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The Fall Guy
A Novel
by James Lasdun
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Pub Date
Oct 18 2016
| Archive Date
Sep 30 2016
Description
It is summer, 2012. Charlie, a wealthy banker with an uneasy conscience, invites his troubled cousin Matthew to visit him and his wife in their idyllic mountaintop house. As the days grow hotter, the friendship between the three begins to reveal its fault lines, and with the arrival of a fourth character, the household finds itself suddenly in the grip of uncontrollable passions. As readers of James Lasdun’s acclaimed fiction can expect, The Fall Guy is a complex moral tale as well as a gripping suspense story, probing questions of guilt and betrayal with ruthless incisiveness. Who is the real victim here? Who is the perpetrator? And who, ultimately, is the fall guy? Darkly vivid, with an atmosphere of erotic danger, The Fall Guy is Lasdun’s most entertaining novel yet.
It is summer, 2012. Charlie, a wealthy banker with an uneasy conscience, invites his troubled cousin Matthew to visit him and his wife in their idyllic mountaintop house. As the days grow hotter, the...
Description
It is summer, 2012. Charlie, a wealthy banker with an uneasy conscience, invites his troubled cousin Matthew to visit him and his wife in their idyllic mountaintop house. As the days grow hotter, the friendship between the three begins to reveal its fault lines, and with the arrival of a fourth character, the household finds itself suddenly in the grip of uncontrollable passions. As readers of James Lasdun’s acclaimed fiction can expect, The Fall Guy is a complex moral tale as well as a gripping suspense story, probing questions of guilt and betrayal with ruthless incisiveness. Who is the real victim here? Who is the perpetrator? And who, ultimately, is the fall guy? Darkly vivid, with an atmosphere of erotic danger, The Fall Guy is Lasdun’s most entertaining novel yet.
A Note From the Publisher
LibraryReads nominations due 8/20/16. IndieNext nominations due 8/5/16.
LibraryReads nominations due 8/20/16. IndieNext nominations due 8/5/16.
Advance Praise
"The verboten topics of class and money hover over this literate tale of love, jealousy, and revenge....An undercurrent of menace and threat finally erupts, and Lasdun presents the inexorable turnings of fate in a subtle and disconcerting way." - Publishers Weekly, starred review
“What a sinister and searching novel this is--and what a delight. James Lasdun is one of our great writers.” - Joseph O'Neill, author of Netherland
“James Lasdun has written an elegantly suspenseful novel set in a brilliantly realized affluent upstate New York community not unlike Woodstock—his characters are achingly real, and the self-deceptions that drive them so insightfully depicted, we might almost mistake them for our own. Truly a ‘page-turner’—propelled toward just the right ending.” - Joyce Carol Oates
"The verboten topics of class and money hover over this literate tale of love, jealousy, and revenge....An undercurrent of menace and threat finally erupts, and Lasdun presents the inexorable...
Advance Praise
"The verboten topics of class and money hover over this literate tale of love, jealousy, and revenge....An undercurrent of menace and threat finally erupts, and Lasdun presents the inexorable turnings of fate in a subtle and disconcerting way." - Publishers Weekly, starred review
“What a sinister and searching novel this is--and what a delight. James Lasdun is one of our great writers.” - Joseph O'Neill, author of Netherland
“James Lasdun has written an elegantly suspenseful novel set in a brilliantly realized affluent upstate New York community not unlike Woodstock—his characters are achingly real, and the self-deceptions that drive them so insightfully depicted, we might almost mistake them for our own. Truly a ‘page-turner’—propelled toward just the right ending.” - Joyce Carol Oates
Available Editions
| EDITION |
Other Format |
| ISBN |
9780393292329 |
| PRICE |
$25.95 (USD)
|
Additional Information
Available Editions
| EDITION |
Other Format |
| ISBN |
9780393292329 |
| PRICE |
$25.95 (USD)
|
Average rating from 33 members
Featured Reviews
Stancie C, Educator
Very engaging novel. One I could scarcely put down. I look forward to reading more by this author. Highly recommended.
Andrew E, Reviewer
Now this is what a literate thriller should be. Wow, have not read a book this good in quite a while. Critically, the characters , Chloe, Charlie, and Matthew are real, have depth, and act like people could act in real life, not just a as in a book. As a seasoned and jaded reader, I really did not know how this book would end-- what would be the fate of these characters in whom I had become interested. Highly recommended. -- the perfect blend of drama, suspense, and literary merit.
Joshua J, Book Trade Professional
What a fun, fast-paced psychological read. The sights and sounds of the lulling summer that turns darker as the plot unwinds- the creepiness of the triangle. A definite entertaining yarn, and the pages fly by.
Katherine P, Reviewer
I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
This book made me feel anxious while reading it. But despite that anxiety, I kept wanting to read more. The story deals mainly with Charlie, his wife Chloe, and his cousin Matt. The vast majority of the book was setting the scene and wading though the intricacies of the relationships of these main characters.
Suddenly, the story takes a turn and I was hooked. I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future!
Featured Reviews
Stancie C, Educator
Very engaging novel. One I could scarcely put down. I look forward to reading more by this author. Highly recommended.
Andrew E, Reviewer
Now this is what a literate thriller should be. Wow, have not read a book this good in quite a while. Critically, the characters , Chloe, Charlie, and Matthew are real, have depth, and act like people could act in real life, not just a as in a book. As a seasoned and jaded reader, I really did not know how this book would end-- what would be the fate of these characters in whom I had become interested. Highly recommended. -- the perfect blend of drama, suspense, and literary merit.
Joshua J, Book Trade Professional
What a fun, fast-paced psychological read. The sights and sounds of the lulling summer that turns darker as the plot unwinds- the creepiness of the triangle. A definite entertaining yarn, and the pages fly by.
Katherine P, Reviewer
I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
This book made me feel anxious while reading it. But despite that anxiety, I kept wanting to read more. The story deals mainly with Charlie, his wife Chloe, and his cousin Matt. The vast majority of the book was setting the scene and wading though the intricacies of the relationships of these main characters.
Suddenly, the story takes a turn and I was hooked. I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future!
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