Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Oakley (The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise) explores midlife dissatisfaction in this disappointing tale of a married couple's date night gone wrong. To celebrate 20 years of marriage, Jane and Dan stray from their usual anniversary dinner at Macaroni Grill to dine at the world-famous La Fin Du Monde, a choice far above their pay grades as a failed writer and podiatrist, respectively. Jane, certain that Dan is cheating on her and unfulfilled as a mother of two teenagers, suggests they get a divorce. Before he can respond, the restaurant is invaded by a group of masked ecoterrorists. It turns out the group is targeting a billionaire tech tycoon who's on his way there to meet his wife, which means everyone has to wait. Jane realizes two things: first, the situation is eerily similar to the plot of her poorly received book, Tea Is for Terror, and second, one of the terrorists is her teenage daughter, Sissy, whose voice she and Dan recognize. The plot twists become increasingly far-fetched as the narrative veers from the initial commentary on capitalism and environmental issues to humdrum depictions of marital woes brought about by Jane's discovery of the truth behind her suspicions about Dan. It's a miss. Agent: Stephanie Kip Rostan, Levine Greenberg Rostan. (Mar.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Oakley's latest (after The Mostly True Adventures of Tanner & Louise) is a satirical exploration of a marriage at midlife that is upended by a terrorist attack. Jane plans to tell Dan she wants a divorce at their 19th (or is it 20th?) wedding anniversary dinner, but this isn't the biggest bombshell to hit Dan that evening. Before he can absorb what Jane is saying, a gun-toting gang bursts into the restaurant and takes everyone hostage. Now Jane and Dan are not only navigating midlife malaise but also dealing with a criminal enterprise that bears a striking resemblance to that in Jane's first (and only) novel. Or at least Jane thinks it does; Dan barely remembers the plot of Jane's failed book, and since it sold so few copies, he's skeptical that anyone else would know it either. When coincidences pile up and the group reveals what they're really after, he has to admit she may be right. Jane and Dan will be forced to work together to save not only themselves but others caught up in the plot. VERDICT Though the set-up is stronger than the landing, getting there is tons of fun in this fast-paced novel.--Jane Jorgenson
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
When dinner at California's fanciest restaurant turns into a hostage situation… Oakley loves an unlikely premise, but she's outdone herself in her sixth novel, reviving the ambitions of her failed-novelist heroine with a truly wild series of events. The book is set during a single evening at an ultra-high-end restaurant called La Fin du Monde, located on a California coastal cliff. Its "million-dollar view" is upstaged by its $8.4 million dessert, which includes a diamond bracelet "and has famously been ordered only once, by a New York Yankees player for his wife, the week after his sext messages with a Southwest flight attendant went viral." (Funny, culturally clued-in asides are thick on the ground.) Jane and Dan end up celebrating their 19th anniversary at this palace of excess when he wins a voucher he thinks is for a free dinner but actually only entitles him to make a reservation. Sadly, Jane's planning to ask him for a divorce, partly because of some texts she saw on his phone but more because she's just so bored with her life. But the boredom's about to be over. Dan and Jane are barely through their first course (claw-shaped seafood concoctions that look "like they harvested them out of Sigourney Weaver's stomach") when a bunch of people in masks carrying assault rifles pour into the dining room. "Jane is no gun expert, but she did research various military-grade weapons when she was writing her novelTea Is for Terror, about an evil gang taking over a high-end teahouse in London and holding everyone hostage andoh dear God." Yes, somehow the leader of the climate activists is one of the six people who read Jane's novel--and the evening has many other surprises in store. Though the change in temperature of Jane and Dan's marriage is not the biggest one, it's nonetheless relatable and sweet. (Perhaps Oakley is celebrating the 24th anniversary of Ann Patchett'sBel Canto, which also includes a love story? Fans of that book will enjoy the connection.) As much fun as you'll ever have with middle-aged marriage and ecoterrorism. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
