Tutem’s Pool

by Lockhart Moon

Fred Tutem lives in Greenville as a successful attorney. One night, a car pursues him as he races down a mountain road. Then he has a fiery crash. He wakes and remembers nothing. Everyone is a stranger. He has severe injuries, including a traumatic brain injury and severe burns. Only when he gets back to lap swimming in the pool does his convalescence begin in earnest. Just before the crash, he had a very important, but precarious, task to finish as the personal representative of a multimillion-dollar estate. Will someone try to destroy him again before he gets it done?

292 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 8, 2014

Reviews

[Patricia Breckenridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read some intriguing reviews on this book and had to toss my $3.99 right into Tutem's Pool. What I got for my little investment was a long plane ride that seemed like a hop. I wasn't quite done when our plane landed in Rome, and I didn't want to get off - because my heart was still in Greenville, South Carolina and I needed to know how it all ended. What a book! I won't write any spoilers, but anyone who loves South Carolina will start to envision the right spots to film the movie. Which curves in which roads for the crash? Which restaurants for which scenes? Which old houses in Old Greenville? I did a Facebook search on Lockhart Moon to see what else he has written, and I see that I am not the only one working on film locations! Someone needs to post a picture of Pretty Place so that readers in California will see that these places are real.

I have to believe that there are a lot of us who are not only looking forward to the next book, we are looking forward to the next five or six Lockhart Moon books. I love the Latin tossed in, as I could guess the meaning almost every time (plus the author is gracious enough to give them); there is nothing like the feeling that a book we love is elevating us as we turn pages. Lockhart's metaphors are powerful and fun, and his insight into the human mind is matched only by his insight into the heart of southerners – whether old money, new money, Citadel boys, or southern women who swim with the sharks.

This book is a joyful ride, exciting in every curve. You will laugh when Tutem lusts after a judge, and you will find yourself thinking about the bigger questions of life and law. Lockhart Moon has nailed his characters - and the South. I read a few chapters to my husband on the plane (he is an attorney), and he commented that if he was practicing in Greenville, he would be looking around to guess who is who and wondering which attorney wrote the book. He thought the story as I described it was too good not to be hinting at truth. He plans to read it on the return flight, and I hope it tells you something that I am posting a review from Italy - this book is that good. Thank you to those who have posted before me, as I clicked through to my purchase because of you. I am not one to post reviews myself, but you made me realize that we all help each other find the good stuff, and so I posted two reviews as I am waiting for Europe to wake up this morning.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tutem's Pool is a metaphor wrapped in a mystery. The mystery revolves around, Fred Tutem,a lawyer, who we first meet lying badly burned on the side of the road after a suspicious car crash. When he awakens,after undergoing numerous painful procedures, he finds himself with a head injury and total amnesia. It's not long,however, until his "friends" start showing up and telling Fred who he is. A mystery woman appears. She immediately comes to his hospital room and not only places her hand on his as a gesture of goodwill, but also places his hand on her inner thigh, moving it slowly upwards as a gesture of better will! As part of his rehab, Fred is asked to swim laps each day at the local YMCA. The more laps he swims,the more he begins to remember. The more he remembers, the more he questions the motives of those around him, especially the mystery lady whose inner thigh and other female parts he now caresses on a regular basis! Who can he trust? Is he safe with anyone? Those are answers you'll have to find out for yourself. But Lockhart Moon delves deeper into the richness that is the Upstate Region of South Carolina. He uses metaphors to describe a culture so rich that it echoes with the dying cries of the Piedmont Indians for which the Region is named. He also echoes the last dying gasps of the Confederate Army whose ghosts to this day refuse to lay down their bayonets.

[Billy Stribbling · Rating 5 out of 5]

spoiler alert ** Fred Tutem is lucky to be alive. After being severely burned in a suspicious car accident, he awakes to find himself with a head injury and amnesia. His lucky streak continues when a sexy woman, he knows nothing about, appears in his hospital room and informs him he is a lawyer who was working on a case before he got hurt. This mystery lady gives him a shoulder to lean on and thigh to slide his hand up into the nether regions of her skirt. As soon as Fred is able, he swims as part of his therapy. The more he swims laps in the pool, the more he remembers. The more he remembers, the more he realizes how much danger he's in. Tutem's Pool is also a metaphorical peak at the Upstate Region of South Carolina. From Good Ole Boy Politics to decaying mill villages, Tutem's Pool paints a panoramic perspective wrapped up in a mystery.

[Dallas Farmer]

Hi, my name is Fred Tutem. I was left for dead on the side of the road after a mysterious car crash. I awoke with total amnesia. I have a lot of friends or do I? As part of my rehab, I swim laps each day at the local YMCA. The more I swim, the more I remember. The more I remember, the more paranoid I become. Why? Who can I really trust? Do I live or do I die? You'll just have to read the book, Tutem's Pool, and find out!

[Lisa Molumby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this page turner. Moon captures the upstate of South Carolina's ambiance and charm. The setting and his use of metaphors reminded me of Pay Conroy's books,

[Becca Orr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am just reading this now, so I will update my review later. I wish there was an audible version because I have a long drive and no one to read to me along the way. I keep thinking about the characters and wondering what is happening. That is a sure sign that the story telling is right up there.

I don't know how it turns out, but this one is a real page turner so far. Amazon is too big for there britches, so buy it on the Nook at $3.99 - and help keep bookstores open (sorry that I have to preach....it is why I have moved my reviews here....Amazon has all the power and power corrupts. You wait and see. I've lived through wars and I know this to be true.

[Murph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tutem's Pool by Lockhart Moon is a vibrant story, splashing fresh, and beautifully written. Set in a nouveau southern city in South Carolina, Fred Tutem, a true Son of the South in the guise of a lawyer, competitive swimmer cum Latin lover, leads the reader on a very personal tour of the character and characters he discovers in his personal pool of life. As Tutem comes crashing in, mid-dive turned free fall, we meet him in the immediacy of a fiery accident and he is quickly submerged in a swirling pool of recovery from burns and amnesia, and the currents of an outer world trying to put Humpty back together in its own image, for its own purpose. The author, Lockhart Moon, displays a bright, descriptive light with flourish throughout, dropping almost invisible asides that add a sense of closeness to the recovery and the questioning and painful gains of re-birth. Throughout this fast paced story we also find Fred diving into our own pools of thought and response as the author builds a subtle, very enjoyable, first person relationship with the reader...insightful, observational, and conspiring...playful above, thoughtful below.

You quickly recognize that Moon is a budding master guide. An intimate of the South, he knows what makes it tick and presents a close study, a wonderful laying bare of the workings of the southern soul. The descriptions are both crisp and feathery, and if you are of the South, you will relish them all (make mine chowchow, please)....if you are new to town, this will get you started from a great vantage point.

Along with the reader, Tutem is hungry for bearings, and the settings and scenes drawn by Moon are thick with atmosphere and direction. Creating an engaging interplay of foreground and background not often found, like reading with 3D glasses, this author deftly fills the spaces with palpable description and response that is Tutem's pool.

While Tutem's Pool makes great summer reading, Lockhart Moon is also building with the reader a thoughtful engagement over what makes life tick and the importance of inward and outward facing. Instructive and authentic, the reader can perhaps realize along with Tutem that we can all choose again.....a very hopeful remembering in itself. This is a writer who succeeds in the best tradition of the Great South. And so, I found this a great book to take for a swim....and I recommend the deep end.

[Nancy Mivey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tutem’s Pool is a delightful gallop through the upstate of South Carolina, in a wonderfully crafted story, told with elegant imagery. Lockhart Moon gives us an insider’s knowledge of the world that created and controls many a modern southern city. His characters are so intriguing and real that you will find yourself wishing for the Tutem’s Pool tour of Greenville and Pickens counties.

Lockhart’s narrative has the feel of kinship, with engaging asides that draw us into the deep end of Tutem’s mystery pool. His plot brews like a gathering storm, while his imagery keeps things playful. Our hero and the attorney at the heart of our story is recovering his life and loves. We discover who is to be trusted and who is not, as we reassemble life with Tutem and steady our own intuition along the way.

Each setting is rich, and our senses are heightened as Moon lays out the wonderfully complicated nature of this – and perhaps any modern Southern city. He gives us personalities as only the South can produce, with cultural strata seen through the eyes of this attorney who suddenly finds himself on the outside looking in. Tutem has been thrust into his own mystery play, and we are fully engaged trying to determine the not so obvious agenda of the players. As Tutem bravely tries to get back on board, we eavesdrop on conversations and characters at the Pointset Club and in mountain cabins, as we race to a satisfying and unexpected conclusion.

If you are of the South you will get it. If you are fascinated by the South and gentlemanly manners that hide secrets, you are ready to relocate. When you find yourself thinking that maybe it is not be too late to sign up for competitive swimming, or when you reach for that Latin phrase book in Barnes & Noble (sorry Amazon), you will know that Lockhart Moon has found his place in your heart. Join those of us who are wondering if his next novel will tackle Charleston or Savannah, or take us deeper into the intrigue of the foothills of the South.

[Merry Freer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tutem’s Pool is the story of a man rebuilding himself and his life, one flash of memory at a time. After a car crash (was it an accident?) leaves him with severe burns and head injuries, Fred Tutem awakens in the hospital to realize he can’t remember anything. He doesn’t recognize the fetching woman who comes every day to visit, he doesn’t recall his life before his hospital stay, and when he is released, he willingly goes home with her, apparently accepting her hospitality because she looks good and she smells good. This seems to be an amusing recurring theme in Fred Tutem’s recovery. Once he learns that he is a lawyer and was working on a controversial case before his “accident,” Fred becomes paranoid when it comes to his friends and associates, constantly moving them up and down on his “who do you trust?” scale. But the women…oh, the women. He seems to lose all good judgment when it comes to the women, who pursue him incessantly and without shame. Not wanting to disappoint them, he takes an entertaining “What’s a guy to do?” position.

This charming and frequently amusing mystery is set in Greenville, South Carolina where Fred learns he was a champion swimmer and he uses his love of the sport to recreate his memory and heal his body. Lockhart Moon is a master of description. The southern setting, the political atmosphere and the good ole boy network is elaborately depicted, right down to the flora and fauna.

Taking the trip with Fred on his adventure to figure out how he fits into this tangled tale is well worth the read.

[Billy Stribbling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fred Tutem is lucky to be alive. After being severely burned in a suspicious car accident, he awakes to find himself with a head injury and amnesia. His lucky streak continues when a sexy woman, he knows nothing about, appears in his hospital room and informs him he is a lawyer who was working on a case before he got hurt. This mystery lady gives him a shoulder to lean on and thigh to slide his hand up into the nether regions of her skirt. As soon as Fred is able, he swims as part of his therapy. The more he swims laps in the pool, the more he remembers. The more he remembers, the more he realizes how much danger he's in. Tutem's Pool is also a metaphorical peak at the Upstate Region of South Carolina. From Good Ole Boy Politics to decaying mill villages, Tutem's Pool paints a panoramic perspective wrapped up in a mystery.

[Patrick B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book depicts one man's struggle with a head injury and then all of his life besides that! before and after. It reads well with some beautiful descriptions and evocative characters plus mystery and intrigue. I can't believe Lockhart Moon is a debut novelist --- that should make us hope for more!

[Mimi Hooker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Lockhart Moon's book some time ago and loved the story. Noting some places I've been, with its uncertainty, its undercurrent and a few unexpected twists, I found it a good read. Thank you, Lockhart Moon.