Sydney Richardson owns two restaurants in Madison, Wisconsin: a fancy upscale restaurant as well as a bar popular with cops, including her father's former partner, Detective Horst Welke. Out on a double date, she receives word that a friend of hers still on the force, Rick Sheffield, has been shot at an attempted robbery. She and the entire police force take turns helping Rick recuperate once he's released from the hospital. The same night Rick was shot, a homeless man's body turns up at a construction site. He had recently been very generous with a large amount of money and told his friends there would be more where it came from. As Detective Welke looks into the suspicious death, he suddenly finds himself suspended when the money found with the body disappears and he's been framed as the one who stole it. Sydney and Rick team up with Horst to investigate who is trying to frame him, and they begin to suspect this may link back to the case of the murder of Sydney's father.

This was a really good mystery. Good pacing, great twists and turns, including a couple that I did not see coming at all. Sydney is a great protagonist, and it's refreshing for a change that the cops (mostly) willingly let her assist with the investigation since she's basically one of their own. The side plots and supporting characters were interesting as well. It was pretty clean other than some strong language in the chapters involving the mob (really great work keeping Lilac's identity a big surprise). I thoroughly enjoyed it and was gutted when I looked to see if a new one had come out since this one and discovered that the author died the same year this was published. I will have to read the earlier books in the series to get my Sydney Richardson fix and imagine what might have come after. Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook.

This is a good action packed psychological thriller full of romantic suspense. I found the plot to be rather complicated because there was too much happening to too many characters. If I had not read book #2 in the series, I would have been really lost. So, I suggest reading the preceding books before you tackle this one! I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving this review

Intense. Suspenseful. Private Lies is one book I could not stop thinking about.

I am a huge fan of Ms. Woods and will miss her greatly. Having literally devoured her Justice series and the other Hush Money titles, I was eager to read this one.

Woods has woven a complex tale, full of strong characters and intense dialog, featuring a compelling plot revolving around Sydney and her past.

Private Lies: A Hush Money Mystery - T. E. Woods
This is a very suspenseful book. I love the storyline and the characters. Lots of secrets and twists and turns to hold your interest. This is a psychological thriller. I didn’t want to put this book down. The story is well written and the characters are very believable and well rounded. I definitely will be reading more of this author. Good read. Highly recommended.

Billy Tremble is a homeless man who has recently come into some money. Being a generous sort, he spreads the wealth out among his friends on the street. Then, something happens to him. Sydney Richardson owns two successful restaurants. When her friend, Rick, who is a cop, is shot while on duty, she rushes to help him. However, another friend is framed for stealing the large amount of cash that was seized during Rick’s shooting. The evidence room was locked, but someone texted him and asked him to come there. Who is behind the disappearance of this huge amount of cash? How can Sydney help both friends without jeopardizing her romantic relationships with each?

Told in an engaging style, this novel is both suspenseful and mysterious. This is the third book in the series, but you don’t have to be familiar with the others to understand this one. It is a complete standalone story. You do get some more background information on Sydney’s history and her father’s murder. I hope that a future novel in this series will continue the background story.

There are two plot lines going on at the same time. The main mystery that involves the missing money, but also the murder of Sydney’s father in the past, and the suspicious re-occurrence of crimes in the same warehouse. The author handled the two interwoven plots expertly and with a really great conclusion.

The characters are all believable. The dialog is smooth and realistic. I think there is a good future for these characters if the author wants to use them in another book in this series. Although the mystery is resolved satisfactorily by the end, there is always the next mystery!

Some things I loved in this book were, the great location of Billy’s hideaway, the two adjoining restaurants Sydney owns, and the whole mystery about her birth parents. I recommend this book if you love mystery, suspense, or just a plain good read.

I am utterly heartbroken to hear the author passed away. My condolences to the family .
This was a exciting installment that I could not put down. Its is a sad read when you know it will be the last and final installment. I so enjoyed this authors work over the years.
Thank you to Net Galley and to the publisher for providing me with a ARC for review. My opinion is my own.
This book is the third installment in the Hush Money series, and I am sure the author would have continued the series . The story is left open with suspense , romance and thrilling action. Sydney finally learns some answers about her past but still so much is unanswered. While investigating her past she is also on the case of a conspiracy that leads to corruption she must expose . As always the writing is so good , it is such a thrilling read with non stop action. This was a favorite series and always a favorite author.
A terrific series by a very talented author.

Once I read about ten to twenty pages into the book, I began to enjoy the read. I had to forgo some grammar issues in order to do it. I liked the characters Syndey, Rick, and Horst. I love mysteries and thrillers because I love figuring out the puzzle. This one, I figured out within the first ten chapters so it was just reading through to see how the pieces all fit together. Syndney's seemed a bit out of character during a personal part of her story.

My issues start from the little things to bigger character holes. The issue with the first ten to twenty pages is that the tense would change (and this happened throughout the book) from past tense to past perfect quite frequently and the writing could have been tighter for that. There was a loss of time - something would be happening and then the next chapter significant time would have passed and the author would go back to describe what happened when - she woke up, went to the restaurant, came back from a cater. There were areas that were frequently overwritten. She has two restaurants to run and all the drama with those businesses and yet, Rick and Horst who are detectives, keep her in the loop of everything and ask her to come along.

Her love interest in the beginning of the story seemed like a jerk, even though the author kept "saying" what a nice guy he was. A nice guy doesn't leave his girl to go biking alone and doesn't drop her off at the hospital alone.

As I mentioned, I knew the end from the beginning so it wasn't a surprise to me. Though this book was the third in the series, you didn't need to read the others to get the gist of what happened.

For the most part, it was okay. Would I read the author again? Don't know.

I was given this uncorrected proof by Net Galley for an honest and unbiased review.

T.E. Woods hits her stride with this entry in her Hush Money series! Good plot, better-developed characters and more credible romance. Her Fixer novels made me a serious fan. This newer series was a slow starter but with Private Lies, I’m fully on board.

I didn’t realize or remember that this was the third in a series when I requested this book. I found it very easy to get started and while there were times that I wish I had. Bet more background from reading the other books, I am happy to say that they were very few. I found the story well written and the characters to be well rounded. I will definitely be reading more by this uthor. I received a copy from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

T E Woods writes an intense, suspenseful book. The plot was full of twist and turns. The characters were well developed. I loved the storyline and I didn't want to put the book down until I was finished. I received a copy from NetGalley and I am giving a voluntary review.

An Adopted Restaurant Owner Almost Finds a Sister

Sydney, adopted daughter of a police officer who was killed in the line of duty, is the successful owner of two restaurants: Hush Money, a high end restaurant, and Ten Ten, a cop hangout. It’s stressful owning two restaurants, although her adopted mother helps, and she has boy friend troubles, but when she meets the new wife of the police chief, who is also a successful business woman having taken over her father’s construction company, she feels as if she’s found the sister she always wanted.

Billy, a homeless man, comes into money. Being a friendly sort, he shares it with other homeless people which alerts the owners of the money and leads to his death. It also leads to complications for the police. Someone has taken the money from the police locker.

This is the third book in the Hush Money series. I hadn’t read the first two books, but I found this one easy to follow. Sidney is a likable character. She’s trying hard to make her own way and the restaurant business isn’t easy. She’s also desperate to know who her real parents were. She loves her adopted parents, but there’s the unsettled feeling of wanting to know where she came from.

The book starts slowly, but picks up speed at the end. There are many thread to this mystery. Some are easy to guess, others not, but all are tied to together at the end. If you enjoy mysteries with an interesting protagonist, this is worth reading.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

This book is third in a series of Sydney Richardson’s Hush Money books, and I would definitely recommend that they be read in order. Although I had not read the other books and could understand the characters and the action, there always seemed to be something that I was missing because I had not read the other books. Sydney is easy to like since she is the adopted daughter of a policeman killed in action and also because she is an entrepreneur with several restaurants that she owns. She is a high-end clothes horse, and she has relationships with two different men. I found the plot complicated and hard to follow, but everything was resolved in the satisfying conclusion. There was a twist at the end which made it more of a mystery, but the big mystery of who took the money from the police locker was easy to figure out. The pace was very slow at the beginning of the book picks up in the middle and races to a satisfying conclusion. I stayed with it because I wanted to know if my guess for the whodunit was correct, but it was not a book that totally kept my attention. There were too many characters and too much happening in too many places at once to be able to say that the plot was well-developed. Part of my dismay may have been because this was the first book in the series that I had read. Readers of police mystery and spicy romance will enjoy this novel by a writer who demonstrates his craft well.

This is the third in the Hush Money series by TE Woods, an author new to me. It features Sydney Richardson, a Madison, Wisconsin restaurateur, the adopted daughter of a police officer who was killed in the line of duty years ago. A present day case being investigated by friends of Sydney (and her father’s former partner) may hold a clue to his unsolved murder.

It took a while to get into the story, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. Yes, there were some things that were obvious immediately, but it still made for a satisfying read with suspense and good character development.

There were some issues left unresolved; perhaps they will be addressed in the next book in this series. I will definitely put TE Woods on my reading list.

I love when a book ends up being better than you expected, and that is the case with this book. Very strong characters. Very fast paced and suspenseful. I believe I have once again picked a book that is part of a series but was still able to enjoy the book independently of others written. I would like to read the rest though. Very easy to read and I finished it rather quickly. Great Book !

This is the third book in T. E. Woods Hush Money Mystery series and what a book it is! Sydney Richardson runs two restaurants with her adopted mother's help. Sydney has boyfriend problems that complicate things. Her late father's partner is being framed for stealing money from the police evidence room. One of her boyfriends is recuperating from a gunshot wound in the line of duty. Leslie, a new friend and the new police chief's wife enters the picture to complicate things even further. There are a lot of characters and a lot of different things going on in this book but it is all tied nicely together in the end. This was a fantastic read and was a real page turner. I highly recommend this book to all who love a good police/mystery/thriller book.

Usually I know if I can't put a book down within the first ten pages.

This book took a bit longer because I was actually discovering three plots at once.

However, once Sydney is introduced, I was hooked.

The author has an attention to detail that makes you feel a part of the conversation and dinner date. You smell the tangy Chicago breeze and slog through the gritty neighborhoods.

This is not an easily solved who dunnit and I look forward to the next book.

Private Lies by T.E. Woods is entering story that readers can enjoy but won't find themselves returning too with so many other amazing books on the to be read pile.
The story starts off slow picks up though the middle and ends as readers expect. The characters are descent and work will within the story the very basic story. The mystery is easy to solve with very little surprise.

This readers was unable to connect with the characters and it could be due to starting on book 3 and never having read book 1 and 2.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of T.E. Woods Private Lies .

Kindle Edition
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Alibi

Wow!!! First time reading this author but will not be the last. Very well written. Author never left you guessing on what was going on with the characters. Kept me guessing from beginning to end on who was the bad guy and very surprised at the end.

Private Lies is the first book I have read by T. E. Woods without realizing it was the third in a series. Although it was well developed, some questions I had about characters and their relationships were probably divulged in the first two books, which I plan on reading! The beginning was a little slow as I was trying to get a read on the numerous characters, but then it took off. I figured out much of it early on, given some clues by the author, but enjoyed reading it as there were some unexpected twists and turns. Many thanks to T. E. Woods, Alibi, and NetGalley for enabling me to read this very enjoyable ARC.

Review by 2shay..........

This is my first book by T.E. Woods. Hummm....I don’t know why. I have friends who are big fans, but I just never have had the time. I should have made time...this is a terrific book by a talented author. This is book three in a series, but I had no trouble reading it as a stand alone. The characters are vibrant, especially Sydney, who I liked immediately. As the adopted daughter of a police officer who was killed on duty eighteen years earlier, she has become a pretty good detective herself.

I was so attached to Sydney and friends that it surprised me a little. I seldom feel attachments to characters that are not people I would likely be friends with in real life. I might enjoy their story, but I remain...umm...detached, paying more attention to the quality of the writing. You see, Sydney is one of those high fashion women that wears expensive gowns and expensive high heels to work. Well, it’s work, so that helped. Sydney is the owner of a posh restaurant, Hush Money...a place I would never go, btw. But she also owns a cafe/bar, Ten-Ten, a cop hang out and altogether great place to hang out, a place I would love to frequent. So, the two sides balanced out nicely and I loved Sydney. She’s a smart cookie.

I could write several more paragraphs about the great characters and their relationships. If I did, I would get into spoilers. So, no. I’m going to keep this short. I think that this is a wonderful series. Even though this book worked well as a stand-alone, there is always backstory that adds to the current work. My advise would be to start from the beginning and have fun!

Enjoy! ARC graciously provided by Alibi and NetGalley for an honest and voluntary review.