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Lemon in the Basket
Among the Tylers of Santa Clara are a matriarch lauded as the first lady of American theater, a judicial appointee of the president, a noted fundraiser for international charities, a university vice-chancellor, and an esteemed and admired surgeon. The Tylers are, in their own words, “worthy of Paradise.”
Then, a violently anti-US Middle Eastern leader sends his son to California to be treated by the young Dr. Michael Tyler. The king’s deal: Save his “little prince,” and the lives of the twenty-eight American hostages languishing in his prison will be spared. And there’s another caveat: The agreement must be kept secret. But there’s one more Tyler to contend with.
Rufus Tyler is the family “lemon in the basket,” an underachiever who has finally found his moment in history. By exposing his family to the press as conspirators in a terrorist’s negotiation, Rufus will do more than breach the walls of privacy. He will plunge his family into the dangerous waters of international politics. As unfounded fears and dreadful rumors take hold, an inevitable and shocking act of violence will threaten not only the Tylers, but also the fate of the entire country.
Then, a violently anti-US Middle Eastern leader sends his son to California to be treated by the young Dr. Michael Tyler. The king’s deal: Save his “little prince,” and the lives of the twenty-eight American hostages languishing in his prison will be spared. And there’s another caveat: The agreement must be kept secret. But there’s one more Tyler to contend with.
Rufus Tyler is the family “lemon in the basket,” an underachiever who has finally found his moment in history. By exposing his family to the press as conspirators in a terrorist’s negotiation, Rufus will do more than breach the walls of privacy. He will plunge his family into the dangerous waters of international politics. As unfounded fears and dreadful rumors take hold, an inevitable and shocking act of violence will threaten not only the Tylers, but also the fate of the entire country.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
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About the author
Charlotte Armstrong
172 books75 followersFull name Charlotte Armstrong Lewi. Wrote 29 novels, plus short stories and plays under the name Charlotte Armstrong and Jo Valentine. Additional writing jobs: New York Times (advertising department), Breath of the Avenue (fashion reporter).
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 29, 2009
I seem to always end up feeling, when I read a Charlotte Armstrong novel, that I ought to have enjoyed it a lot more than I did, and the same is true with this one. The ghastly Tyler family are so brilliant, rich, privileged and charitably generous that it makes your gorge rise just to think about them. All except one, who's thick as two short planks; he and his even thicker wife are resentful as hell about the overweening ways of his siblings, siblings-in-law, and parents. And now the family is hosting a visit by the ruler of some frightful repressive nation somewhere in the back of beyond. Are there sinister forces at work to try to bump off the ruler's youthful heir?
Well, yes, there are.
The New York Times, quoted on the cover, thought this was a "Wonderful thriller . . . Breathtaking!" Me, I thought it was somewhat plodding and unconvincing.
And so another few years will pass before I next pick up a Charlotte Armstrong novel thinking that perhaps this time I'll be able to find out what all the fuss was about . . .
Well, yes, there are.
The New York Times, quoted on the cover, thought this was a "Wonderful thriller . . . Breathtaking!" Me, I thought it was somewhat plodding and unconvincing.
And so another few years will pass before I next pick up a Charlotte Armstrong novel thinking that perhaps this time I'll be able to find out what all the fuss was about . . .
October 7, 2018
Written four years before Armstrong's death, which may explain the enormous differences with her earlier (and better) work. Instead of a murder mystery, this is a foray into international intrigue, and unfortunately for me it really didn't work. At first I thought I was reading a particularly humourless episode of "Dharma and Greg"--the old money family (as "old" goes in California) of beautiful, successful society people: the university professor, the statesman, the volunteer-working socialite, the specialist surgeon, the actress, the artist...and the failure. For indeed there is a "lemon" on the family tree, the useless young man who just isn't much good at anything at all. It would have helped if even one of the characters were remotely sympathetic, but I was unconvinced even by "lovely" little Tamsen, who is meant to be the heartwarmer and just left me cold. Because all these lovely people are constantly faking, constantly pretending to be what they are not, while the much-despised "lemon" is just what he is.
Why, I wonder, do authors who have painfully obviously never set foot in Iowa choose my home state to symbolise Faulkneresque near-idiocy? I was born and grew up in Iowa in the sixties, and I am here to tell you that like so many authors, Armstrong's "Lurlene" is far too Southern-fried, from that name (Lorene or Lorraine yes, Lurlene no, not in Iowa) to the way she talks and dresses and acts. Her idiom is not Midwestern! Even Dubuque is nowhere near Alabama, which is where Lurlene obviously sprang from. Lurlene is, of course, a former cocktail waitress. What else could she be? And how damning, to be a working-class girl! We are told almost nothing about dear little Tamsen's background or life before she married into the wonderful Tyler clan, but she probably went to finishing school and all.
Add to that the dreadful "big reveal" at the end, and you have a dud of a novel dressed up to look like a firework. Actually, now that I think about it, the title is very well chosen. Of all the books in Armstrong's basket of work, this one is a real lemon. And by the way, I don't know where Lurlene got that phrase, but it wasn't from Iowa. Or even Illinois.
A very shaky star and a half.
Why, I wonder, do authors who have painfully obviously never set foot in Iowa choose my home state to symbolise Faulkneresque near-idiocy? I was born and grew up in Iowa in the sixties, and I am here to tell you that like so many authors, Armstrong's "Lurlene" is far too Southern-fried, from that name (Lorene or Lorraine yes, Lurlene no, not in Iowa) to the way she talks and dresses and acts. Her idiom is not Midwestern! Even Dubuque is nowhere near Alabama, which is where Lurlene obviously sprang from. Lurlene is, of course, a former cocktail waitress. What else could she be? And how damning, to be a working-class girl! We are told almost nothing about dear little Tamsen's background or life before she married into the wonderful Tyler clan, but she probably went to finishing school and all.
Add to that the dreadful "big reveal" at the end, and you have a dud of a novel dressed up to look like a firework. Actually, now that I think about it, the title is very well chosen. Of all the books in Armstrong's basket of work, this one is a real lemon. And by the way, I don't know where Lurlene got that phrase, but it wasn't from Iowa. Or even Illinois.
A very shaky star and a half.
April 26, 2015
I have NEVER had the misfortune to read a book that is so Subservient to OUR Social Better's than this complete and Utter waste of Paper!Meet the Tyler Family, majestic, Brilliant, Gifted, Handsome, Beautiful, except Rufus who is to pitted as he alone does NOT Carry the 'Omnipotence Gene' of the Rest of The family! Written in 1966 when the Rest Of America was engaged in The Civil Rights Movement, where 'ordinary people' share the World with these Magestic Luminaries!Truly Awful!!!!!!
January 17, 2012
I found the book to be bit boring and unexciting until the very last thirty pages. Not even one of the characters were likable. The resolutions in the end were slightly interesting but the whole idea could have been a short story imo.
August 13, 2018
Tedious. Abandoned after a few chapters.
October 19, 2025
Have been digging into the bookshelves lately and reading books that we have collected over the years and never got around to opening, or re-reading the ones that we kept because we liked them but read so long ago that the details have become smudged together over time. This one was published in 1967 and reflects the social attitudes, mores and customs of the time, but it has held up well. To appreciate the book and its characters, a reader must understand the zeitgeist of that period. No condescension
meant here: I well remember 1967, and it was a different time than today.
The 'lemon in the basket' is a slow-witted and indolent family member who the rest of the family (who are over-achievers almost to a person) have made excuses for all his life, to their folly and near undoing. REG
meant here: I well remember 1967, and it was a different time than today.
The 'lemon in the basket' is a slow-witted and indolent family member who the rest of the family (who are over-achievers almost to a person) have made excuses for all his life, to their folly and near undoing. REG
April 7, 2021
No one but Charlotte Armstrong could have conceived this plot much less put it together. Pure talent. A captivation read! Twists and turns at dizzying pace! Secrets galore. It was fun to read a book with the setting of my old stomping grounds...San Marino just off Huntington Blvd in California.
June 11, 2018
A nice distraction from frightening TV.
August 1, 2010
i have this book on my bookshelf from last 3 years but i never gave it a go.i think time has come to read it!
February 13, 2016
Fawcett Crest paperback edition- 1967 / 192 pages
April 28, 2020
I liked this very much - one of Charlotte Armstrong's fantastic psychological novels.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews