Katie: I gotta get this out of the way before we talk about the book any – I actually enjoyed the movie a good bit, even if it is considered one of Spielberg’s lesser works. I mean, Tom Hanks and Christopher Walken both had significant screen time. What’s not to like about that? And, speaking of the Walken, here is one of my all-time favorite videos of his, even if it has absolutely nothing to do with this story. I find it mesmerizing.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43VjLCRqKNk&w=420&h=315]
And now, onto the book, Catch Me If You Can by LB Gregg… Caesar is having a bad day. His tasteful art gallery event has practically turned into a rave. The wait staff and guests are wearing little-to-no clothing, the artist is doing a strip tease, and the owner of a rival gallery that he was hoping to impress into offering him a job is there to witness the whole thing.
Also there is Caesar’s friend, Poppy, who is catering the event; a mysterious cop who is asking pointed questions about Poppy, and Caesar’s ex, Shep, who is being completely distracting. To top it all off, the artwork his boss is pushing is terrible. The piece de resistance is a bust of Justin Timberlake with Swatch Watch eyes. As I said, a rough day indeed.
Patty: This is one of those stories that feels like you just got dropped into someone else’s nightmare family Thanksgiving dinner and – although extremely entertaining- you find yourself scrambling to try to make sense of the drama. Then you thank your lucky stars that you can, in fact, sit back and just enjoy the shitshow because…
I know these people (or at least people who resemble the characters closely enough that I suspected the author was, in fact, me, writing in some alternate dimension. It’s not. But I kept pronouncing Caesar’s name like “Seysahr” because I KNOW that’s how it’s pronounced). I’m serious, as outrageous and insane as as some of the characters are, they walk among us and I’m related to most of them.
Katie: How many alternates is that now? Me, the author of this book, etc… And Seysahr is absolutely the correct pronunciation. That is how we must spell it from here on out.
Being dumped in the middle of someone else’s holiday dinner is the perfect description for this book. It goes from zero to sixty instantly, with a large cast of characters that all feel like they’re talking over each other ALL THE TIME. Which is not necessarily a bad thing – it feels very authentic to these characters. I mean, aren’t everyone’s family gatherings like that? My Aunt Carol’s margaritas make everything all good.
Seysahr is in for a shock the next morning when he goes to open the gallery. He finds Shep naked and unconscious on the floor and the JT bust stolen. Not only that, Shep has one of the Swatch watches from JT around his pride and joy. Seysahr is understandably put out by all of this, especially when Shep begs him not to call the cops.
Patty: The phrase “All hell breaks loose” doesn’t even begin to describe the ride. Grand theft, Mafia ties, Hollywood agents, catering disasters, Greenwich socialites, bad breakups, Botox, and blackmail. Oh, and secrets: EVERYONE has a secret that is eventually revealed and some of them were laugh-out-loud funny. Somehow though, the madness makes sense. Nothing seemed too implausible or overdone and by the time you finish the book, you figure that must be like, any old Tuesday for them.
Katie: YES to everything Patty just said. Since everyone has secrets and motive, I didn’t figure out who the villain was until the very end. I loved that about this book. I found myself giggling madly at 3 a.m. I found myself wishing I didn’t have to work so I could read this book instead. I found myself looking for the perfect JT gif, because we have to have one with this post.
Patty: Oh! And of course, there is an adorable romance in the background with its corresponding sexcapades rounding off this story. And a sequel…
