Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The youngest sprig of a stuffy Toronto family, Wes Beattie is one of life's losers, with a tendency to lie. Since Wes has the lying skills of a six-year-old, his fibs have tended to inspire a certain fond exasperation, but now he's gone too far. After narrowly escaping jail for swiping a woman's handbag from (horrors!) a sleazy motel, the hapless Wes is on trial for murder: His uncle has been bludgeoned to death, and the weapon is covered in Wes's sticky fingerprints. Wes's fantastic explanations - about a frame-up, a villainous gang, a mysterious sexpot - only enrage his already mortified family. But Sidney Gargoyle Grant, a disreputable young lawyer, is irritated by the rush to condemnation, and resolves to untangle the truth. If Agatha Christie had lived in Canada in the early 1960s (and been a wittier writer), Wes Beattie could have been her book. Very exciting and full of excellent comedy. I enjoyed it enormously. - P.G. Wodehouse Civilized and immensely amusing - Toronto Star