The Ex [Mass Market Paperback]

John Lutz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1997

The successful and happy world of David and Molly Jones is thrown into turmoil by the arrival of Deirdre Grocci, an erotically obsessed woman from David's past, who will stop at nothing to get him back. Reprint."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

He's won an Edgar Award and several Shamus Awards (including, in 1995, a Lifetime Achievement Award), but Lutz (Burn, 1995) isn't likely to collect any prizes for this brisk but lightweight and predictable psychothriller. Anyone who's seen the movies Fatal Attraction or Single White Female (the latter filmed from Lutz's novel SWF Seeks Same) will anticipate many of this novel's twists and turns, which follow Hollywood's formula for stalk-and-slash stories; in fact, this work is based on a screenplay of the same title that's currently in production from producer/director Mark Lester. The villain here is ravishing redhead Deirdre Chandler, who, after killing a guard while escaping from a state mental institution, heads for Manhattan and her ex-husband, literary agent David Jones. Never mind that David has remarried; in no time, Deirdre works her way back into his life, moving into his apartment building and serving as the new babysitter for his son, Michael, after she kills off the old one. David's sweet young wife, Molly, wrinkles her nose at Deirdre early on, but before she can take action the femme fatale has kidnapped Michael, leading to a familiar climax, awash in blood. Characterization throughout is simple but convincing, particularly David's self-loathing as he falls in sexual thrall to Deirdre. Lutz offers a few over-the-top scenes, including a coupling in a funeral parlor, to spice up the story; but what he's serving here is yesterday's meal all the same.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

After a messy divorce, David Jones has moved to New York for a fresh start: new job, new wife, three-year-old son. Then his ex-wife, Deirdre, walks out of a mental institution and back into David's life, determined to recapture him even if she must destroy his current life to do so. David doesn't help himself. Only when she has lodged herself in his apartment building and his family is in physical danger does he reach out to the police. The versatile Lutz, author of two ongoing detective series as well as numerous other thrillers, is mining the same vein here--New York, big apartment buildings, rampant terror--he exploited so well in S.W.F. Seeks Same (1990), which became the hit movie Single White Female. It's no coincidence that this novel has also been optioned for a big-screen treatment. Still, Lutz readers may be disappointed; he's done better work. On the other hand, Lutz is a fine craftsman, even when his material is a bit predictable, and the movie tie-in is certain to create demand. Wes Lukowsky --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Books; Reprint edition (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575661780
• ISBN-13: 978-1575661780
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,218,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 'The Ex' is a somewhat boring erotic thriller, September 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ex (Hardcover)

John Lutz didn't do a very good job on this one. The story is atypical and jumps over many holes in the plot. Lutz starts out with Deidre, a beautiful pyscho, escaping from a mental institution. She immediately heads to New York to try and rendezvous with her ex-husband David after several years. David has already re-married though and has a son. No problem for Deidre. Immediately Deidre begins to work herself back into David's life. David's wife Molly is immediately suspicious of Deidre. But David defends his ex-wife and Molly quiets her suspicions. Before long, Deidre has seduced David into having sex with her again. At the same time Deidre is stalking Molly and beginning to convince her she's going insane. Fairly soon, Deidre has schemed her way into their apartment building. A little after that she murders their babysitter and uses David to convince Molly to let Deidre babysit their son, Michael. After this the novel grows repetitive. The only breaks are the steamy sex scenes where Deidre repeatedly shows how much control she has over her ex-husband.(at one time she handcuffs him in a funeral parlor and forces him to have sex.) David meanwhile seems to give himself up to Deidre in exchange for sex while he begins to neglect his own wife. Deidre also is busy harassing Molly. Molly becomes a basket case as whenever she goes jogging Deidre dons a disguise and follows her, repeatedly threatening her. Deidre even begins to wear Molly's clothes. Soon David is sending Molly to a physciatrist while Deidre repeatedly forces him to have sex. She has begun videotaping him and her making love and using it as blackmail. Meanwhile she has been making friends with Michael. During one scene Deidre has sex with David and then leaves the apartment and attempts to kill Molly. David, ever the loving husband, tells Molly that she was simply imagining Deirdre trying to kill her. Anyways it begins to shift. Deirdre calls the apartment and leaves a message for Molly that says she's sleeping with David. Then she heads down to their apartment and erases it since there not home. While there she pleasures herself on Molly's side of the bed and leaves the mess for Molly to see. David finds it first and cleans it and then makes an excuse to leave the apartment and heads to Deirdre. Once he's up there he doesn't chew her out but merely has sex with her in a shower. After this Deirdre(who seemed to be on the verge of victory) blows it by kidnapping Michael. David fesses up to Molly about the affair. Molly and David rush to save Michael and it all ends with a climactic showdown between Deirdre and Molly. Ultimately, David kills Molly to keep having sex with Deirdre. No. Seriously if you want to know the end(like you don't already) you ought to read this book. Overall, the book was very predictable. It gets mired down in useless sub-plots. About the only good parts are the explicit sex scenes between Deirdre and David and when we get to read how Deirdre sees the whole situation. So basically if you're looking for a guilty pleasures book, read this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars We miss Fred Carver, January 14, 2006

By 

Drummer (Fort Myers, FL USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ex (Pinnacle Books Fiction) (Mass Market Paperback)

It's hard to believe that _The Ex_ was written by the same author who gave us the excellent Fred Carver detective series. Those books had memorable characters (who can ever forget the corrupt cop, McGregor?), compelling plots, a keen sense of place, and an anti-hero protagonist we could care about. The same can be said for his Alo Nudger series.

This book has none of that. It's like a script from a bad TV movie. The characters are cardboard cut-outs, and the plot is utterly predictable. The final scene is completely illogical. The prose style is prosaic and simplistic--very much unlike the wry, terse style in the Carver books. It wouldn't surprise me if this one was ghost-written.

Lutz has won many awards for his earlier detective novels. I suppose he's moved into mass-market commercialism so he can bank some money. Can't blame him--but too bad for his long-time fans.

2.0 out of 5 stars EH...I coulda had a V8, September 11, 2011

By 

Janeque M. Woods "JanequeMW" (Hartford, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ex (Pinnacle Books Fiction) (Kindle Edition)

First I want to start by saying as an author, John Lutz has very VERY good storytelling skills. He's very descriptive. I almost felt like I was there. I was drawn into the lives of these characters...so much so that I found when i wasn't reading the book, I kept talking about how dumb David was. I repeated that throughout the book, right to the end. With that being said, I felt this book was kind of a let down...no, it WAS a let down. Deidre was nuttier than the professor. Ok, I get that. I also get that her sexuality sugar coated her "crazy cake". Ok, men usually think with one head and its not always the one on their shoulders...I get that too. However, I got really confused about some of her rationale. Now the author could say "There is no method to her madness-hello, she's crazy!" I don't buy that. First, I was perplexed by the first death...like who is this chick and why was she killed? At first I thought it was just to steal her identity (which would have been understandable). We don't find out later who she is...i mean much later...i forgot who she was. Then the story moves along at a good pace...David gets dumber by the day and poor Molly is just...so plain and boring. In the mean time Deidre just gets crazier and homicidal. One thing I didn't get-who was Darlene? Was she real? The author made it seem as if she was a ghost, but how can she call people on the phone if she was a ghost? If Darlene was Deidre's sister, then how is it that she just met her in NY? That's the kind of thing that bothered me about this book. Also, I'd like to think that even after Deidre did what she did to him and his wife, the last thing he would do is sleep with her...but I've never been a divorced man who's ex wife was crazy and hot so maybe that's the norm. The final fight scene-which I had been looking forward to-was brief and unappealing. I figured at some point the only person that was going to be able to stop the EX was Molly and I was right. I was ok with being right about that, but I was not ok with the brevity of the scene. I thought it needed to be longer and i thought that Molly really should have beat her down...but that's just me. All in all, it was a good read, it had its moments (the sex scenes, and the scene when Molly finds the cat Muffin were pretty good). I think it could have ended better though and that's why I said I could have had a V8. THE END :o)