REVIEW: Get Lost by Justin Halpern
For fans of Carl Hiaasen and Elmore a fast-paced thriller about a young woman who reluctantly teams up with her deadbeat dad to find her missing mom, by the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Sh*t My Dad Says
When Lila Dixon gets a call that her mother has gone missing, she initially brushes it off—Mattie’s disappearances are a part of life, like earthquakes in their dusty California hometown. But this time the prime suspect is Lila’s larger-than-life the one-time baseball star, local hero, and fatal charmer John “Dix” Dixon. Dix’s main accomplishment as a dad was finding new ways to disappoint his daughter, but even Lila knows he’s not behind this. And when they uncover a $250,000 deposit to Mattie’s bank account, and someone slips a threatening note under Lila’s motel door, they realize Mattie may be in real danger. Now they’re heading down a trail marked by unsavory Russian thugs, fat-cat farmers, and an unseen enemy who’s always a step ahead.
With crackling banter and characters that leap off the page, Get Lost is a fast-paced and emotionally layered mystery. Justin Halpern tells a story that’s by turns hilarious and about fractured families, grudges that last a lifetime, and the unexpected ways we find our way back to the people we thought we’d lost for good.
CW/TW – violent death on page,
Dear Mr. Halpern,
Years ago I heard that your NF books about “Shit My Dad Says” were funny. I own both but will admit that I’ve not done more than skimmed it a bit. Honestly, I need to get back to it at some point. But when I saw this book I thought, I’ll start here and work backwards.
Parts are funny but it’s more the dark humor that had me laughing as some grim things take place in this story. There are family estrangements that have lasted for decades, mental health issues that Mattie has had, and Dix the fuck-up dad. That’s before the threats appear and eventually bullets start flying.
Most of the book focuses on how shitty a dad Dix has been, how Mattie’s mental health issues have caused her to walk off from being a mother for days at a time, and how all of this has cascaded down onto their daughter Lila who ended up in foster care.
But Lila, despite being mentally exhausted from years of dealing with her mother and the demands of others to take care of Mattie’s messes, still shows up and tries to figure out what has happened to her mom. Dix, despite being a general fuck-up and essentially a con-man, pitches in as well. Straight laced and ‘says what she’s really thinking’ Lila and her charismatic but deeply flawed hail-fellow-well-met father are absolute opposites which triggers a lot of the quips and humor. He keeps things loosened up and she keeps things headed forward.
Still the action abruptly stopped here and there for a chapter of flashback that showed us just how awful poor Lila’s childhood was. Since there was maybe one POV scene from Mattie early on and none later, we never saw her feelings on her struggles. Most of the story is told from Lila’s POV but there is an element of a thirteen to fourteen year old boy’s sense of humor as well. You can tell this is a man writing a female character and it doesn’t always seem realistic.
There are several possible scenarios for what might have happened to Mattie as well as another side-lined subplot about the shenanigans a local rich almond grower might be up to when not working to get a pet right wing deputy elected county sheriff. Then with the page count winding down, all hell breaks loose before the entire book quickly wraps up leaving a whole lot unfinished between Lila and her father.
Dark humor and a first half that actually makes a bit of sense sadly sink into WTFery, some questionable past moments featuring Dix screwing up, and a blood soaked finale. I guess the ending is actually more realistic than I’d wanted as I doubt I’d fall for Dix suddenly turning into Dad of the year. At least Lila might have emerged on the other side and be ready to move past the mess and nonsense to something better for her. C
~Jayne
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