by Jeffrey Meyers Reviewed
To fans, Errol Flynn was the swashbuckling rakehell of such movies as 1938's The Adventures of Robin Hood. Unfortunately that's how the actor saw himself as well, and because his life couldn't come close to imitating his art, Flynn wasn't comfortable within his own well-tanned skin.
Between superficial macho buddies and countless one-night stands came a series of tortured wives and girlfriends—two of whom said he raped them—and conflicted relations with his three children, including Sean, a combat photographer who was killed in Cambodia in 1971. Meyers wants to connect the sins of the father with the recklessness of his thrill-addicted son, but he wallows in Flynn Sr.'s loutishness. Sean Flynn may have been a walk-on in his father's life, but he should have been a leading man in this book. (Simon & Schuster, $26)
Bottom Line: Flynn's dark life eclipses the son
By Lisa Jewell
No, this is not the long-awaited Right Said Fred memoir. Instead it's the fictional tale of Bee Bearhorn, a pop singer who scored a No. 1 hit in 1985 before disappearing into a mysterious private life more baffling than the '80s craze for parachute pants. When Bee turns up dead in her London flat, her gawky half sister Ana—a "giant coat stand" on two legs—is left to unravel what happened and why.
Jewell splices English wit and emotional melodrama, along with just enough blue language and lusty love scenes to give the novel a playful naughtiness. Sizing up Bee's handsome ex-bodyguard, Ana observes to herself, "You are a juicy-rare-burger-and-thick-cut-chips of a man."
For dessert, there are yummy glimpses of pop-star excess: "Even Ana's greatest imaginings couldn't have prepared her for the magical, fairytale dressing-up box that was Bee's wardrobe," writes Jewell, who also scored with 2001's thirtynothing. "Sequins. Satin. Silk. Beads. Crystals." By turns girls-night-out fantasy and reflective self-discovery, One-Hit Wonder shows Jewell is just the opposite. (Dut-ton, $23.95)
Bottom Line: Give it a spin
By Laura Zigman
Elise, a freelance editor, and Donald, a teacher, meet on the Delta shuttle and fall in love by the time they hit baggage claim. After they get engaged, though, Donald's beautiful ex-fiancée Adrienne comes stomping in like Godzilla and the fun begins. Zigman (Animal Husbandry) makes her heroine neurotic, jealous and believable, getting a lot of mileage out of scenes like the one where Elise, rummaging through old photos of the ex, finds "her legs were definitely longer than mine. Like, easily twice as long. Should I just kill myself now?" Her is essentially a sitcom, but it's Must See TV. (Knopf, $22)
Bottom Line: Check Her out
By C.J. Box
Beach book of the week
Box's follow-up to his first novel, Open Season, begins irresistibly: "On the third day of their honeymoon, infamous environmental activist Stewie Woods and his new bride, Annabel Bellotti, were spiking trees in the forest when a cow exploded and blew them up." By the time it stops raining prime rib, game warden Joe Pickett is on the case. He may be the next target of Stewie's killers, who are busily clear-cutting other environmentalists nationwide.
This fresh (and fresh-air) thriller skillfully balances issues of conservation vs. landowners' rights: Amid Box's lush descriptions of the great outdoors, the doe-eyed tree-huggers on several occasions discover that nature can be nastier than a chain saw. It also draws on Wyoming's rough-and-tumble history of gunslingers and Indian wars for some Rocky Mountain highs. In Pickett, Box creates a hero who is both credulous and slightly inept without ever being less than the right man for the job. As one of the assassins pursues him and two companions through the wilderness toward Savage Run—a gorge with no crossing except in a Native American legend—the suspense tears forward like a brush fire. (Putnam, $23.95)
Bottom Line: Make a date with an exploding cow
- Contributors:
- Ron Givens,
- Michelle Tauber,
- Joe Tirella,
- Edward Karam.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
