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apostrophen's review
4.0
'Straight Lies' is a refreshingly fun and mad-cap adventure that brings to mind Ocean's 11 and Janet Evanovich, only with a pair of morally flexible gay protagonists named Chase and Grant, a lesbian real-estate agent and her girlfriend, an alcoholic driver, and the funniest boy-toys I've had the pleasure of reading since, well, 'Trust Fund Boys.'
It all begins when our two con-men protagonists realize that there's a tape out there with the famous gay star Romeo Romero gettin' it on in his hot-tub... with a woman. Since the man's career was built on his brave "coming out" this offers a blackmail situation, and Chase and Grant aren't going to turn it down.
Which is when the tape goes missing, a sleazy tabloid writer, an ex-cop, and even Tori Spelling get thrown into the mix. The plans - and new plans - and improvisations when the plans don't work - fly fast and furious, and the real joy is in the collision of these clever characters as they try to make something stick long enough to walk with the payoff.
Byrnes is even nice enough to drop some gentle cameos in there for fans of his earlier books to chortle over.
By now, you'd think I would have learned that when cracking a Rob Byrnes novel, I should make sure to seclude myself somewhere first, so that when - inevitably - I let loose with barking laughs, I'm not making other people nervous. I didn't learn, and to the passengers of the #95 bus, the people in the food court last Tuesday, and my husband (who was trying to sleep), I apologize. But you really should go buy a copy.
Well, maybe not my husband. He can borrow mine.
It all begins when our two con-men protagonists realize that there's a tape out there with the famous gay star Romeo Romero gettin' it on in his hot-tub... with a woman. Since the man's career was built on his brave "coming out" this offers a blackmail situation, and Chase and Grant aren't going to turn it down.
Which is when the tape goes missing, a sleazy tabloid writer, an ex-cop, and even Tori Spelling get thrown into the mix. The plans - and new plans - and improvisations when the plans don't work - fly fast and furious, and the real joy is in the collision of these clever characters as they try to make something stick long enough to walk with the payoff.
Byrnes is even nice enough to drop some gentle cameos in there for fans of his earlier books to chortle over.
By now, you'd think I would have learned that when cracking a Rob Byrnes novel, I should make sure to seclude myself somewhere first, so that when - inevitably - I let loose with barking laughs, I'm not making other people nervous. I didn't learn, and to the passengers of the #95 bus, the people in the food court last Tuesday, and my husband (who was trying to sleep), I apologize. But you really should go buy a copy.
Well, maybe not my husband. He can borrow mine.
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