Rating: 
Summary: For heaven's sake, it's FUN!
Review: A sexy, witty, deceptive, touching, intelligent, did I mention sexy, thriller where you can identify with the heroine, enjoy the references to "back then" (60's), guess at the slyly inferred real-life entertainers satirized, try to guess who's the good guy/bad guy, and after all that have a happy ending. Lord I hope he writes more!
Rating:
Summary: Where mystery abides!
Review: As an established author in multiple medias, Rupert Holmes has honed his craft to a true cutting edge. He uses that craft to twist a tale most complex into one of the most enjoyable reads that I have had in several years. As one who has worked in and known Komedy (with a capital K), I find his portrayal of the dynamics of a comedy team spot-on. Congratulations, Rupert, on a well-told tale. And congratuations to anyone who has the good sense to read Mr. Holmes' entry into another medium.
Rating:
Summary: Where the Reading Pleasure Lies
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Sophisticated and Intelligent Romp of a Whodunit
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: All will be pleased to find "Where The Truth Lies"
Review: Having long been a fan of Rupert Holmes' music (yes, I liked "Escape," but much preferred the musicality of "Second Saxophone" and "Times Square & The Old School") as well as his much-celebrated television show, "Remember Wenn" and his award-winning musicals, I waited, with great anticipation, for the late June 2003 release of his first novel, WHERE THE TRUTH LIES. I sincerely hoped that someone who was so incredibly diversified could enter and triumph in yet another literary genre. To say that I was not disappointed would be putting it mildly. Holmes' novel has such rich, round characters - characters who quickly become real people in the lives of interested readers.
I have to admit that, as an English teacher for thirty-four years, I often have to limit what I read for pleasure. As a result, I developed a system of passing up a book if I wasn't intrigued by the first sentence. In WHERE THE TRUTH LIES, my imagination was instantly captured by the introductory, "In the seventies, I had three unrelated lunches with three different men, each of whom might have done A Terrible Thing." Who could read that and not want to go further to learn about O'Connor, the young, female journalist who quickly becomes experienced, the comedy team of Vince and Lanny, whose humor soon becomes dark and ominous, and their connections with a lightly-veiled Mafia? And just what was this "terrible thing?"
I had to know!
The fascinating things about this novel, however, are the complicated twists the plot takes. One can read the first half and be convinced that one knows the outcome, only to go a little further and realize that nothing could be further from the truth. Only in the last thirty pages does the reader learn, "Where The Truth Lies."
Holmes is, indeed, a master story-teller. His mystery is ripe with rich humor that often had me laughing out loud. However, this writer does not depend on mystery and humor alone; he delves into the lives of even the minor characters so deeply that the reader can truly empathize with them. This work also contains one of the most beautiful, touching similies I have ever seen on paper.
What is, perhaps, the most amazing to me is how a male baby-boomer can write so effectively in the persona of a young female journalist and make this character so incredibly believable, touching, and enjoyable.
Hopefully, this is only the first of several Rupert Holmes' novels because having only one from such a gifted and talented author would be a tremendous loss to the world of readers.
Rating: 
Summary: a book about getting away with it
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Where the Truth Lies
Review: I have enjoyed Rupert Holmes' work on television and the stage (most recently "Say Goodnight, Gracie" and, before that, the Boston tryout of a musical version of "Marty")and so I looked forward to his new novel.My expectations were exceeded. "Where the Truth Lies" is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Much of it is very funny. Much of it is suspenseful. There are so many unexpected twists and turns as the story jumps from LA to New York to Miami that I found it difficult to put down the book. Holmes' great attention to detail brings back the era covered in a fascinating manner. I usually read non-fiction; as the excellent "Devil in the White City" made me feel like I was reading fiction, "Where the Truth Lies" gave me the feeling that I was into non-fiction.
Rating:
Summary: A masterful debut novel
Review: I was NOT surprised that I enjoyed this book. After all, the author was the creator and head writer for the superb--and lately lamented--REMEMBER WENN television show on AMC. Mr. Holmes succeeds in mastering yet another field with this novel. (He's won a Grammy, several Tonys and an Edgar for his stageplay, ACCOMPLICE.) With dead-on observations and insights concerning the 70s, he has penned a thoroughly entrancing yet intriguing mystery, populated with an extraordinary cast of characters who jump off the pages and into your imagination and heart. No one quite knows why a famous comedy team broke up at the height of their success and went their separate ways. A young journalist who is determined to write the definitive book about the team, discovers that both men are attractive as well as attentive. But which one--the singer with the killer voice or the comedian with the killer smile--is a real killer? It's not often that a book (especially a first book) excels on all levels: wry observational narrative, delicious period and location details, clever, sparkling dialogue, unique insight into the dynamics and dissolution of a strong partnership, and of course, a truly inspired plot. I found it to be the best--the most entertaining and most memorable book I've read in a very long time.
Rating:
Summary: Great Characters, Great Plot, Great Book
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent debut
Review: I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book ! (I guess because the author is credited with composing "The Pina Colada Song", which is not something to include on one's writing resume). The book is engaging, suspenseful, and kept me intrigued until the very end, when there was a rush of exposition to wrap up all the plot twists rather convieniently. I still highly recommend this one as a great "beach book" - you won't want to put it down !
|
