O’Connor, a vivacious, free-spirited young journalist known for her penetrating celebrity interviews, is bent on unearthing secrets long ago buried by the handsome showbiz team of singer Vince Collins and comic Lanny Morris. These two highly desirable men, once inseparable (and insatiable, where women were concerned), were driven apart by a bizarre and unexplained death in which one of them may have played the part of murderer. As the tart-tongued, eye-catching O’Connor ventures deeper into this unsolved mystery, she finds herself compromisingly coiled around both men, knowing more about them than they realize and less than she might like, but increasingly fearful that she now knows far too much.
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`A narcotically addictive thriller' -- Esquire
`Sexy and surprising' -- Candace Bushnell
`Twisted...dark...exhilarating'
-- Matthew Pearl, author of THE DANTE CLUB --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
`Sexy and surprising' -- Candace Bushnell
`Twisted...dark...exhilarating'
-- Matthew Pearl, author of THE DANTE CLUB --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
About the Author
Rupert Holmes became the first person in theatrical history to receive the Tony Award for Best Book, Best Music and Best Lyrics for one musical:The Mystery of Edwin Drood, while Drood won the Tony for Best Musical. He has won Emmys for his various television series, and his words and music have appeared in Shrek, Six feet Under, Will & Grace and many more. Where the Truth Lies was Rupert's first novel.
--This text refers to an alternate
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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
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By dc phillips
Format:Paperback
Rupert Holmes ? It can't be the same Rupert Holmes I remember from the 1970s. The guy who sang about liking Pina Coladas and a walk in the rain? Yes, the same. Thirty years on and Holmes has moved on from lyrics to literature and, in Where The Truth Lies, he has produced one belter of a book.
The plot seems complicated but intriguing. It is set in the mid-1970s, and hinges on an event that happened back in 1959. The story is told largely in the first person from the perspective of the novel's main character, a 26 year-old woman journalist. O'Connor (the journalist) is determined to write the biography of one (or other) of a famous 1950s American double-act, Lanny Morris and Vince Collins. Morris is Jewish and was the comedy/slapstick half of the act. Collins was the duo's straight man with the fabulous singing voice, and came from Italian stock. Any resemblance between these two fictional characters and the 1950s duo Jerry Lewis & Dean Martin is entirely intentional, right down to the inclusion in the plot of a telethon.
These three principals are strong and entirely believable. All of them demonstrate character faults yet, as a testament to Holmes's writing, all still remain likeable.
I found this book fascinating, it was un-put-downable. Holmes manages to keep the tempo flowing from start to finish without ever flagging. He manages to tell the story convincingly from the perspective of a 26 year-old woman, which has to be a notable achievement from a man in (presumably) his mid-50s.
A cracking story, superbly written, utterly believable characters, a nod in the direction of some of America's finest entertainers from the 1950s, amusing throughout. If you enjoy the predictable, exaggerated, formula-driven nonsense papped out by the likes of Jeffrey Deaver or Wilbur Smith you will probably hate this.
Highly recommended.
The plot seems complicated but intriguing. It is set in the mid-1970s, and hinges on an event that happened back in 1959. The story is told largely in the first person from the perspective of the novel's main character, a 26 year-old woman journalist. O'Connor (the journalist) is determined to write the biography of one (or other) of a famous 1950s American double-act, Lanny Morris and Vince Collins. Morris is Jewish and was the comedy/slapstick half of the act. Collins was the duo's straight man with the fabulous singing voice, and came from Italian stock. Any resemblance between these two fictional characters and the 1950s duo Jerry Lewis & Dean Martin is entirely intentional, right down to the inclusion in the plot of a telethon.
These three principals are strong and entirely believable. All of them demonstrate character faults yet, as a testament to Holmes's writing, all still remain likeable.
I found this book fascinating, it was un-put-downable. Holmes manages to keep the tempo flowing from start to finish without ever flagging. He manages to tell the story convincingly from the perspective of a 26 year-old woman, which has to be a notable achievement from a man in (presumably) his mid-50s.
A cracking story, superbly written, utterly believable characters, a nod in the direction of some of America's finest entertainers from the 1950s, amusing throughout. If you enjoy the predictable, exaggerated, formula-driven nonsense papped out by the likes of Jeffrey Deaver or Wilbur Smith you will probably hate this.
Highly recommended.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Jonathan Posner
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Everything you may have heard about this book - whether from the Times of London or the Washington Post - is true. I will use the word 'sensational' here and solemly promise never to use it again.
There were more times than I can remember when I actually had to say to myself (aloud) "calm down, calm down". And not because of the mesmerising storyline but because of the sheer beauty and accomplishment of the writing, all the more so since the book is 'narrated' by a twenty-something female journalist.
As a bonus, not that one were really needed, Holmes has written the best sex scenes in modern fiction (I thought Jane Smiley had already done that in 'Good Faith').
But, strangely and astonishingly, it was only after some three hours had passed since finishing this modern masterpiece that I stopped dead in my tracks and the hair on my neck suddenly rose to attention. Earlier I had wondered how such a perfect evocation of grief and loss had come to be written. And there in the author's acknowledgments right at the end is the answer. A double-whammy indeed.
Drop everything else and read this now.
There were more times than I can remember when I actually had to say to myself (aloud) "calm down, calm down". And not because of the mesmerising storyline but because of the sheer beauty and accomplishment of the writing, all the more so since the book is 'narrated' by a twenty-something female journalist.
As a bonus, not that one were really needed, Holmes has written the best sex scenes in modern fiction (I thought Jane Smiley had already done that in 'Good Faith').
But, strangely and astonishingly, it was only after some three hours had passed since finishing this modern masterpiece that I stopped dead in my tracks and the hair on my neck suddenly rose to attention. Earlier I had wondered how such a perfect evocation of grief and loss had come to be written. And there in the author's acknowledgments right at the end is the answer. A double-whammy indeed.
Drop everything else and read this now.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
With its ironic and ambiguous title, this whodunit sets new standards for well developed, fast-paced writing, with its complex mysteries within mysteries, and a setting which comes vibrantly alive both in time and place. Set in 1970s Hollywood, "a place where dirt gets a paint job," the story focuses on showbiz stars Lanny Morris and Vince Collins, partners in a hugely successful act, and once best friends, who have not spoken in thirteen years. The Collins/Morris breakup occurred shortly after a beautiful, red-haired woman was found drowned in a bathtub in their hotel room while they were doing a telethon, and narrator O'Connor, a brash and well-endowed journalist who is planning to write a biography of Vince Collins, believes that this death is at the root of their breakup.
As the O'Connor investigates the victim, interviews Collins, meets with Morris and his attorneys (since Morris plans to write his own story), and flies from Hollywood to New York and Florida, author Holmes incorporates spot-on period detail to recreate the roiling world of high profile performers and the intensity of their high stakes lives. The uninhibited O'Connor will do just about anything to get close to her subjects, and her wryly cynical voice keeps the reader entertained with the story's shifts back and forth in time and location. Her willingness to flout convention and her refusal to become rattled by the escalating tension and threats to her safety provide humor at the same time that they show her to be smart and resourceful.
As one may guess from the title, truth and lies sometimes overlap, and surprise after surprise unfolds for the reader as O'Connor finds herself making assumptions, being proved wrong, making new assumptions based on her discoveries, and finding those wrong, too. None of the characters are quite who they seem to be, and as Holmes's witty and lightning-fast dialogue reveals surprises, his background as a writer for stage and television and his mastery of pacing are obvious.
One of the best modern mysteries in recent years, the story is beautifully crafted and filled with characters who seem realistic, despite their Hollywood facades and glitzy lives. Twists and turns occur throughout the book, not just at the conclusion, as Holmes alternates relatively quiet scenes with those full of action. Two "dinner scenes," each of which could compete with the famous banquet/seduction scene from 'Tom Jones,' add life and color, and the uninhibited and sometimes graphic sex seems consistent with the lifestyles of the Hollywood stars and the casual values of biographer O'Connor. A masterfully executed mystery, filled with wit and excitement. n Mary Whipple
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow!
Just finished reading this, having found it on a 2nd hand book shelf in the local shop. Wow, but it was a good read. The narrator is a woman, O'Connor, who is a (1970's? Read more
Published 8 months ago by Happyface
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Won't you join me in my worst nightmare?"
Scary, sexy, witty and wicked - what a talent this man has! He sets this truly delicious thriller in the mid-70s, in New York and Los Angeles with a female writer delivering most... Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2010 by Eileen Shaw
5.0 out of 5 stars
where the talent lies
This is a dizzyingly accomplished thriller. Holmes writes with a slick panache and fluidity that many crime writers can only dream of, and his prose has a scythe-sharp wit that... Read more
Published on 24 July 2007 by Leyla Sanai
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sexy, thrilling...
A sexy, thrilling and exiciting novel full of darkness and depth and with plenty of suspense to keep you turning the pages. Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2007 by Eg Trappe
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