Stay Up with Hugo Best - Late Night Talk Host's Last Night Lingers on with Young Staffer

The plot of Erin Somers debut novel focuses on a facetious, flirtatious & unflappable femme fatale who encounters her idol, legendary late night TV host is remarkably fierce, farcical storytelling.  Somers mystifies us by pulling us in to the heroine's melancholy, Memorial Day weekend spent with iconic comic/TV celebrity, Hugo Best.  Best's long running show has just been cancelled.  June finds herself out of a job along with the rest of the cast & crew.  After a pathetic & shallow send off party for Hugo he somehow materializes up at the dank comedy club June went to wallow on stage for her  quelled career path.  Hugo's send off party with his cronies & celebrity clingers is a harbinger for the Memorial Day party Hugo will be  hosting at his CT home.  Hugo & June strike up a spontaneous conversation and coaxes June to join him at his home for the long weekend; no strings attached.  Not surprisingly June accepts and while Hugo & his chauffeur wait outside her ramshackle apartment complex she haphazardly throws together her tote.  Hugo has had an illustrious climb from stand-up comic to decades long late night TV host.  Along the way, Hugo has acquired fame & fortune, several wives, a son & a notorious scandal.  June whose aspired for life in the Big Apple in comedy writing shows potential comedic talents.  She has a dry wit and a strong will that serves well in bizarre & trying situations.  June demonstrates her strong sense of self even when she's skeptical and uncomfortable regarding how her connection with Hugo will unfold.  There's plenty of pathos, satire and dark comedy in Somers' drawn out observations over 3 days.  The days feel interminable yet drench the reader under a siege of convincing characters and scathing satires.   "Stay up with Hugo Best" somewhat resembles Kaling's "Late Night" and Scorsesse's "The King of Comedy."  However, this clever & sophisticated debut novel by Erin Somers is just the opening act to a writer we'll be clamoring for in the years to come.