I started reading Lies on 9/18/2018 and finished it on 9/27/2018. This thriller is an okay read for me. I like the start of the book. I like how the lies slowly unraveling. The characters aren’t my favorite. Joe is annoying to me. He complains on and on about how trusting he is and how sad for him that everything bad is happening to him and how Mel could be irresistible that someone could be obsessing on her. I don’t like Mel because she is quick to blame others, even when she’s caught lying. I feel like Joe is one of those unreliable narrator because he seems to be the last to know the things that are happening with him. He browses Facebook and the news to blame the other guy for his unpleasant situation – not thrilling to read for me.

This book is told in the first person point of view following Joseph (Joe) Lynch, a teacher, as he drives his son William, 4, home from school. On the way home, his son and him spots his wife Melanie (Mel), driving to a hotel’s underground parking lot. They follow because they want to surprise her. When inside the hotel, Joe witnesses that Mel looks to be having an argument with one of her friends’ husband, Ben. He decides to wait for Mel at the car but when she comes down she hurries off and Joe misses her. Then Ben came down later and lies to Joe about not seeing Joe’s wife Mel in the hotel. They have an altercation where Ben is left bleeding on the ground. Later that night, Mel comes home and lies to Joe about being at the hotel. When Ben’s wife, Beth, came around saying her husband Ben has gone missing. Joe and his wife Mel went to the police to help with the case. This book is organized in a timeline by days of the week. Later Beth confronts Mel of the pictures, Joe’s happy marriage and comfortable life as he sees it is no more.

Lies is a fast paced read. I’m surprised Joe and Mel are comfortable enough to argue with the door closed upstairs while their 4 year old toddler is alone by himself downstairs. I like Joe’s lawyer’s advice about how to handle police’s questions. Definitely a fun read between the police and the lawyer. I do like that Joe try to take active roles in solving his situation rather than just sit back and complain. I read closely the first 50% and skim through the last 50% because the last 50% was not thrilling for me. I like the twist at the end because I couldn’t have guessed it. I thought it involve one or the other because they are quick to point the blame to someone else. I have seen mixed reviews on Goodreads, so I do recommend everyone to read this book and make your own conclusion whether you enjoy reading this thriller or not.

Pro: fast paced, modern technology, short chapters,

Con: unreliable narrator, not thrilling, the chase is endless

I rate it 3.5 stars!

***Disclaimer: I won a copy of Lies from a Goodreads giveaway hosted by the publisher. Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review. Please be assured that my opinions are honest.

xoxo,
Jasmine at www.howusefulitis.wordpress.com for more details

Honestly, I am incredibly torn between a three- or four-star rating. Lies is very well written and had me hooked from the very beginning. The story line did not move at a brisk pace, but enough was happening that it was difficult to put the book down. Not to mention, adding in social media and technology made the story that much more believable. In regards to the main character, Joe, he did not have the most depth and could be rather naive and dense at times but I was rooting for him. Even with that, I was enjoying the story. The supporting characters really helped the story progress and added additional little tidbits. However, they also made it that much harder to figure out what really happened. There were so many twists and turns that left me so confused and with so many questions. Every time I thought I could put my finger on what was going on, I was proven wrong. This is a rather relatable psychological thriller that I would definitely recommend!

Lies by T.M Logan was clever, suspenseful and a very well thought out novel. A mixture of family drama and darker underlying secrets made for a real page turner. Seeing Joe's perfectly normal family life unravel day after day as he races to find the truth was thrilling and scarily realistic.
Am excellent read from start to finish. 4.5/5 stars

3.5 stars rounded up

LIES is a fun, fast-paced psychological thriller that centers on, well, a whole bunch of lies. This story grabbed me instantly, and from about the half-way point until the end, I could. not. put. it. down.

Joe is happy with his life. He loves his job, loves his wife, and loves his son. One day, he spots his wife's car going into a parking deck at a motel, and with the one spontaneous decision to follow her, his whole world begins to crumble around him and life as he knows it is changed forever. Poor, naive Joe. With a cast of quite a few characters, it's hard to know who to trust, and every time I thought I had it figured out, there were more twists, turns, and lies that got me guessing all over again. Earth-shattering? Not really. A fun read? Most definitely!

Lies by T.M. Logan was a nice change of pace for me as far as thrillers go. Although it’s another long book, The chapters are short and always leave you with a reason to keep reading. I could have finished this a lot faster, but #momlife.
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I just found out after reading that this is a debut novel for Logan. It just makes me love this book and his writing even more. It was captivating and I liked playing detective along with Joe to try to figure out what was happening.
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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.
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This is T.M. Logans debut novel (hard to believe he hasn’t written more!) and I really wanted to read this just from the description and cover of this book. I was beyond THRILLED to get it on NetGalley! Also I purchased the Audible version of this book, so when I couldn't listen, I could listen to it being read. I thought it was a fabulous debut novel and I rated it a 4.5 because it hooked me from beginning to end.
The beginning sucked me right in. It started off with Joe Lynch driving his car with his young son in the backseat, and seeing his wife a few cars ahead of him in busy traffic. He is surprised she’s not where she should be, at work and decides to secretly follow her. It takes off from there and kept my rapt attention the entire time of the book. The characters all had flaws, I like a lot of flaws… no one is without them in real life and it makes the characters more believable in a book. Some of the characters I couldn’t stand… lets leave it at that. Great build up of a story, great writing, and had me thinking I knew what was going on the whole time… or so I thought!
The ending was so un-expected! I totally didn’t see that twist ending coming! It took me several days to write this review because I wasn’t sure how to rate it because of the ending… was I mad? A little yes. Did I feel duped at the ending? Yes I did. But after thinking it over I thought it was quite cleaver and I’m sticking with that. Hence because I struggled with the ending, I knocked off a half a star.
Because I really liked this book I also purchased the Audible version, so when I couldn’t read I could continue to listen. The narrator did an awesome job.
I highly recommend this book or audio book (definitely one credit worthy) to anyone who loves a good mystery/thriller/psychological thriller.

*A very special thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review*

This book is bonkers! The book cover says "What if your whole life was based on lies," so the bonkers level should be obvious. But, even after finishing it, I still feel like everything that happened was nuts.

Don't get me wrong - it is fun to read things that are crazy every once in a while. In this novel, a man is continually trying to unravel what appears to begin with one little lie from his wife. But the lies grow and grow until it is difficult to tell what is real and what is not.

Joe is a good father and a good husband, but he also appears to be incredible trusting and super naive. When he sees his wife meeting with her best friend's husband at a hotel, some red flags are raised. But, when he learns from her they were just meeting for business, he accepts it.

However, when he sees his wife meeting this man at the hotel, Joe also confronts the man. An altercation happens. And everything begins to fall apart. For example, he learns his wife and this man were having an affair. Then, the best friend discovers the illicit relationship.

Throughout the book, Joe is convinced that the other man is trying to ruin his family and get him sent to jail for a crime he didn't commit. What crime? His murder. Joe is convinced the other husband is framing him and will stop at nothing.

But, as Joe learns, nothing is what it seems.

It is a fast read that will leave you turning pages to discover what is true and what is false. With that being said, when I reached the conclusion, I was disappointed because the truth seemed so insane to me. If you read this one, I would love know your thoughts too!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review purposes! It was just released in the US. Happy reading.

Wow! The ending completely took me by surprise in this one, and I can normally spot a twist a mile away! I was on the edge of my seat, so to speak, throughout this entire story. From the first few pages, I was hooked - and that feeling never went away.

Joe has a perfect life - or so he thinks. How much of your life could be based on a lie? He's about to find out.

I found the everything about this compelling and unputdownable - I'll definitely be adding T.M. Logan to my 'auto buy' authors in the future.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

I really enjoyed the twists and turns in this novel...and that's NOT a lie!!

However, lies do abound in this book.

Joe thinks he is happily married with a young son and life is good ... LIES!
The story continues with more lies and Joe does not know what to think and whom to believe.

The story was interesting, suspenseful, and a quick read.

I liked this novel. Joe sort of accidentally sees his wife having coffee with another man. That sets off a world of lies. I like how we find out the truth as Joe does. We are as puzzled with what is going on as he is. There is a plot twist near the end that I did not see coming. I found Joe an engaging character. I really felt for him as he tried to unravel what was happening to him and why.

The only part of the novel I found less than good was the ending. I don't like it when the cavalry comes over the hill and rescues the surrounded settlers, so to speak. And this is what happens in the last suspenseful scene. Other than that, I felt the novel was well plotted.

Logan certainly emphasized the fragile nature of having a social media presence. One can use social media to ruin another, especially if the account is hacked. A suggestive post here and there. A Photoshopped image posted in the right place at the right time. As one character says, it is being tried in the court of public opinion and it can be brutal.

I recommend this book to readers who like a suspenseful novel that also includes interesting information.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

This book is just not for me. I like psychological thrillers, but I'm learning that I do not, as a general rule, enjoy the dirty family secrets trope. I got 20% of the way through this NetGalley ARC, even buying the final version on Kindle because I felt guilty for not finishing the ARC before it's publication date, only to realize that I've been trying to read this book for nearly two weeks, and I would rather do anything that pick it up again.

The writing seems fine. It's just the story line - the husband sees his wife having an argument with another man, husband confronts other man, something happens, husband confronts wife, she lies, and husband is upset. No idea what happens next, and I just don't care to find out. I have to leave a star-rating on NetGalley, and am giving it 2 stars, because I think the writing itself isn't bad. If you like the questionably reliable narrator, cheating spouse/family secrets type of thriller, then I say give it a shot. You might love it. It's no longer something I can stomach reading.

Well-written, suspenseful, I couldn't put it down. This is going to be an author to watch! The plot all tied in beautifully, seeding was well done (no Chekov's gun hanging around), and it made 100% sense.

Joe Lynch has the perfect life. He has a great home, great job, wonderful son and amazing wife. Nothing could go wrong…right? When Joe notices his wife while out driving with his son one day and decides to make a quick stop and surprise her, he has no clue how much that detour will cost him and his perfect world.

Any good psychological thriller writer knows how to hook the reader from the beginning and T. M. Logan did just that. No prolonged foreplay here; the tone of the book was immediately set and you knew you could just sit back and enjoy the ride. What a ride it was! Every time I thought I was wrapping my head around this book…BAM…one more twist thrown into the plot and I was lost again.

Although I was completely engrossed in this story, I did find that the tone changed quite a bit and the paced seemed to slow quite a bit the more in depth the investigation got. It started to get a little too unbelievable as well and I found I was losing my interest in those scenes. Luckily, however, that was short lived and the action picked right back up before too long so I could continue reading with wide eyes and white knuckles!

Other than some seriously sub-par detective work, (I really hated that entire investigation) the only part of this book that really got to me was Joe. Dear, sweet, ridiculously naïve, want to smack him over the head, Joe. I liked him. I really did, BUT that man needed a serious reality check. I don’t know how many times while I was reading that I just had to give my head a shake because I was in such awe at how clueless he was. I mean, the rest of us at least see part of what is going on here Joe… those rose colored glasses are distorting your view of the real world. Come, join us.

In all, I thought the book progressed very well and I really didn’t see that ending coming. I feel like I should have, but there was so much amazing misdirection going on that I don’t think I ever would have guessed. I think Lies lives up to its hype and I can’t wait to see more from the author.

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advanced e-copy to read and provide my honest review.

Joe Lynch is a happily married man with a beautiful wife and a gorgeous little boy when he stumbles into the middle of a scenario he doesn't understand and his whole world starts to crumble.

This is a fast paced thriller with lies, lies and more lies leading Joe down a terrifying path where nothing is what it seems and he is slowly being framed for something he didn't do. A very contemporary story with social media and technology playing a major role in Joe's nightmare. Suspenseful and highly addictive!

Every now and then comes a suspenseful mystery that is totally unpredictable from beginning to end. Lies by TM Logan is a debut that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Joe Lynch is a husband, father and teacher who is living a simple, happy life until he spots his wife's car entering the parking garage of a local hotel. From that point on, nothing will be as it seems. To tell you more might give away too much of the plot. The reader will find it difficult to tell the good guys from the bad guys. TM Logan has writen a fascinating novel and I look forward to reading more from this author. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is probably the best suspense book I've read all year! It had me engrossed from start to finish. I was completely surprised with the ending!

Joe drops in on his wife to surprise her, but he's the one who's surprised when she appears to be arguing with a mutual friend. After confronting the friend, Joe finds himself framed for crimes he didn't commit. At least, he doesn't think he committed them.

The more Joe fights to prove he's innocent, the more lies he uncovers. Every time he pulled back another layer of truth, I imagined another twist. But the final twist at the end was one that I never saw coming. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys domestic thrillers that will keep you guessing.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the ebook and St. Martins Press for a paperback copy--that was an awesome surprise!

I received this book from NetGalley for a honest review.

May include spoilers below.

Joe is the main character in this book. It was refreshing to have the story told through a male point of view. I find that in this genre the story is usually told through a woman's perspective. The book starts off with a bang: an intense encounter with Mel (Joe's wife) and Ben. From there the story is fast paced and nonstop. Throughout the story I felt a connection with Joe. He is a nice-lovable, if somewhat gullible, man who deeply cares for his family, especially his son, William. I do not want to give to much away, but the twist at the end was an unexpected surprise! I will not reveal, but it will leave you shocked!!! This is the first book I have read by this author and can't wait to peel back the cover of his next one.

Joe is a family man, whom is married with one son. By day he is a teacher and by night he enjoys spending time with his wife and son. One day while driving on an errand with his son, they notice his wife’s car pulling into a hotel and decide to follow her. They end up spotting her in the lobby where she is having a disagreement with her best friend’s husband. She leaves before he can speak with her, so instead he exchanges a few words with the friend’s husband, who is quite irate.

Suddenly he awakes in somewhat of a hell where the friend’s husband is missing, presumed dead and he is the most likely suspect. After all, his wife was having an affair with him. Joe has to decide what to believe and who to trust as his life starts spiraling out of control, but meanwhile all he hears are LIES.

I found the story very interesting for a few reasons. One is that it was told from the perspective of a man - and for once it was the successful wife who was running off and having the affair instead of the husband. Meanwhile this husband (Joe) was more of the homebody who was very content with the status quo. It was also interesting how many different layers there were to the plot, but yet the solution was also simplistic and elegant. I found the layering of lies rather annoying as the reader, but it was effective as a plot device and to stay true to the name of the book! Lies is available in stores now!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins for my ARC of this book. All views are my own

This book was fantastic I honestly didn't see the twist at the end coming. I read it in 2 days as I literally couldn't put it down. I'd highly recommend it