Customer Reviews

Where the Truth Lies: A Novel

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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
Susan in Poway, CA

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.

The multi-talented Holmes first entered the scene with the notoriously famous "story" songs "Escape", "Him" and "Answering Machine." While he sustained this cleverness in a three or four minute song, I found it hard to swallow in this lengthy novel.
First off, there is no doubt Holmes has talent, as evidenced by his overwhelming success in "Edwin Drood" and "Accomplice." There is also no denying that this book has a lot of funny scenes and dialogue. The plotting is sharp, if a little muddled near the end; there are lots of twists and turns. He evokes a real feel for the seventies, a decade in which his stardom shot to the top and left him somewhere in the middle by the time it was over.
So why only three stars? I just didn't LIKE the book and it's self-serving, egotistical, devious, sexually depraved characters. While K. O'Connor certainly is an interesting character, her sexual lusts and her ease in being duplicitous hardly makes her likeable. In fact, there's no really likeable characters in this book, and who O'Connor ends up with is a real downer for me.
A case of brilliant writing, but a vacuous and empty feeling was all I was left with.

This book by Rupert Holmes may very well be the best book I have ever read. It has everything you could ever ask for in a book and more!!! Holmes creates the settings so well. I felt as if I had actually travelled with the main character. All his characters are so fully and realistically developed. I missed the people in the book when I was done reading it. They had become a part of my life. I hope that Holmes has more books out soon or I'll just go nuts!!!

In Rupert Holmes' debut novel WHERE THE TRUTH LIES K. O'Connor, a 26 year old female journalist who specializes in penetrating celebrity interviews, is working on an as-told-to autobiographical book on the lives of one of the most famous comedy teams of the 40s and 50s Vince Collins & Lanny Morris. Soon O'Connor becomes involved -- maybe a little too involved for her own good -- with both members of the legendary comedy team, one of whom may be a murderer.

Much of the book takes place in the 70s with some flashbacks to the 50s as the comics look back on their careers and lives. In this one book Holmes takes you from LA to New York to Miami. With stops along the way at the Warner Brothers studio back lot, the hidden 'Club 33' at Disneyland, backstage at a Mets game, and so many great restaurants your mouth is likely to be watering throughout much of the ride.

Holmes describes his settings so well it is hard not to imagine yourself right there along with 'K' throughout the whole novel. There are many splendid twists and turns as the story unfolds in a lively narrative and I don't want to ruin it for anyone out there by giving away too much more of the story line. Readers of Holmes' WHERE THE TRUTH LIES will enjoy his clever wordplay, wry observational narrative, sparklingly realistic dialogue, and his remarkable attention to detail throughout the book.

Two or three times in the novel Holmes gets more explicit, sexually, than I expected him to (based on his many other works which I am familiar with). Whenever Holmes does this it is part of the plot of the book, what drives the characters and what moves the story line along and not just thrown in to make the novel sensational (remember much of the story takes place in the world of showbiz during the over-the-top decadent 70s). (I mention the sex only because this book is not appropriate for everyone -- i.e.: I wouldn't give it as a gift to say my Grandmother or a 14 year old relative -- you can use your own judgement in each case as to who the book is right for and who it is wrong for).

After reading Rupert Holmes' debut novel from cover to cover I must say that although Holmes may not have set out to write a comedy... the TRUTH is you will definitely find yourself enjoying many a silent smirk of humorous recognition and quite a few hearty laughs as you journey through the pages of WHERE THE TRUTH LIES. But don't try to fit Rupert Holmes into any ONE genre with this book. For it is pieces of mystery, pieces of comedy and pieces of drama. Just like real life Holmes takes parts of all these things and rolls them into one -- the GREAT news is Holmes is brilliant at writing ALL THREE -- mystery, comedy and drama!

When I found out that the guy who wrote "Escape (The Pina Colada Song) wrote a mystery novel - how could I not buy it? I really enjoyed the main character's (K. O'Connor) internal dialogue and her self-deprecating humor...and Holmes's writing style is very clean. The story just kind of cooks along, though Holmes's hiding of several facts is rather irritating (K says things to herself like "because of the funny address on the postcard" without telling us what the address is), until the story gets bogged down in this very explicit sex scene.

The scene is interesting enough to read, but as you move through the scene, you start to wonder whether the tongue-in-cheek (you should excuse the expression) mystery novel you WERE reading will ever come back or if you have now moved into a hard core porn novel.

It does eventually come back, though I started to not like K. very much - I didn't respect her the morning after...and the ending is a tad fast and easy (as is K!) but all in all - I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

I do hope Holmes continues writing - talk about a multi-talented guy!

Holmes is a gifted writer with strong funny dialog and a great plot. The book is difficult to put down. But afterward it felt like enjoying junk food on thanksgiving. You put so much into it, enjoy it at the time, but after kind wonder what it could have been. It's a sexual murder mystery heavy on the sex. But it comes down to the fact that every character is shallow, especially the first-person protagonist. This is a book about getting away with it and nothing more. If he threw in just ONE likeable character it could have really turned the book into a great one.

I was so curious to read Rupert Holmes first novel being a child of the seventies and hearing "The Pina Collada Song" repeatedly, as well as being a big fan of the musical "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." It's a fantastic novel. Set in the entertainment business in the seventies, it's the story of a young journalist writing a tell-all novel about one half of a comedy team ala Martin & Lewis. K.O'Connor is sexy, very funny, and whip smart. She unfolds her story in a first person prose that through much of the book will have you laughing out loud. But at the heart of the novel is a murder mystery the boys might have been involved in which is what O'Connor really is digging for. What unwinds is unpredictable, fun, and completely surprising. I look forward to whatever this man writes next.

Do you like wordplay, cool places, intriguing characters--oh, and a nice juicy mystery to go along with all of them? Then this is the book for you. K. O'Connor (K. for Kathleen? Katherine? Kerry? The only mystery left unsolved is her first name), smart young journalist with a talent for interviewing celebrities, has a plum assignment dropped in her lap: an in-depth interview of Vince Collins, still popular older pop singer and movie actor. Vince and his onetime partner, comedian Lanny Morris, have a particular skeleton in their closet--or perhaps I should say their hotel bathroom, a place where, years earlier, a young woman's corpse was discovered. Needless to say, the guys had flawless alibis, but the incident appeared to have led to the breakup of their partnership. Now Vince's interview contract gives O'Connor much latitude, and she's determined to ask him The Question about The Body. But no sooner has O'Connor found out Lanny Morris is planning to write his own book about the incident than she accidentally meets him on a flight to New York...and then things really start to get complicated.

Rupert Holmes' penchant for clever wordplay and descriptions, so evident in his playwright work, music, and in the series REMEMBER WENN, is in full throttle here. Along with fascinating descriptions of things like the Warner Brothers studio tour, the hidden restaurant at Disneyland, and backstage at a Mets game and at a telethon--not to mention the pitfalls that go with the perks of being a celebrity, O'Connor's deductions, fears, discoveries, and delights-oh, and betrayals--unfold in a lively narrative that contains more twists than an old-fashioned cruller. One of the best chapters is her memorable interview with the deceased woman's mother, which is quite chilling. One advisory: even if you're reading this book on a full stomach, there are so many great restaurants described it will have you longing for a good dinner somewhere! Highly recommended.