Synopsis/blurb……….
A
con man takes to the road with a blond drifter, trying to stay one step ahead
of a vengeful killer in this chilling thriller from New York Times–bestselling
author John Lutz
Lou
Roebuck couldn’t tell the truth if his life depended on it. If he could, he
might not have lost his job and his wife, or ended up driving over his old
nemesis, Ingrahm, in his Thunderbird. Now Roebuck’s a thief and a murderer on
the run with nobody to listen to his tall tales but Ellie, a pretty blonde
who’s looking for excitement. They’ll have to keep moving, though, because not
only are the cops dangerously close behind, but Ingrahm’s cold killer friend,
Gipp, is coming after them as well. Roebuck’s going to have to do some pretty
fast talking if he and Ellie want to keep breathing. And if he can’t lie his
way out of this one, he’s going to find himself lying in an early grave.
A
true master of suspense, John Lutz dazzles with a breakneck thriller that has
more twists and turns than a winding country road. The Truth of the Matter is a
bravura display of Lutz’s justifiably acclaimed storytelling prowess.
My first time with this author and I was mistaken for
thinking it was a newly published book, when I requested it on Net Galley. I know of John Lutz mainly because of the film Single White Female, which I saw many
years ago and enjoyed. There are a couple more of his books sitting somewhere
amongst the stacks but I couldn’t tell you what they are without some serious
digging.
Lutz
has been fairly prolific since the early 70’s when The Truth of the Matter, his debut novel was published. He has a
couple of 10 books series with two PI’s – Alo
Nudger and Fred Carver, both of
which I like the sound of – though in all honesty it would be madness to embark
on trying to read another 20-odd books. Other series he’s penned include Frank Quinn (11 titles) and the Night series of 6 books. There’s maybe
10 standalone novels that have also been published and many short stories –
enough to fill 4 collections.
John
Lutz’s
website is here.
Back to The
Truth of the Matter then. We start and finish with Lou Roebuck. He’s just
about to run out on his latest girlfriend. He’s lost his job and after running
down an old army buddy and fleeing from his partner Gipp. He burglars his
ex-employer he’s now on the run.
Roebuck sure has the gift of the gab. I was amused at
how quickly he thinks on his feet when asked a question; how quickly the
fantastic lies trip off his tongue, initially sounding plausible but soon the
penny drops that he would have had to live to be about 200 years old to have
done half the things he’s claimed to. He’s the star of the book – never truly
likeable, always untrustworthy yet there’s something about him that has you
rooting for a solution to his predicament. Even so, should he get out of one
scrape, you just know there’s more trouble in store around the corner.
Roebuck picks up a blonde in a hotel bar. Ellie with
her own chequered past and acceptance of what life has in store for her joins
Roebuck on his road trip. He feeds Ellie lies and half-truths and whilst she
never contradicts him or challenges him, you feel she knows exactly who he is.
When they come to the attention of Sheriff Boadeen when holed up at Lake
Chippewa, Ellie is the realist and pragmatically deals with Boadeen in an
effort to stave off impending disaster.
With Boadeen circling closer and Roebuck still having
nightmares about his pursuit by Gipp, his surviving enemy from his army days;
Ellie and Roebuck take flight again. Without spoiling, you sense things aren’t
going to end well.
I liked the reading about the characters more than I
liked the characters themselves. All in all a decent read and one that does
have me wanting to try more from the author, particularly a book or two from
one pf his series, when I can see how he develops a lead over a few books.
4 from 5
I liked Single White Female too, so predisposed to like this, and I do like an unreliable narrator or main character. Are you going to try to dig out his other books now, or will the mountain fall down if you do that?
ReplyDeleteI'm in agreement on the unreliable narrator. Curious to see if you thought Riddle from TRRH was unreliable or not.
DeleteI think I'm drawn to his books because - and I'm hoping it's not false memory - they aren't too long. Maybe 2015 - I'll read him again, though I do have a collaborative effort he did with Bill Pronzini on my Net Galley pile!
I have brought some order to the chaotic mountain, but I am deciding whether or not I ought to catalogue my books and at least know what is where. Currently 90% of have been re-homed into plastic tubs - 50 books per. There's a lot of tubs though!
Col - I always respect an author who can make an unlikeable (or at the very least, untrustworthy) character appealing. That's not an easy thing to do. And these characters' actions do sound interesting. Thanks.
DeleteI will look forward to reading more from him. Hopefully I like him, but not too much, as I don't need too many more books in the library and he has written a few!
DeleteCol, very interesting review. I have heard of this author and was not aware he had written so many books. I will have to try something by Lutz.
ReplyDeleteTracy thanks. I was surprised too. I thought he only came on the scene in the 80's. Should be something by him at the legendary sale!
DeleteCol, does he write westerns too? The author sounds very familiar and I think I have one or two of his novels in my collection. Will check it out this evening.
ReplyDeletePrashant, I don't think so. I thought all his books were entrenched in the crime-thriller genre. I will dig a bit deeper into them later today, as who knows maybe some of his standalones may tick that box.
DeleteCol, my fault. I confused John Lutz with Giles A. Lutz who was a prolific writer of western fiction.
DeleteOk - no problem. I wonder if there is a connection between the two.
Delete