Most Fun I've had Reading a Book in a Long Time

Couldn't put this book down. Loved the characters, the story, and all the action/adventure. The over the top conspiracy theme was great and I don't know, it just really worked for me. I've already started on book two in this series and will be reading more of Lee Goldberg in coming weeks. Great Read! ( )

The first in the Ian Ludlow series was a fast-paced thriller with more than a hint of humor. Ian Ludlow is an author. He writes thrillers starring Clint Straker, a secret agent who makes James Bond look ineffectual.

When Ian hears about a plane crash in Honolulu, he's surprised. After all, he was called in with a bunch of fellow authors to dream up terrorist scenarios supposedly for the CIA. This one was one of his scenarios. And when he contacts his fellow conference attendees, he finds that all of them are dead in what look like ordinary deaths. It makes him rethink a few accidents that he's had lately including the one that has given him a broken arm.

Ian is on an author tour with Margo French as his assigned driver. She's a dog walker and aspiring singer-songwriter. When he says that they need to run and hide, Margo is thinking that his character has gone to his head. At least, she thinks so until they are almost mown down by a self-driving car.

Ian uses the things he has learned doing his research for his Straker books to help them elude their pursuers. But the villain is a corporation that wants to take over the CIA and they have many more resources than Ian and Margo do. What they don't have is Ian's imagination.

Ian and Margo make their way to the California/Nevada desert where an actor Ian wrote for in his television days has decided to live. Ronnie Mancuso has mental health issues which have spawned conspiracy theories. But he's the right guy to help Ian and Margo disappear and get away from agents of the corporation.

The story is filled with action and humor. Most of the humor comes from Margo's attitude toward all the things that are happening around them. Of course, Ronnie who played a police detective who was half-man and half-plant and really believes his role added substantial humor too.

I really enjoyed this first in a series mystery and look forward to reading more. ( )

Very fun introduction to a new series. ( )

True Fiction is my first tryst with the writing of Lee Goldberg and it certainly will not be the last! It follows thriller writer Ian Ludlow on his run from the all-powerful intelligence agency that is capable of turning his insane imagination into terrifying reality. It is one of the most entertaining novels I have read in the recent past. It is full of superfast action, witty dialogues, interesting characters and quite a lot of fun.
In spite of the somewhat predictable last quarter and a few far-fetched scenarios, True Fiction is one hell of a romp that would help the reader forget all his troubles for a few hours. ( )

A light mystery thriller with some good humor. The protagonist is a likable and is different from your typical thriller heroes. ( )