Thursday, May 7, 2015

A Biographer and His Subject on the Lam

Jack Dillon needs a good writing assignment. His work isn't selling, and his wife thinks he's a failure. Then miraculously he meets with Walt Stuckey, a famous TV comedian. Walt has a secret. He left his show suddenly and no one knows why. Now he wants to tell the story, and he chooses Jack to do it.

Since childhood, Jack has been a fan of Stuckey. They're both from Jersey, and as the work progresses, that bond turns into friendship. Tragedy strikes when Walt suffers a stroke. His greedy son, Garrett, tries to take over the biography project and mold the book to suit his ideas, but Jack isn't having it. He can't let Walt down even if helping him means doing something illegal.

The opening of the book moves slowly as Jack and Walt get to know each other. However, after Walt's stroke and Jack's decision to get him away from Garrett, the story devolves into a chase scene. Here the pace picks up substantially. However, much of what happens is hard to believe.

I found Jack a rather flat character. He does some heroic things, but he seems to remain the potential failure of the first section of the book. Walt is an interesting character, but plays a smaller role than Jack. Garrett is a stereotype of the greedy son.

If you enjoy mysteries that are primarily a chase scene, you may enjoy this one. It's not one of my favorite plots so I can't recommend it highly. The first section is boring,
and after that almost too much is happening.

I reviewed this book for Net Galley.



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