"Deftly written, audacious and probing, Lester Lies Down is a memorable piece of work, and James Thomas writes some of the quirkiest dialogue I've come across in a long time. I'm glad his book found its way to me. I'll be watching for his next one." Steve Yarbrough, author of Stay Gone Days
"When an old girlfriend shows up with stolen money and two goons on her tail, widower Lester Gordon is wrestling with the tricky transition from car wash owner to hospice worker. Lester is already dealing with death and dying all around him and with his three children who are experimenting with junior high porn and bookmaking. Oh, and he's on the spectrum. By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, and with an eccentric cast of secondary characters, Lester Lies Down catches the joys and pains of Southern life in bright colors." John Calvin Hughes, author of The Lost Gospel of Darnell Rabren
"Funny, heartbreaking and, at times, thrilling, James Ladd Thomas's Lester Lies Down is a more than worthy successor to his earlier and equally unique novel, Ardor. Peopled with vividly realized, all-too-human characters, starting with the titular Lester Gordon, a mildly autistic hospice caregiver, you'll often feel as if you're eavesdropping on the most intimate conversations, many occurring on that indefinable border between Life and Death. Lester Lies Down is a remarkably insightful achievement that deserves to be read, discussed, and savored. I thank both Thomas and Lester for introducing me to a world I would never have experienced otherwise. For this I remain sincerely grateful." Michael Libling, author of Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels and The Serial Killer's Son Takes a Wife
"Lester Lies Down reminds me of why I started reading books in the first place-to be enchanted, to be carried away from my world and dropped into a world more vivid and incandescent. James Ladd Thomas casts his considerable spell with exquisite sentences, unerring and evocative details, and with unforgettable characters, like Lester Gordon, widow, autistic father of three, and hospice nurse who is most alive while caring for the dying. I started reading the book slowly hoping the story wouldn't end and I wouldn't have to say goodbye to Lester and Ardor and Ced and Melvin. Yes, fate may slap us down, but friends and family will us up. Did I mention the bad guys and the enigmatic pack of white dogs that just might haunt your dreams?" John Dufresne, author of I Don't Like Where This Is Going
