or two. Westlake's portrayal of Branson, a town I know reasonably well, is not bad. (There are one or two missteps, and it's rather out of date. (The book was published in 1994, and depicts the town as it was in perhaps 1990 or so.)) He tries somewhat to avoid stereotyping Midwestern tourists, with limited success. He is pretty sound (and on the whole, sympathetic) on the country musicians themselves, though. The lyrics to Ray Jones' songs are all by Westlake, and they are quite good country pastiches. Ray Jones himself is well depicted -- not exactly a nice man, but not a monster, either. And the book is quite funny.
By A Customer
Format:Audio Cassette
Like a book you can't put down, this audiodisc is one I couldn't turn off. Nicola Sheara (Reader)brings a unique -- and believable -- voice to every character and enthuses the prose with a sense of lively anticipation. Other reviewers have commended the writer; I want to be sure that audio tape/disc listeners know that they won't be disappointed in this rendition of a very entertaining tale.
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