The book opens with Chris Brennan awaiting his final interview with the principal, after having passed all the preliminary rounds, for a teaching job at Central Valley high school. On paper, Chris looks perfect. Of course, he has to dress perfectly, because appearances are important. But they can also be deceiving. Especially when it comes to him.

Within the first 10 pages, it is revealed that Chris is not what he claims to be. Everything about him is a lie. In fact, there’s reference to a past murder as well.

Goes beyond saying, being an expert liar, Chris charms the principal easily and lands himself the job of teaching AP Government as well as the assistant baseball coach. He has extensively researched out each and every student and teacher of the school, in order for him to find the right boy who will help lead him lead to his ultimate goal.

Meanwhile, the story also focuses on, Mindy Kostis (mother of Evan) who is grappling with secrets being hidden from her by both her son and her husband; Heather Larkin (mother of Jordan) who is dealing with a stifling job and trying to be both mother and father to her son and Susan Sematov (mother of Mike, aka Raz) who is dealing with the untimely demise of her husband and the repercussions it has on her two children.
In the centre of all their stories is Chris Brennan, and the story is told from all their viewpoints.

40% into the book, the first twist comes and what seems like your run-of-the-mill thriller, suddenly takes a new turn. Well-paced, with multiple characters, the plot remains intriguing till about the near end. It is a perfect blend of secrets, intrigue, and crime.

We know this and reiterate it time and time again: please use social media judiciously.
"Don't volunteer so much to complete strangers. Don't tell them the most personal things. Don't post every detail about your private life. You have no idea who is out there, preying on you, using that information to their advantage."

This is a brilliant thriller on domestic terrorism – and it’s a must read!

The ending is very movie-like, but entertaining nonetheless.
4.5/5 - due to a few typo bloopers and a small unresolved mystery.

I have never read any of Lisa Scottolines books before but I certainly will be reading all of hers in the future.
You have to read this book, its brilliant and had me gripped from the first page. Chris/Curt is under cover working for the FBI. At the beginning you really could not believe he is working with the FBI. I did not like the character in the beginning, but by the end you wanted everything to work out for him.
The romance at the end is a nice twist and I really didn't see coming
I also loved the background to the students and parents you really feel for them.
So much detail just brilliant.

One Perfect Lie grabbed me the second I started this book! “Chris Brennan was applying for a teaching job at Central Valley High School, but he was a fraud.” What a great first line! I was hooked from here on. And as I was reading this the plot development was top notch! The pacing was fast and this could have easily been a single sitting read if only I didn’t have a job & family holding me back. 😉 I have already begun book talking this title to my co-workers and family. I have this on order for my library and look forward to highlighting it once I have it on hand.

I really tried getting into this book. I set it aside for a while so that I could try it with fresh eyes.
I just felt from quite early on that the character's didn't feel real, they way they spoke wasn't how people actually spoke.
Of course, that's just my opinion and I'm sure others would disagree with me.

It has a great premise, and will suit certain readers, but wasn't for me I'm afraid.

I was looking for some easy-going reading, suspenseful, if not totally realistic. This book delivered on that count, grabbing my attention from the get go and the ending did keep something of a surprise until at least the last 20 pages.
When we first meet Chris Brennan, he is looking for a teaching job in a small Pennsylvania town. We know right from the start that he is hiding something and I presumed from the hints that the author dropped that he was a Bad Guy. No, wait... a REALLY BAD GUY. I expected him to be a sociopath, using vulnerable teenagers to meet some unspeakable needs and that he intended to gain the confidence of some of the boys he was coaching on the basketball team to execute some very evil, very gory plot. However, what I did not get was why there was a great sense of hurry, why he had to get done quickly, why there was some kind of deadline to be met.
When I realized who he really was and what he was really up to, I realized how misled I had been right from the beginning and could start of concentrate on the real mystery, which Chris was also trying to resolve.
Things do wrap up quite neatly at the end, maybe a little too neatly, like a nice, positive fairy tale, but it was a good read for a nice, quiet long weekend at home.
Beyond the entertaining story that this book tells, it raises questions about the importance of trust, honesty and authenticity in creating viable relationships. Can relationships work where there is a lack of trust? Is there such a thing as lying (or omitting to tell the truth) in order to protect someone? Is it justifiable to lie or to use people unwittingly in order to gain information or further one's goals for the greater good? What can lack of authenticity lead to in relationships? Or psychologically for the person whose occupation constantly requires them to pretend to be someone or something they are not? These are not questions that have an easy answer. The book raises them but does not necessarily provide answers as they are attached to the specific situations that the characters find themselves in. However, they may occur in our lives as well and we may be able to find parallels. These might be interesting questions to debate in a book club.

The story follows a supply teacher, Chris Brennan and the students under her care as both teacher and coach. Single mother Heather is doing the best she can to bring up her son Jordan. Heather is pleased when Chris takes an interest in Jordan but does he have an alternative motive? Chris is also interested in Susan's son Raz and Mindy's son Evan. Chris suddenly seems to be the centre of this story. All three families are dealing with their own issues but will Chris make things better or worse.
From the first sentence the author leads you down the path she wants you to follow and you feel you know where the story is going and then suddenly the path splits and you're not sure where you're going next or if what you believed was true. I loved this and would highly recommend.

Here is a review by Liz: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2106280784

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've read this author a few times and liked her work, but I wasn't a fan of this book. It felt so rushed and unrealistic. The character Heather annoyed me the most. Especially with her reaction to Chris. Completely unbelievable.

I was definitely disappointed with this book.

This ARC was provided complements of NetGalley. My gratitude sent to Headline Publishing Group for making this edition available.

Nonstop Action kept me on the edge of my seat. My favorite place. Lisa Scottoline painted a doomsday scenario that loomed over America. A terrorist attack of epic proportion that could result in the death of thousands. Too real to imagine. An uncanny plot unfolded before my eyes that moved me in a fearful way. This superbly written narrative gained momentum from the very start. It ended with a dramatic bang of a finish that you'll have to see for yourself. I would heartily recommend this book.

The leak of a viable bomb threat led government agents to a High School in Pennsylvania - Central Valley High School. In response, the ATF arranged for top undercover agent, Chris Brennan, to infiltrate the school as a baseball coach and teacher. In particular, intel pointed to the baseball team. Subjects unknown. That's where Chris came in. As part of his undercover, he would be the new assistant coach in Operation Varsity Letter.

It was suspected that the terrorists would be using ammonium nitrate fertilizer for the bomb. Easily obtainable. The same deadly explosive used in the Oklahoma City bombing. Perhaps by no coincidence, it's anniversary date was only several days away. Chris had to work fast. Time was not on his side. Or ours.

The government had pushed the wrong people too far. They intruded upon their land - their lives. Their Aggressive actions caused their businesses to fail. Their livestock died. Their health suffered. Yet with their continued pleas, the government took no pity or action to rectify matters. They had had enough. It was time for Payback. Big time. Do unto others...

One of the baseball players and a teacher had become unwitting accomplices in this act of terrorism. The target had already been picked out. If accomplished as planned, it spelled out utter destruction. The estimated death toll would be in the thousands. It would throw the country into a tailspin. Time was running out. Would the cavalry find out the location in time? Had it been too late to stop them?

Chris Brennan arrives in Central Valley with stellar references, a passion for teaching and a commitment to helping students. His All-American good looks and friendly personality make him instantly popular in the small Pennsylvania community, especially with the players on the local high school’s varsity baseball team. But everything about Chris is a lie. His commitment is to using students, not teaching them, and his interest in coaching has nothing to do with baseball.

Chris isn’t the only one who has created the perfect lie, however. The town itself is a perfect suburban facade. On the surface it’s a safe place filled with happy families, good students and caring teachers. The reality is a little different. Heather Larkin is a disillusioned waitress whose son Jordan has never known his father. Susan Sematov is a successful career woman who can’t stop grieving her husband’s death or take control of her family, especially her “wild child” Raz. Mindy Kostis is the wealthy wife of a surgeon and the mother of the town’s proverbial golden boy. At first glance, Mindy seems to have it all. In truth she’s insecure about her looks and has resorted to rifling through her husband’s credit card bills when he’s asleep. And while Chris’s new co-workers may seem satisfied, that isn’t always the case. Everybody in Central Valley, it seems, is lying to the people closest to them and even to themselves. As the story unfolds, readers can’t be sure whose secret is the most dangerous one of all—a secret that threatens hundreds of lives.

"One Perfect Lie" is the first novel I’ve read by Lisa Scottoline so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’m happy to report that I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller and look forward to reading more of her work. Told mostly from Chris’s point of view, this is a fast-paced, expertly plotted book that manages to develop interesting, nuanced characters without sacrificing the suspense element of the novel. Even the “bad guys” have their motives. There are quite a few plot twists and a dash of romance, which makes "One Perfect Lie" a great beach read or a fun way to spend an autumn night (with or without caffeine, since the ending is pretty high octane all on its own).

Much thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Chris Brennan arrives in a small town in Pennsylvania to teach Government at a high school and be assistant coach for their Baseball team. From the outset it is made clear that Brennan will not be staying long in this role and that he has some dark plans for his time at Central Valley High School. I found the first few chapters of this novel quite challenging as I really had no idea where the story was going. As it develops further it becomes more clear that Brennan is absolutely not what he seems and that his plans may not be either.
I'm a huge fan of books set in small-town America and it surprised me how much this was an element of this book. We get to know the Brennan's fellow teachers at the school and the young people that Brennan teaches and their families. Brennan needs help from one of the young people on his team and he identifies Jordan, Raz and Evan as the most likely to be able to fulfill the role he will demand of them. Each boy has family issues and these are explored through their mother's points of view. Ultimately each mother is trying to keep her family together and do the very best for their boy but each woman is on a different path and this impacts on each boy too.
It's very hard to discuss this novel without giving away the massive twist within the story and it would be unfair of me to do so. Suffice to say that I actually couldn't put this book down. I read it on a recent camping trip and couldn't rest until it was finished. It's a tightly plotted, dramatic and action packed book, with a thrilling denouement. Scottoline weaves the story's web so skilfully. I would highly recommend it..

Great storyline, strong characters, mysterious drama that kept me hooked all the way through.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lisa Scottoline for the copy of this book. I voluntarily gave my unbiased feedback.

"One Perfect Lie" was an enjoyable, well-paced read. It's hard to talk much about the plot as it changes and surprises throughout the book, not just at the end. It starts with Chris Brennan trying to insert himself into a high school by getting a job as a teacher and a coach in the middle of the school year. It seems far-fetched that he should so easily get this job and this is one of several events in the book that seem to rely a bit much on luck or coincidence. However, this is counterbalanced by well-fleshed characters: mothers and high schoolers that ring true and sympathetic in their actions, reactions and dialogue. Overall, an entertaining thriller and mystery. This was my first book by Lisa Scottoline and I would definitely read other books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Thanks everyone for letting me review this book. I really like this author but have mixed views about this book and some of the characters in it. I finished it and thought it was good but not brilliant if you know what I mean

One Perfect Lie is the first book i have read by Lisa Scottoline and although i did enjoy the book it isn't the best book i've read this year.Chris Brennan is an undercover agent whose cover is as a baseball coach at high school .As he tries to befriend the pupils to try and discover who is planning a home terrorist atrocity against his better judgement he gets involved with Heather the single mum of Jordan one of the pupils under suspicion.What follows is a story of lies and discoveries and as the Chris uncovers the truth the race is on to stop things before the plot can be carried out,i found that part of the book a bit unbelievable and far fetched but i guess it is fiction ! Still an enjoyable 4 star read.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

Chris Brennan is being interviewed for a teaching position in a high school. However he is not what he appears to be. He is also assistant coach of the baseball team and very quickly ingratiates himself into the circle of the main guys on the team.

I actually thought this book was going in totally a different direction and unfortunately that would have been more believable. All the events take place over a few days. How much misery, bad luck and criminal activities can take place amongst basically three of the boys and their families? We have everything from workplace bullying to full blown corruption.

I don't know whether it is because all the action is packed into a few days but development of the characters is lacking.

The ending made me feel I was reading a script from a Tom Cruise movie and I really am not a fan of his. Over dramatic and unrealistic.

Well upon beginning this book, I thought I knew what I was expecting, then, BAM, all of a sudden, the story flips and I was hooked! A well written, and though out thriller, thoroughly enjoyable.

This is another fantastic book by a great author. I am always excited when Lisa Scottoline has a new book comimg out because I know it will be worth my time and this one certainly was. It is hard to give a review and not give away any of the story. This book will keep you reading, thinking and wondering. One may not look at school coaches quite the same after this read.

This book is about a man names Chris, who gets a new job at a country high school as a teacher and a coach. He is clear from the very beginning that nothing he told the principal about himself was true. So begins a roller coaster ride of a book. There are many twists and turns and it takes a long while to get a grip on what is really going on. It took about 1/2 of the book until it was clear about what Chris' intentions are and what he is really up to. Before this point in the book, I wasn't loving the story.... but it got a whole lot better once this was clear. It was also at this point where the characters finally had enough dimension that I cared enough about them to keep reading until the end. The book sped by for the second half. If the first half was as good, I would give the book a higher rating. It is worth reading if you like suspense or thrillers or even FBI or police books, as I am sure you will enjoy it. I cannot really give you more information about the book, without giving something away. I can tell you this.... there is a lot more happening in this sleepy town than meets the eye, and everyone gets the shock of their lives in one way or another!

Wow so many twists and turns! What I thought was going on, it wasn't! A great thriller of a book and kept me guessing the entire time! I love Lisa Scottoline's books and this one was no exception! Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in return for an honest review.