Thomas H. Cook

Reading this novel was very much like watching an Indie film. The entire novel takes place in a hotel bar where Lucas (a self-proclaimed boring history book writer) and Lola Faye (his father's former mistress) meet and discuss old times.

As you can imagine, they're not reminiscing about "the good old days". As the conversation unfolds, there are quite a few flash backs where Luke remembers his childhood, his parents, and his burning desire to go to Harvard and become a famous writer. Luke also has some secrets that he's never told anyone and Lola Faye seems like she might be able to guess them.

I was intrigued enough to keep reading. Just why is Lola Faye acting like this and saying these things? What are Luke's secrets? What really happened to cause his father's murder?

I didn't feel Lola Faye's conversation seemed true to life, though. Most of the novel involved Lola Faye saying something sincerely, then saying something with a hard edge, then saying something light and fluffy, then back to another penetrating glance and harder edge. We went back and forth with Lola Faye's strange moods and strange sayings for the entire book.

And the ending? The final epilogue chapter? A bit confusing to me.… (more)