Lee, a high school shop teacher in Evergreen, Colorado, managed to
survive his messy divorce only to hurtle into what some might call a
full-on midlife crisis. Looking for a way to spend his weekends and the
now painfully long summer vacation, Lee buys a gold mine off the
internet--a real, honest-to-God mine, complete with tall tales of
riches, a history of disappointment, and a couple of
Pakistani-by-the-way-of-Jackson-Hole prospectors willing to kill for its
contents.
With the frequently unwanted help of a band of locals, Lee becomes a
weekend warrior, attempting to work the mine and keep himself distracted
from his other midlife disturbances. There are the Pakistanis, of
course, along with his mercurial brother Grant, just released from
prison, who is trying in his typically perilous way to pull Lee from his
midlife funk. There is his ex-wife Lorraine and her slick boyfriend,
Stan Beachum, and the lovely yet mysterious Rayna, the first woman Lee's
wanted to date since his divorce.
In Daniel Pyne's sharp, fun, and raucous style, A Hole in the Ground
Owned by a Liar is part mystery and part gold-infused tall tale with a
cast of refreshingly quirky characters and one highly unexpected payout.