Pot Luck

by K.W. Rust

Dr. Jacob Walton is a clinical psychologist badly in need of counseling himself. His life is coming apart. His wife took their savings and ran off to India to discover her lesbian self; his father drools and drifts in another world; his mother wants to run his life; and his teenage daughter is training to be a celebrity. Even his patients annoy him, and he has taken to smoking pot to stifle an urge to scream at them to stop whining. When one of them is reported to have committed suicide, however, Walton feels guilty. Did he miss something? He decides to investigate, and he enlists the help of Teri Tarbell, a local TV reporter desperate for a story that will gain national attention and save her from a career at a third-tier TV station. Their investigation leads back to a pharmaceutical giant Walton’s father headed until his mental collapse two years earlier, and to a confrontation Walton has avoided for years. And all the while they are shadowed by a stone-cold killer with exquisite fashion sense, a fondness for show tunes, and a pugilistic concern for the environment.

420 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2011

Reviews

[Jenna Gall · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll be honest, it took me three tries to start this book but I was determined to read it. The book was just ok. The main character, Dr. Jacob Walton gets on my nerves through the book. He can't get through anything without smoking pot and he has no back bone. Not a very likable character. His daughter, is a ditsy, blond, wannabe star that ends up helping "save the day" which is unbelievable.
It seems like there was too much going on in the book as well. From Jacob's father being drugged for years to Jacob's wife inability to love anyone but herself. There was more focus on Jacob's love affair with the TV reporter Teri then there was on the HIV/AIDS drug cover up.
The biggest problem I had with the book was the deception of events. For example, on page 156, explaining Mary Tyford's experience with the bullet: "the bullet that was meant to penetrate his sternum and heart instead bore through the cerebral cortex on her left temporal lobe, mushrooming through the lateral ventricles and the septum pellucidum, exiting the right parietal lobe with a grisly flourish of white matter." The average person wouldn't know the sections on the human brain let alone anything else it penetrated.
I do appreciate that I received the book for free from goodreads.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book from Firstreads. Thanks!

I liked it...not as funny as I was expecting. I enjoyed the characters. I enjoyed the storyline. It was difficult at times to remember where it left off because so much was going on. Many plot lines made for a decent mystery, but I can't put a finger on why this book didn't pop for me. I will recommend it to my friends because it is a good read. But I can't give it more than a 3.5 rating.

[Mary]

I won Pot Luck from First Reads. I look forward to reading it now that its arrived. This looks to be interesting and funny.