The Accomplice
by Lisa Lutz
DETAILS:
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: January 24, 2022
Format: eARC
Length: 368
Read Date: January 12-13, 2022
What’s The Accomplice About?
Luna and Owen meet in a Business Ethics class in college and form an almost immediate bond, becoming the best of friends—you know the kind that 1977’s Harry Burns says is impossible, but that 1987’s Harry finds himself wanting. Without the romance of 1988/89. They’re inseparable, a package deal—not just in college but after that.
Twelve years after their first meeting, Luna finds the murdered body of Owen’s wife while out running. Obviously, the police focus on Owen initially, but Luna knows it wasn’t him (not because of evidence, but because Owen wouldn’t).
Still, it’s hard not to think about a sort-of similar thing that happened back in college. And some of the things from Luna’s past and…well, now things are a real mess. While worrying about Owen, dealing with some personal turmoil that arises at the same time, and answering questions from the police—Luna starts to re-examine that time in college and asks some questions she maybe should’ve asked a decade ago.
As the Publisher puts it:
The Accomplice brilliantly examines the bonds of shared history, what it costs to break them, and what happens when you start wondering how well you know the one person who truly knows you.
The novel is told in alternating timelines, an approach that really works in this case. The primary timeline is 2019 with the murder and its investigation and aftermath. The other starts with Luna and Owen’s first meeting and then progresses through their college years, tracking the course of their friendship—focusing on that “sort-of similar thing.”
Owen and Luna/Luna and Owen
My opinion of the two of them vacillated a lot over the course of the novel—particularly Owen (which had nothing to do with him as a suspect, just him).
But the two of them together? There’s something special about their friendship…I can’t put it into words, but when they’re interacting, it’s just a pleasure to read. The same applies to them when they’re not interacting, but are looking out for each other. These two are great friends—easily forgiving each other, putting up with shortcomings (but being very aware of them), understanding each other better than their spouses, etc.
When either of them are being questioned by the police, for example, they’re much more concerned about explaining the actions and clarifying problems for the other than they are with staying out of trouble with the police themselves. Even if, and this is the part that counts, they aren’t feeling particularly fond of the other at the time.
Actual, living, breathing friendship. It’s a great thing to see, and it’s why I cared at all about this novel—sure, the puzzles were interesting, the dialogue was crisp, and so on. But you get drawn in, and kept in, by their friendship. Would I have read a slice-of-life novel about these two? Yes, and at times the book feels like it. Would I have read about these two taking a joint-family vacation where hilarity ensues instead of this crime? Absolutely. But this is better.
Some mutual friends
There’s another couple that Owen and Luna knew from college (names withheld because they’re not a couple when first mentioned). There is something about them that stood out from the rest of the characters in the book.
He’s just a hoot in college—and she’s the best friend that Luna has other than Owen (arguably better than Owen, but that’s not something Luna would consider).
But their after-college activities are fantastic—it’s not in Lutz’s wheelhouse to do something like this, but man, I’d love a novel about their life. Their dynamic—as well as their business/products—steals every scene they’re in for the 2019 timeline. I want more of them. I know I’m not going to get that, but it’s on my wishlist, just a few notches down from flying cars and a way to make this blog my full-time job.
So, what did I think about The Accomplice?
I keep seeing Lutz’s The Passenger referenced in relation to this book—while that’s not a bad book to compare this to, I think How to Start a Fire fits better in terms of tone and storytelling. If you go into this expecting something like the former, it’s going to take you a minute to re-calibrate expectations.
There are good portions of this book that aren’t all about “what’s X’s secret?”, “who’s the killer?”, “what horrible—or at unscrupulous—activity has Y been up to?”, etc. And those are just fun—it’s light, clever, winning—you want to get to know these people, be their friends—shake your head at their eccentricities. Then every few pages, you get a reminder that–where’s there’s light, there’s likely a shadow, and it might be best not to look into them.
Bouncing back and forth between the two timelines (and, eventually, a third that proves really illuminating toward both character and plot), Lutz reveals more of the characters, peels back the secrets, and advances the plot so easily, so naturally, that it must have been excruciating work. The easier it is on the reader, the harder it likely was on the author—and hopefully, Lutz took a nice break after finishing this. This is the kind of weaving that Lutz excels at—as seen in The Swallows, How to Start a Fire, and (yes) The Passenger—and she’s getting better at it, I tell you, you won’t see any of this coming.
It’s not too surprising to see me recommending a Lutz novel (the surprise would be me not), but there’s something different about this one. Set aside a couple of days and get to know Owen and Luna.
Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.
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