Reviewed By: Jeff Kreider - RAM
![[Book Cover graphic]](http://www.booksnbytes.com/book_covers/goldberg_fakeliarcheat.jpg)
Fake, Liar, Cheat
Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Tod B. Goldberg
Class/Genre: Mystery Noir
Tod Goldberg's FAKE, LIAR, CHEAT is his first novel. Funny book,
though darkly so. Lonnie Milton meets Claire who takes him through
a world of fine cars and fine dining in the fast lane. For free.
They walk out on the checks. We watch Lonnie as he slowly
deteriorates as Claire also walks out on him. Due to his guilt and
consequences of their "pleasure cruise" through high price
restaurants, Lonnie sinks deeper into a mental morass. His fall
is aided on by a foggy brain clouded by pain killers and booze.
As funny as it is, it is kind of depressing. It's like reading
about Holden Caufield, as an adult, in relapse.
This was written in present tense, which I had never seen (or if I saw, never noticed) before. It has an interesting effect in that you are vicariously riding along with Milton as these things are happening to him and become a victimized just as he is. In a sense, it adds to the suspense. In the more traditional past tense, there is the general implication that things turn out (especially in first person where you feel safe to assume our hero lives). This story isn't about how it ends, it is about Milton loosing it and what he does about it. I think the tense went a long way to enhance that.
Jeff Kreider - RAM
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Jeff Kreider - RAM
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