The Answer Man

by Roy Johansen

They call him the Answer Man. As a lie detector operator, he's an expert in the science of truth... and the art of lies--and both are coming in handy. Because Ken Parker has been in a bad way. His business isn't making enough money to support him and his sick brother. The repo men are after his MG. And an eviction notice has just been nailed to his office door.

Then Myth Daniels, the most beautiful woman he's ever set eyes on, walks into his favorite bar. Little does he realize that everything is about to change. Five minutes after they meet, she takes him home, to a posh Atlanta neighborhood of fancy cars, manicured lawns, and security gates. And that's when she offers him $50,000 in cash for one job.

Myth Daniels is a lawyer, and running into Ken at the bar was no accident. Her client Burton Sabini stands accused of embezzling $12 million from his company. Now she's offering a deal to Ken Teach her client how to beat the polygraph, and Ken will walk away rich. Not exactly ethical... but ethics don't pay the rent.

But Ken--more than anyone--should know the price of a lie. Just days after he takes the deal, two bodies turn up brutally murdered, and the one link between them is Ken. Now the only way out is to find the $12 million before his life crumbles completely. Even if the search marks him as a suspect in the two murders. Even if it makes him a target for the real killer. As he's drawn deeper into an explosive game of greed and violence, the question will be how to stay alive. And this time, not even the Answer Man knows.

A gritty, gripping debut thriller, Roy Johansen's The Answer Man is a pulse-pounding novel of dangerous seduction and unrelenting suspense.

Genres: Mystery

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Roy Johansen is a New York Times-bestselling mystery/suspense author and screenwriter.

He was awarded the Edgar Allen Poe award from the Mystery Writers of America in the Best Television Miniseries or Movie category for his original screenplay "Murder 101". He continues to write screenplays for Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Disney, and MGM.

He has written several mystery/suspense novels on his own, but Roy Johansen also collaborates with his mother, Iris Johansen, on several best-selling mystery novels, including Storm Cycle, The Hannah Bryson series, and The Kendra Michaels series.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first Roy Johansen, and, while it kept me engaged -- I wanted thriller mind candy and I got thriller mind candy -- it was so by the numbers that I couldn't rate it higher. Ken Parker is a barely making it polygraph examiner who is offered a lot of money (and of course he has a war disabled brother who needs the cash) to teach an accused embezzler how to beat the polygraph. He gives in, and that's when the plot starts rolling and the bodies start piling up.

So, demerit no. 1: The attorney who hires him, Myth Daniels, is incredibly beautiful, and with almost no explanation, falls for Ken (obligatory shallow romance, check). Demerit no. 2: The ultimate suspect, and I'm not giving it away, is about as unlikely as you could imagine (head scratcher solution, check), and finally, demerit no. 3: As in too many of these novels, the dialogue is both adolescently cloying and too good to be true (18-34 year old male version of witty repartee, check).

No urge to return to this author, best seller or not.

[Dianna Shimizu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good mystery, but I can definitely tell a difference between him and his mother in style. I prefer her characters, for the most part.

[Bradley Brill · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+ star rating. Passibly entertaining; acceptably performed.

[Rod Zemke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked more than most readers.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, not great

[Wendy]

bot

[Wt]

I have to read this because I went to high school with Roy and his sister Tamara. Can't wait to see how this reads!