Absolutely loved this book! Twists and turns galore. Such a novel idea to read about a husband being in the dark instead of the wife. Had me from page 1 til the end! This is my first book by TM Logan and I will be reading more.

Wow! This was amazing! The author did an amazing job of showing how we can make a decision that we ultimately regret while in the heat of the moment. Highly recommend!

It took just eight days to change everything Joe believed in. As his world crumbles little by little, who does he trust, as he loses almost everything, is there anyone that will believe him? Logan does a great job of keeping the reader eagerly turning the pages. He created a very sympathetic character in Joe, and the reader can’t help but root for his lovable, bumbling attempt to save himself and his son. Well put together plot with a twist I didn’t see coming. Nice job, Mr. Logan!

*4.5 Stars*

I loved this mystery/thriller!

I have not read a book in this genre that I enjoyed as much as this one in a LONG time. From beginning to end, I was hooked and couldn’t get enough of this story!

Joe is living the perfect life, or so he thinks. He loves his wife and they have an amazing son together. One day, he is driving home when his son catches a glance of his mother’s car. After following her into the hotel car parking lot, his life starts to unravel as lies stack upon more lies.

I couldn’t help but feel for Joe and hope he could get out of the mess he was shoved into. He definitely isn’t the smartest character and a little naive at times but I loved him just the same.

This book is fast paced, written in 1st person, and with short chapters it’s easy to sit and read through until you finish. I love how Logan used social media, text messages, and hacking technology to make this novel feel very current. It made the story so much more real and a little scary as well. This kind of thing could happen easily to so many people.

I usually end up guessing the twist early on in thriller books and end up not enjoying them as much. With this one, I was stumped! I mean sure, I had part of it guessed but the other half of it shocked the heck out of me! I never saw it coming and it was a genius twist.

This was my first read by T.M. Logan but it will not be my last! I can’t wait to read more of his work.

Grateful to have received an ARC to honestly review.

Thanks to Netgalley and St.Martin's Press for a copy of the eARC in exchange for a fair review.


Is there a moment, just one moment that changes everything for you? Unravels it all, and sends your life out of control? Joe knows that moment, one night while driving home with his son, and his son says Mummy's car so Joe takes a look, then another one when he realizes it isn't car just like hers it is her car.


So he makes a split second decision to follow her into the carpark to talk to her, but when they get into the lobby of the hotel he sees that she is having a heated discussion with Ben, and he knows that he doesn't want his son to see this so he heads back to the garage to wait for her. She leaves without even seeing him. Joe ends up in a heated discussion with Ben that ends with Ben hitting him and him pushing Ben back. Ben falls and appears to be unconscious, but before Joe can figure out what to do his son has an severe asthma attack and when he fails to find an inhaler, he has to rush Wills home.


He returns only to find Ben gone, then he realizes his phone is gone as well as a bracelet. Joe is further stunned a weird photo of the bracelet turns up on his Facebook just an hour later. He assumes that Ben is messing with him and before he realizes it he is embroiled in a weird missing person case. Joe knows someone is messing with him and that he is being set up, but can he prove it before his life is completely messed up?


I could not stop reading this, I think I say that a lot, but I found myself thinking about this every time life intruded and I couldn't read it. Even now that I am finished I am still thinking about it. I want to say that I am floored by the twist, I feel emotionally floored. Realistically I realized something strange was going on so I was not surprised by it exactly. I was totally invested in this story, and I was on the edge of my seat rooting for Joe to come through it all okay.


I like Joe a ton, his wife not so much, but I was fooled by some other people who will remain nameless for the sake of spoilers. I felt so bad for Joe as everything happened to him, as friends' abandoned him, and to be honest it was scary thinking these things could legit happen in real life. But people would never believe you, and you look crazy when you are the only person telling the truth. This is my first book by this author, but it won't be my last.

Oh my gosh when I started this book I had no idea it was 87 chapters. It was very suspenseful and kept me wanting to continue to read even though I had to go to work. I'm not a big suspense reader and I have to read the end before I read the middle. Good read.

What do you do when your whole world is turned upside down? When truth becomes lies? An innocent sighting by little William Lynch of his mother' s car is the beginning of the unraveling of Joe Lynch's world.

What do you do when you find out that the person you trust most in the world may not be who you think they are? What do you do when no matter what you do the noose tightens around your neck?
Psychological Thriller? Definitely. Well written withtwists and turns that are the hallmark of a psychological thriller.; an interesting cast of characters whose actions keep you guessing.
Read this book you. You won't be disappointed.
Thank you to #Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Joe sees Mel somewhere when she is supposed to be somewhere else. He has their son with him so can’t really approach or follow her, but he’s sure there is an easy explanation. But when he asks Mel about it, she flatly denies it. Then she lies about it.

Joe and Mel are happy. Their little family is perfect. Isn’t it? Joe sure thinks so. But what is going on? And as Joe learns more and more, he can’t stop looking, but does he want to know what is really going on?

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Lies by T. M. Logan, and as soon as I finished it I started recommending it to everyone I know. The suspense truly will keep you on the edge of your seat, turning pages, afraid to turn pages. And Joe’s reactions are heart-wrenching. He absolutely cannot believe that Mel doesn’t love him, that there are things going on he doesn’t know about, have been going on for . . . for how long? What was ever real and what wasn’t? Joe’s reaction is to think: Anger. Disbelief. Heartbreak. Just sheer, wrenching heartbreak. Everything you know is a lie. At one point he starts thinking their wedding vows in his head. Thought, Here’s your marriage certificate, a decade of your life. Now light the match, watch it flame. That made such an impact on me as I read. How could he be so wrong? What on earth could Mel be up to? I literally could not stop reading.

In addition to the lies and secrets and heartbreak and sadness, there is action and danger, a lot of danger. Characters that behave completely out of character, so that Joe is constantly off balance, not knowing who to trust or believe anymore, and not knowing who may be out to harm him. At one point he thinks: It was like finding a trap door under the rug in your living room, and you lift if up and there’s a whole other world down there, right beneath your feet, hidden wheels and cogs and gears all moving, shifting your life one way or another without you even realizing it. What a scary idea, to have our whole life turn out to be . . . what?

Joe realizes that someone is manipulating text messages, their home PC, his FB account, photos, everything it seems. Is it Mel? Is it someone else? And Joe realizes that he’s on his own to figure this out. Having a friendly chat at the station, helping the police with their inquiries, is for people who want to end up getting convicted. Or dead.

Lies is a terrific story with a satisfying ending you won’t see coming. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing me an advance copy of Lies via NetGalley. I highly recommend it. I was not required to provide a review and all opinions are my own.

A surprise visit to Joe's wife will turn his world upside down. Has Joe just caught his wife in an affair with Ben, one of the wealthiest, successful business men he knows?
In the business world, Ben can be ruthless. He also carries that take-no-prisoners approach into his love life. Rules? What rules? Nothing will stand in his way!

Joe is beginning to feel as though his whole life is nothing more than a huge lie. The lies are piling up faster than Joe can manage. He has no idea who’s trustworthy at this point, as his own reputation and life are now at stake.

This was a fun thriller, maybe a little on the light side. The ending was a shocker to me, though I know others felt it was somewhat predictable. Maybe my detective’s cap took a summer break? 🕵🏻‍♀️

T. M. Logan does a great job dropping in enough red herrings to keep you on your toes and of course pointing your fingers in all directions! If you’re looking for a fun, fast read to end your summer with, this might be the right one for you!

A buddy read with Susanne!🌸

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and T. M. Logan for an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Captivating, entertaining, and unpredictable thriller.

I couldn't help but feel bad for Joe. He's going through life, happy with his marriage, his relationship with his son, and his job as an English teacher. Unknowingly he was going through life on autopilot. Soon his eyes would be opened to see what was really going on in his life.

As Joe and his son, William, were on their way home, William sees his mothers car.  Joe had thought his wife was at work. So, it seemed odd that she would be pulling into a hotel parking garage. It must be business that she was tending too.  Joe and William decide they would go and surprise his wife, Mel.  Little did he know, he'd see something that would set off a set of events and turn his whole world upside down.

I thought the book, Lies, started out a bit slow but it quickly picked up and set a good pace for the rest of the book. Lies, was an entertaining read that kept me guessing what was going to happen next.  Just when you think you have it figured out there's another twist. The ending will have you rethinking the entire story.

This is a fast-paced psychological thriller that had me captivated. I found myself turning the pages late into the night to see what would happen next. The characters are interesting and multilayered. The story will have you questioning how well do you really know someone? An interesting story.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, my review has been voluntarily submitted.

The premise and opening scenes of this book were great, although I immediately felt that Joe came across as a little bit of a schmuck in the opening scenes and beyond. He doesn't seem to get too upset or suspicious about anything and easily takes his wife's word for things she's obviously lying about. That brings me to a big issue I had with this book. WE get an entire story from characters, usually the wife in the beginning, and then at the beginning of the next chapter it's...wait... that was all a lie. I have to say I found this very manipulating and frustrating rather than suspenseful or intriguing. It could be that I'm not the audience for this book as I don't enjoy being clearly manipulated again and again. The other big issue I had with this book was all the Facebook talk...postings, hacking, anything and everything Facebook which I didn't find to be an interesting element to the story. On a positive note, I didn't have the ending figured out.

Joe is just your average guy living a normal day to day life. He loves his wife and son more than anything in the world.

Life as he knew it comes to an end when he sees his wife arguing with her best friend’s husband, Ben. He has no idea what’s going on but decides to confront Ben and in a scuffle Ben ends up on the floor unconscious. At the same time his son has an asthma attack and he has to make the difficult choice on who to help first. Of course, he chooses his son and when he goes back to check on Ben he finds that he is gone. AND this is where it all goes to shit for Joe.

I loved that the author made Joe such a lovable character. The whole time I was on his side and felt his misery on a personal level. We need more psychological thrillers where we don’t suspect the protagonist throughout the whole book! This was a 3.5⭐️ for me. It didn’t quite make it to 4 stars because even though it was a fast paced read there were moments where it dragged for me.

The Lies Married People Tell Each Other Can Lead to Murder

Joe Lynch is happy with his life. He’s an English teacher so his hours allow him to spend more time with his son, William, than his wife, Mel, who has a high pressure job. Then one afternoon Joe’s life swirls out of control

He’s stopped at a stoplight when William spots Mel’s car turning into a hotel. Spurred by William who wants to see his Mommy, Joe follows her into the parking garage of the hotel. There he witnesses his wife in a tense conversation with his friend, Ben. Ben is wealthier, handsomer, and smarter than Joe, who immediately leaps to the conclusion that Mel and Ben are having an affair. He confronts Ben and in the scuffle knocks him out. Angry with himself for losing his temper, he leaves Ben on the floor of the garage.

Realizing that Ben may be badly hurt, he goes back to the garage, but Ben has vanished, and now Joe is enmeshed in a murder investigation.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers, this is a page turner. The setup in the opening draws you in. You can’t help wanting Joe to be cleared. Although at times he appears clueless, he’s a sympathetic character. Mel is hard and seems quite selfish, but William is a great character. He provides some lightness in this dark story.

The writing is good, but after the opening, I felt the book dragged a bit as someone tries to set Joe up for murder. The ending is a surprising twist. It’s not hard to guess, but it does make a satisfying ending.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

Today, the kindle version of Lies by T.M. Logan is hitting the market and the lies just keep coming. 

Joe Lynch is a happily married man. He has a beautiful wife, Mel, and an adorable son, Williams (Wills.) He loves his teaching job and enjoys the fact that he is one who does the primary care-giving for Wills. Until the fateful day when he follows his wife to a hotel. This one action sets into motion a downward spiral filled with lies, deceit, murder and mayhem. With each new revelation, the lies are compounded, changed and deepen the rabbit hole that Lynch has fallen into. 

Lies is a fast paced, heart pounding domestic thriller that, quite literally, had me on the edge of my seat - until it didn't. This debut novel begins strong, the story line is fascinating, but when the lies begin to pile up, the storyline begins to unravel to the point of in-believability. I understand that a lot of people in America believe lies - we see this every day with our government and politicians - but the sheer number of lies that this man swallows is ridiculous. The fact that any man would allow his wife to continue to change her story, apologize, re-tell the story with more lies, apologize, is simply unfathomable. There also is, once again, the fear-factor imbedded into the book regarding "social media." This theme, too, is growing old. I fear war. I fear a lot of political throw-back, but I'm not going to go down the path of living in fear of my computer. Put a piece of tape over your computer's camera and turn off your microphone. There - you're fine now. There also is a "twist" at the end. I love a good, surprising ending, but this twist? Give me a break. One would have to suspend all believability, ALL, to get past this twist. I'm not the type of reader who can. 

I'm giving the book 2.5 rounded up to 3 stars because the beginning of the book was interesting. The fact that it invoked emotions from me until about 75% of the way through the book illustrates that Logan has potential as a writer. However.... unless you just need something to pass the time in a waiting room, this isn't a book that I would read.

Lies is a brilliant and thrilling debut! Complete with a tangle of lies with a shocking conclusion!

Joe Lynch thought he had a nice, comfortable life. He's happily married to his beautiful wife and soul mate, Mel. Their young son, William, is a happy and healthy little boy. His family is the most important thing in the world to him. He thinks he has the perfect life.
He was wrong.

Joe soon discovers that the barb of his wife's betrayal is just the beginning of what he's about to face in the following days to come.
Like Humpty Dumpty, Joe's shattered life can never be put together again.

******

Lies by T.M. Logan starts out with a shocking event right out of the gate, expertly grabbing my attention and holding it all the way to the end! The characters are well thought out and engaging and the storyline is fast paced, thrilling, and fraught with twists and turns that caught me unawares all the way through. And the conclusion?? Surely you don't really think I'm going to give it away, did you? All I'll say is that this is a brilliant novel and I have no reservations in highly recommending it! This is the first novel I've read by Mr. Logan and it won't be the last! I've already got my sites on another of his novels, 29 Seconds!

**With thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Mr. T.M. Logan for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

He saw his wife's unexpectedly on his commute home, turned to follow her so his son could show off his school award, and set into motion a chain events that would threaten everything he believed to be true...

An interesting twist on the so popular "domestic thriller", our protagonist - who is definitely quite a sympathetic character - faces not only accusations of a terrible crime, but also questions about his entire marriage. You do feel quite sorry for him from the beginning through the very end; though he eventually does stand up and have a bit of a backbone later in the book. While I did sympathize with him early on, I didn't necessarily like him - he seemed weak and passive, and far too forgiving.

The highlight for me in this tale was the fascinating use of technology as a weapon. Part of the story is told through text messages, computer code, and social media, which I don't think has been done at this length before. It was especially interesting to see how the police used the technology that worked against our protagonist to paint a rather incriminating picture...which really, isn't that the most frightening thing many of us can think of? Our own technology working against us, so that only we know what we believe to be true?

The end was definitely an unexpected surprise, though I'm not sure it satisfied me. It felt a bit contrived, and I really didn't understand or believe the motivations of some of the characters involved in the conclusion. For me to be more invested in the ending, I really would have liked some elements of it fleshed out more throughout the story; then I think it would've been more believable.

Overall, I'd recommend! I think it is a fresh twist on a popular genre. 4.5 stars for sure; would be 5 if I was a little more invested in the ending.

Twisted, dark, heart-wrenching, deceptive, distorted fun—do not start this book if you don’t have time to stay up late into the night reading it! It is that hard to put down! When we began this read, I thought it would be a good old-fashioned domestic noir novel. But it blew my expectations out of the water. My mind thought of dozens of scenarios, but not a single one I thought of was THAT twist! I loved it!

About the Book

Joe Lynch is driving his son William home when they spot a car that looks just like mum’s. It is the same make, the same color, and has the same sponge-bob window shade as mum’s car. It has the same license plate as mum’s car… Just as Joe and William realize it is Joe’s wife Mel driving, it pulls off the road into a parking garage.

Joe and William follow Mel into the garage. And then things become stranger. The garage is attached to a hotel, and Mel is nowhere in sight near her car. Following her path inside, Joe and William finally spot her talking to their friend Ben. But something about the conversation seems off… Why are they in a hotel? And why do both Ben and Mel look so upset? Joe knows that he has brought his son into a moment he shouldn’t have.

Back in the garage, Mel rushes out upset and Joe decides to confront Ben. And then things go from bad to worse. In the midst of a confrontation, Ben hits Joe and Joe pushes him back. Ben falls to the ground and doesn’t get back up. William begins to have an asthma attack, and Joe makes a split second decision that will change his life—he leaves Ben where he is and rushes his son home.

He tries to go back to look for Ben, but Ben and his car are nowhere in sight. And then the nightmare begins… Someone is watching Joe and taunting him with the truth. But how can Joe believe the truth, when he learns everything he knew was based on lies?

Reflection

The concept of lies and lying is an interesting one to ponder. How do we know if someone is lying to us? I find that most of us think we would know if someone close to us is lying. We can read them, read their tics, know their tells. The problem is, we often don’t recognize when we are being lied to by our closest confidants, because we don’t want to believe they are lying. Once you know someone’s lies, will you ever see them the same again?

Joe is an incredible character. He has so much love to give and such a pure heart. Even when faced with a mountain of lies, Joe wants to believe the best in Mel. Joe is almost too good for the outside world. He always tries to do what is right. When he lies, it is because he truly thinks he is protecting someone he loves. And this pureness of heart is exactly why Joe can be lied to so easily.

I absolutely loved Joe as a father. For everything that frustrated me about him as a husband (seriously, Joe, she is in a hotel with another man in the middle of the work day!), Joe redeemed himself as a friend and as a father. Joe is truly one of the good ones. Believing others can change, and believing that if you act with goodness, the truth will prevail.

Of course, I wouldn’t have called this book dark, twisted, and disturbing if it didn’t have some absolutely mind-blowing twists! But here we are! This book managed to shock, delight, and amaze this thriller-lover with every single turn in the plot. I am beyond excited to have discovered this author, and now I’m even more excited to learn that he has another book out! I hope you all love this one as much as I did!

Poor Joe Lynch is 'clueless in London.' He thinks he has the perfect life until it all comes crashing down around his ears. It begins with the spotting of his wife's car as it turns into the parking garage of a local hotel...

This new thriller certainly makes for some compulsive reading. Can Joe figure out what's really going on before he is arrested by the police?

The book also examines the role of social media in our lives, how that can be hacked and manipulated, our movements traced by cell phone usage, our private lives destroyed.

I received an arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review. Many thanks for the opportunity.

4.5 stars
Release date 9/11/18 (Today’s the day!!)
MacMillan Publishers USA

A riveting debut novel that will do very well in the genre. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my digital ARC to read and review. Loved it.

Wow, what an intense experience this was. Totally held me captive for 3 days, hating to put it down. The main character Joe Lynch is a truly likable dad of a 4-yr old boy, and a devoted husband. This opens when the boy and his dad are in their car coming home from pre-school when the boy, Will, spots his mummy's car in another lane and convinces Joe to follow her to show her an award he received at school. What transpires will change everyone lives. Totally twisty, and a compulsive page turner. My heart broke over and over for Joe Lynch. Things just kept going from bad to worse for the poor guy. All he wanted to do was protect his family. I loved the current technology used with cell phones and computers to help Joe figure it all out.

Almost a five-star novel. I deduct a half-star for the end, which I can't spoil here. The reader doesn't see it coming, who the guilty is, and that's a good thing, but it just seems to me that current politically correct situations are exploited in many novels I've read lately. It rubs me the wrong way. Suffice to say my reaction to the ending did not spoil the read. I would have liked more details to the resolution at the end, but the epilogue vaguely puts it all in place. Loved it and happy to recommend it to fans of thrillers and psychological suspense.



https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2384699932