Bookworm: ‘First Lie Wins’ – Just one more chapter …

“First Lie Wins: A Novel”

• By Ashley Elston
• c. 2024, Viking
• $28, 352 pages

Did you get it? Come on, you had plenty of time, opportunity, and you knew exactly where it was, so you don’t have a lot of excuses here. Either you got it, or you didn’t ... and if it’s the latter, as in the new novel, “First Lie Wins” by Ashley Elston, you’re gonna wish you weren’t you.

Evie Porter wasn’t surprised at her boyfriend, Ryan’s, friends. She had them pegged the minute she walked over to their table: frat-boys and gossipy, entitled women who’d tear her apart by text the minute she and Ryan walked away.

And that was fine, whatever. Evie wasn’t there to impress his friends. She was there to somehow “accidentally” meet Ryan and become a part of his life. She was there to collect data about his across-the-border Texas business for her boss, Mr. Smith, who’d dispatched her to Ryan’s Louisiana hometown a few months ago.

She was not there to fall in love.

That had never happened before, not once since she was a teenager in trouble with the law and Mr. Smith offered her a job with big money – but it happened now: Evie. Ryan. And an unseen boss who made Evie into a first-rate con and who didn’t seem to notice when she bent his rules once or twice. Mr. Smith played games, she counteracted. Tit for tat.

Would that come back to bite her later? Maybe. For now, though, she lied about her background and her life, watching Ryan’s friends and watching Ryan, waiting for further instructions from a boss who seemed to be dangerously edgy lately.

And then Evie met Ryan’s old pal, James, and James’ girlfriend, Lucca Marino.

The minute Lucca introduced herself, Evie knew she was in trouble. Lucca Marino was Evie Porter’s real name. “Lucca”s hometown was Evie’s real hometown. Her story was Evie’s real story, and Evie knew she was on notice. Had the job on Ryan suddenly changed?

Or was this another game Mr. Smith was playing?

Just one more chapter. Keep telling yourself that.

Also say, “I can quit reading any time,” though you won’t. “First Lie Wins” is one of those tight-as-a-drum, stay-up-all-night, grip-with-your-fingernails kind of books that you love, and you won’t quit it. You can’t. You’ll need to know if you’ve got it all figured out (you haven’t), so get cozy. You’ll be awake for awhile.

This isn’t the kind of book you want if your heart is weak, or if you’re used to silly little made-for-TV kinds of novels. No, this is a whip-smart, curled and coiled thriller set in a world in which truths are lies, lies are life-saving, fast thinking is mandatory, and dummies need not apply. Be warned that author Ashley Elston plays with her readers. Be warned that you’ll love every minute of it.

There’s a lot of winter left to read, plus that spring vacation you’re eager for, and this is the book to take – if you can manage to wait that long. Just find “First Lie Wins” and get it.

The Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer. She has been reading since she was 3 years old and never goes anywhere without a book. Terri lives on a hill in Wisconsin with two dogs and 11,000 books. Read past columns at marconews.com.

“Rental Person Who Does Nothing”

• By Shoji Morimoto
• c. 2024, Hanover Square Press
• $21.99, 192 pages

You need a hand there? A little help? You know where to find it: your contacts list is full of people who’ll lend a hand, make repairs, offer assistance, lift, and oomph. You know people who’ll run to your side when you need them and you know others, as in the new book “Rental Person Who Does Nothing” by Shoji Morimoto, who’ll just stand around and watch.

In a way, Shoji Morimoto wasn’t meant to work for someone else.

For many years, he was a freelance writer in Japan, penning ads, textbooks, and material that he found dull and repetitive. He was “stressed” by it, and by every financial aspect of merely having to work and so, looking for something totally different, he launched a service he called Do-Nothing Rental, announcing its basic lay-out on what was then Twitter.

You needed a fourth for a card game, he’d be that guy. Want someone to hold you accountable? He’d do it, but only if it didn’t require him to make decisions. Need somebody to hold your spot in line? He was your man, but not twice. Want a lunch buddy? Tweet him and he’d meet you there. A good listener? He was on it. He’d show up when nobody else would. And yet – “Rental Person” was discerning and didn’t take just any old task, it had to be legal and interesting.

The cost? Morimoto didn’t charge for his efforts.

He was comped for transportation and usually for any meals and tickets required. Appreciative clients sent him gift certificates and freewill offers of cash but Morimoto mostly tended to his family’s needs through financial trading and by using his savings. Still, he’s adamant that Rental Person wasn’t a volunteer gig, that it was a job but not exactly a business.

And even that all depended on what the client wanted ...

“Rental Person Who Does Nothing” is one of those books that makes you tilt your head, squint one eye, and wonder what the heck you just read.

It’s quirky, to be sure. Appealing, to a point, but also somewhat half-finished and not completely applicable – and so probably not easily do-able. It’s also confounding: in keeping with his do-nothing aim, author Shoji Morimoto admits up-front that he didn’t even write this book, thus underscoring its title and reveling in the ultimate laziness – all the while ignoring an obvious (and well-exampled) need for occasional bursts of pure hustle.

For the right reader, this will sound like fun in its unpredictability and its by-the-seat-of-one’s-pants-ness. Alas, it’ll make most business people intrigued but slightly horrified, if nothing but for the financial aspects and concerns laid out here. Those, along with repetition, ultimately competing statements, and impulsivity, and the book becomes a bit of a challenge.

Still, for people-watchers and well-moneyed free spirits who’re ready to shuck the rat race, “Rental Person Who Does Nothing” may be a tiny catalyst for that one foot out the door. If you like the status quo, paycheck and all, though, it’s safe to say hands-off.

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The Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer. She has been reading since she was 3 years old and never goes anywhere without a book. Terri lives on a hill in Wisconsin with two dogs and 11,000 books. Read past columns at marconews.com.