- Paperback: 544 pages
- Publisher: Allison & Busby; New edition edition (May 28 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0749081392
- ISBN-13: 978-0749081393
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 3.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #990,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Holmes is an award-winning Broadway playwright and composer (The Mystery of Edwin Drood; Accomplice), so it's only appropriate that his hugely entertaining first novel should be set in the world of show business. It purports to be the account of one K. O'Connor (we never learn her first name), a smart, pretty and accomplished young journalist who has been commissioned to write a book about a celebrated comedy team of the '60s, Vince Collins-who sang smoothly and was a ladies' man, and Lanny Morris, who clowned around (Martin and Lewis, anyone?). At the height of their career, a dead girl was found in their hotel room, and although neither of them was accused (they had airtight alibis), the incident put an end to their act, and as the book begins, they haven't seen each other for years. O'Connor sniffs around Collins, reads some chapters Morris has set down for a book of his own and begins to wonder just where the truth does lie. Holmes has a wonderful feeling for period detail, and the '60s and '70s spring vividly back to horrific life through the brilliant narration of the romantically susceptible O'Connor. For much of its course the novel is witty, sexy and suspenseful, but eventually it morphs into a more conventional whodunit, with one of those windups in which a complicated plot is sorted out in improbable dialogue between accuser and perpetrator, and the giddy pleasures of the first two-thirds are somewhat overshadowed. That's not enough, however, to spoil what is for most of the way a glittering ride.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Although this is Holmes' first mystery novel, he has already wowed Broadway audiences with two crime stories: his musical adaptation of Dickens' Mystery of Edwin Drood (for which he won four Tony awards) and his Edgar-winning thriller, The Accomplice. This foray into narrative fiction is literate, witty, and atmospheric. Holmes re-creates the extravagant side of the 1970s--jumbo jets equipped with upper-level piano bars; Hollywood before the glamour died. Connecting all this glitz is the attempt of Holmes' heroine, a young female journalist, to write a book investigating the split of a comedy team obviously modeled on Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The reporter soon learns that a girl found murdered in a bathtub in a New Jersey casino years ago is somehow at the core of the duo's breakup. Further digging puts her in contact with some very funny, very scary gangsters and leads to her discovery that one of the comedy team may be a murderer--and may be coming after her. The plotline will command reader's interest, but what will probably knock them out is the dead-on way Holmes captures the comedy team's speech cadences and sybaritic habits, making what is known of Martin and Lewis' wild celebrity ride a compelling backdrop for villainy. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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First Sentence
In the seventies, I had three unrelated lunches with three different men, each of whom might have done A Terrible Thing. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
In the seventies, I had three unrelated lunches with three different men, each of whom might have done A Terrible Thing. Read the first page
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling debut novel,
By
This review is from: Where the Truth Lies: A Novel (Hardcover)
O'Connor is a journalist who has written exposes on Hollywood stars. Her current assignment is to work on a book about a famous comedy team duo the handsome singer Vince Collins and the comedian Lanny Morris. (Think Martin and Lewis) There are secrets in their past that O'Connor must uncover including a murder. The way to the truth lies in her multiple series of interviews she will have with Vince Collins who for one million dollars will tell all. A problem develops, however, when she meets Lanny strictly by coincidence on a trip to New York. He is writing his own autobiography so he is not interested in O'Connor's project. Under an assumed name she develops a relationship with him but is always under the threat that either Vince or Lanny is a murderer. The question is who?Rupert Holmes has written a delightful first novel. One cannot help but think of Martin and Lewis when reading about this comedy team that broke up many years ago. Richly detailed characterizations and settings make this novel stand out. This is, however, a problem with the book in that details can be so painstakingly described (such as a trip to Disneyland by Vince and O' Connor), that pacing and plot progression suffer as the pages add up. The book, however, is quite compelling and the mystery puzzling enough to keep the pages turning. Highly recommended.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Witty, clever, surprising - stay in this genre, Mr. Holmes!,
By Susan McM "Susan McM" (SoCal USA & Central Oregon) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Where the Truth Lies: A Novel (Hardcover)
This Edgar, Tony, and Grammy award-winning writer's first novel is tightly plotted, witty and clever as all-getout. This gentle reader, who often burns through a book a day, fervently hopes that Rupert Holmes will write books for a long while.jayhawks@san.rr.com
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sophisticated and Intelligent Romp of a Whodunit,
By A Customer
This review is from: Where the Truth Lies: A Novel (Hardcover)
Having gotten through a semester's worth of "must-read" books, I was only too happy to sit down and read this sophisticated and intelligent romp of a whodunit. A delicious first novel by Rupert Holmes, Where the Truth Lies is cleverly absorbing and massively entertaining. I couldn't put it down.The book is written in the first person, through the eyes and words of a witty, and quixotic, wisecracking journalist named O'Connor - who never takes herself too seriously as she works to find out what lies behind the breakup of the showbiz team of singer Vince Collins and comic Lanny Morris. I felt like I was her best friend -privy to all of the detailed secrets that only the closest of friends can share. The world of glitzy 70's L.A. and New York are laid before us as we go with O'Connor in search of where the truth lies. From her first dry vermouth on the rocks (with a twist of course), O'Connor takes us on an intoxicating thrill ride filled with mystery, wry humor, sumptuously described repasts and tantalizing, titillating sex. It's a ride that only a 26-year-old woman living in the 70's could take and of course, we are with her every step of the way. O'Connor, who is determined to deliver a top-notch story on Vince Collins, finds herself drawn into a mystery that both men thought was buried in the deep, dark past of their 50's act. The unexpected turns that this novel takes are staggering - and just when you think you have it figured out - something else happens to convince you otherwise. O'Connor, along with us, thinks she has a handle on both men, but instead finds herself being pushed and pulled along in a heady confusion of lies, half-truths, lust and glamour. But there is a depth of character to her that belies the 70's Cosmo mantra of "Fun, fearless, female." She has a heart, and this comes through in her desire to provide solace and comfort to the mother of the murdered woman. The satisfying conclusion is a lot like coming to the end of an exhilarating and heart-stopping ride at Disneyland (where some of the wilder moments of the novel are set) - well worth the trip! Come along for the ride - you absolutely won't regret it.
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