A Goodreads Top 20 Thrillers of Spring 2018 Selection
“Goldberg has crafted a clever, silly, and exciting thriller that showcases a love for the genre and the world of writing.” —Associated Press
“Fans of parodic thrillers will enjoy the exhilarating ride…[in] this Elmore Leonard mashed with Get Smart romp.” —Publishers Weekly
“[A] crackerjack thriller…Goldberg just won’t be totally serious…but this mockery is the right touch for a story of life imitating art, or trying to…So the wild finale plays out like…well, like a thriller somebody wrote.” —Booklist
“If great pacing with awesome characters is what keeps you up at night, then make a pot of coffee and open this book.” —Crimespree
“New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg’s new thriller, True Fiction, is a fast-moving adventure filled with his signature witty wordplay, twisty plots and mesmerizing characters.” —National Examiner
“Humorous, thrilling, and scary, True Fiction is a great caper story of the little guys taking on the all-encompassing secret state in a knock-down, drag-out fight to the finish.” —Authorlink
“True Fiction jumps into Elmore Leonard territory as a witty send-up of spy novels and the book industry. Goldberg delivers a character who seems, well, very much like himself. This one promises to be the first in what should be a most amusing series to follow.” —Mystery Scene Magazine
“An adventure that’s worthy of Jack Reacher himself. Funny and loaded with twists…” —The Beachcomber Magazine
“At times, it’s hard to figure out where Goldberg ends and Ludlow begins. We have an action-adventure novelist writing about an action-adventure novelist who becomes an action-adventure hero by drawing inspiration from his own action-adventure hero. It’s a house of mirrors, but it’s also a real blast to read.” —Paperback Warrior
“Thriller fiction at its absolute finest—and it could happen for real. But not to me, I hope.” —Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series
“This may be the most fun you’ll ever have reading a thriller. It’s a breathtaking rush of suspense, intrigue, and laughter that only Lee Goldberg could pull off. I loved it.” —Janet Evanovich, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“This is my life…in a thriller! True Fiction is great fun.” —Brad Meltzer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of House of Secrets
“A conspiracy thriller of the first order, a magical blend of fact and it-could-happen scary fiction. Nail-biting, page-turning, and laced with Goldberg’s wry humor, True Fiction is a true delight, reminiscent of Three Days of the Condor and the best of Hitchcock’s innocent-man-in-peril films.” —Paul Levine, bestselling author of Bum Rap
“Great fun that moves as fast as a jet. Goldberg walks a tightrope between suspense and humor and never slips.” —Linwood Barclay, New York Times bestselling author of The Twenty-Three
“I haven’t read anything this much fun since Donald E. Westlake's comic-caper novels. Immensely entertaining, clever, and timely.” —David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of Murder as a Fine Art and First Blood
“Ian Ludlow is one of the coolest heroes to emerge in post-9/11 thrillers. A wonderful, classic yet modern, breakneck suspense novel. Lee Goldberg delivers a great story with a literary metafiction wink that makes its thrills resonate.” —James Grady, author of Six Days of the Condor
02/12/2018
Early in this tongue-in-cheek series launch from Goldberg (The Job with Janet Evanovich), Ian Ludlow, author of the bestselling Clint Straker thriller series, returns to his Seattle hotel after doing a reading at a local bookstore. In the hotel bar, Ian sees a TV report that a commercial jet has crashed into a hotel on Honolulu’s Waikiki beach. He backs away from the bar, fearful that someone’s going to shout: “You’re responsible for this!” Years before at a writers’ retreat, Ian devised this exact terrorist scenario for the CIA to help the government prepare for the worst. He knows how it was done and by whom. Margo French, his minder at the book event, and Ian wind up on a road trip that takes them to Las Vegas and Southern California with assassins in hot pursuit. When Ian and Margo join forces with has-been TV star Ronnie Mancuso, who Ian knows from his script writing days, the wheels truly come off this Elmore Leonard mashed with Get Smart romp. Fans of parodic thrillers will enjoy the exhilarating ride. (Apr.)
Audiobook listeners who like action stories with an underdog hero, truly vile villains, lots of explosions, and snappy lines with plenty of cursing will love this mystery. Adam Verner gives an entertaining narration of Goldberg’s fast-paced adventure. Bestselling author Ian Ludlow discovers his life is in danger when one of his story plots, the one involving a terrorist attack, comes to life. Luckily, he has the help of a dog walker and former singer who’s currently living off the grid. Listeners can expect to be entertained by conspiracy theories, tales of Hollywood, sex dolls, and detailed descriptions of cars. Verner’s character voices are spot-on, and his pacing captures all the excitement and humor as the unlikely heroes take on those who are trying to eliminate them. M.M.G. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine