Lies by T.M. Logan
Release Date: September 11, 2018
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genre: Adult, Mystery & Thriller
Source: ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Amazon | BN | Indiebound
What if you have the perfect life, the perfect wife and the perfect child―then, in one shattering moment, you discover nothing is as it seems? Now you are in the sights of a ruthless killer determined to destroy everything you treasure.
“[T. M. Logan's Lies] is assured, compelling, and hypnotically readable―with a twist I guarantee you won’t see coming.” ―Lee Child
It’s the evening drive home from work on a route Joe Lynch has taken a hundred times with his young son. But today, Joe sees his wife meet another man―an encounter that will rip two families apart. Raising the question: Can we ever really trust those closest to us?
Joe will do whatever it takes to protect his family, but as the deception unravels, so does his life. A life played out without any rules. And a cunning opponent who’s always one step ahead.
T. M. Logan’s Lies is an unputdownable thriller that will keep readers guessing until the jaw-dropping finale.
Review:
I came *so* close to giving up on T.M. Logan's Lies in the beginning. It wasn't catching my attention, and I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style. It was very cut-and-dry, using a lot of "I did this, then I did that." However, I decided to stick it out, and I'm so glad I did. It may have taken a while to warm up, but at 1/4 of the way through, it gained MAJOR speed. By the end, I was (1) shocked, as the major twist was INSANE, (2) completely scared, as I made the big mistake of reading this at night, and (3) craving more books by T.M. Logan!
To be honest, Joe is a somewhat bland character, especially at first. He's soft spoken, not very motivated, and slightly spineless. He wasn't exactly someone that was easy to root for; however, I was still intrigued by his life. I was curious to see what would happen to him. Would he stop trusting everyone? Would he start demanding answers? Would he prove his innocence before his life was forever ruined? Those were the questions circling my mind. Over the course of Lies, Joe does experience a transformation. He becomes more gutsy and fearless, knocking down doors to get answers, and while he still made some reckless decisions, I gave him props - he was willing to risk it all if it meant proving his innocence and keeping his son.
The other characters in this were interesting, and I loved that almost everyone was a suspect. It kept me on the edge of my seat! For example, there always seemed to be something off about Joe's wife Alice. She was aloof and mysterious, obsessed with social media and bad at telling the truth. I questioned everything she said, and I never thought she was a good person. Ben, the antagonist, in this was scary from the get-go. I got so many chills from the things he did or said! I couldn't understand why he was so determined to ruin Joe's life; however, as more and more were revealed about his motive, the more hooked I became.
The plot in in Lies mainly focuses on Joe and Ben's game of cat-and-mouse. As I said before, it took a while for Lies to warm up; however, once the game got in full swing I was hooked! There were so many shocking moments. I never knew what Ben and Joe were going to do next, and that was part of what made it so much fun to read. While sometimes I couldn't believe how willing everyone was to jump to conclusions (Joe, the police, etc.), it didn't hinder my reading experience too much. There were some moments, though, where I wanted to scream "Really?!" I also liked how T.M. also addressed social media in Lies (i.e. the addicting quality, the problems it may bring, etc.). When the book first begins, Joe and his wife are obsessed with social media, documenting their lives online; however, Joe's social media is eventually used against him. He's made to look guilty and unhinged through the hacking of his account, even photos of him online are altered to make him look suspicious...It makes you question just how much you put out there, could someone do to you what they did to Joe? And it makes you wonder how willing you are to trust posts, because as they say, sometimes something it nothing like it seems.
My only real problem here besides the slow start was the writing style. As I said before, it was very cut and dry, and while I eventually got used to it, I wished that it was a little more descriptive. I think it would've allowed for more character development, as sometimes the characters were slightly one dimensional.
Perfect for fans of thrillers, Lies is sure to entice and engage readers. I can't wait to see what T.M. writes next!
To be honest, Joe is a somewhat bland character, especially at first. He's soft spoken, not very motivated, and slightly spineless. He wasn't exactly someone that was easy to root for; however, I was still intrigued by his life. I was curious to see what would happen to him. Would he stop trusting everyone? Would he start demanding answers? Would he prove his innocence before his life was forever ruined? Those were the questions circling my mind. Over the course of Lies, Joe does experience a transformation. He becomes more gutsy and fearless, knocking down doors to get answers, and while he still made some reckless decisions, I gave him props - he was willing to risk it all if it meant proving his innocence and keeping his son.
The other characters in this were interesting, and I loved that almost everyone was a suspect. It kept me on the edge of my seat! For example, there always seemed to be something off about Joe's wife Alice. She was aloof and mysterious, obsessed with social media and bad at telling the truth. I questioned everything she said, and I never thought she was a good person. Ben, the antagonist, in this was scary from the get-go. I got so many chills from the things he did or said! I couldn't understand why he was so determined to ruin Joe's life; however, as more and more were revealed about his motive, the more hooked I became.
My only real problem here besides the slow start was the writing style. As I said before, it was very cut and dry, and while I eventually got used to it, I wished that it was a little more descriptive. I think it would've allowed for more character development, as sometimes the characters were slightly one dimensional.
Perfect for fans of thrillers, Lies is sure to entice and engage readers. I can't wait to see what T.M. writes next!
4 stars!!
Oooh, a game of cat and mouse game sounds fantastic!
ReplyDeleteOoh, this sounds crazy - it sounded pretty normal at the beginning, but now I'm wondering what the twist is!
ReplyDelete