I have read all of T. E. Woods' books, and this is the best so far, unquestionably. The characters are very well-developed, and the interactions very realistic. There are two mysteries to be solved and the answers to both are complete surprises. I really like how Woods tells a story, and this was a great story to tell. Some heart-pounding suspense and definitely some wild action to keep the reader on edge and engrossed. You won't regret buying this book.

This was the first time I have read this author's work. There was a decent plot and good characters, but the book moved a little too slowly for me.

Just fantastic. clay doesn't play much of a part which suits me just fine. Horst, rick,leslie,mom, barney and his family are well drawn and have believable
all play a part of what makes the story move. Love the restaurants, even Chef. The plot has twists i didn't see coming

T. E. Woods is one of those authors who flies just a little under the big time radar. He is destined to break through at some point. This book starts out slow and finishes with a flourish. A reasonable story with a pretty good protagonist in Sydney Richardson. The twists and turns at the end make it a page turner for the second half. Give it a try.

Definitely need to read this series in order to get the full impact of this novel.

Private Lies wraps up a lifetime of questions Sydney Richardson has about her life; who are her birth parents? who murdered her adoptive father, Officer Joe Richardson? who sent her $15 Million on her 30th birthday?

This thriller delves deeply into psychological areas of a powerful family's abuses enacted to uphold their respected family name when their vile actions needed to be covered up.

Plot twists are complex and constant as we cheer on our beloved friends, Sydney, Nancy, Horst, Rick, and Clay.

I can't wait to see where TE Woods takes us next, unless this is the final episode in the Hush Money Mystery series.

Private Lies by T.E. Woods, grabbed ahold from the 1st chapter and kept me interested and reading along throughout the whole book. This is the only book I have read by this author but I am going to have to pick up more! Kept me wondering and guessing until the end, definitely a book that I didn't want to put down til I was finished! Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for allowing me to read this and give my honest opinion of...I would recommend this book!

I couldn't decide between 3 and 4 stars, but in the ended decided to round up.

In all fairness, I will say I haven't yet read the first two books in the series - I didn't even know they existed when I got the ARC, and that definitely factored into bumping my star rating up to 4 stars. This book is easily read by itself - though knowing that there are two other books, I can appreciate some moments where I felt the book lacked depth, especially around character development and the relationship between Sydney/Clay and Sydney/Rick.

Overall, the story was nicely paced and would keep most readers on their toes begging for more. I figured out the mystery very early on in the book, but did want to keep reading to confirm my suspicions. However, I usually guess the end of mysteries/twists, so while this book wasn't a surprise to me, it was a good mystery novel.

Where I thought there was an opportunity is around the relationships - specifically the bits of romance we see between Sydney and Clay and Rick (view spoiler). Perhaps some of the context and depth I was looking for could be found in the first two books - they're definitely on my list as "to reads" now!

TE Woods has officially moved onto my list of authors to watch and I'll be (impatiently) waiting for the next Hush Money book!

I could not put this book down. So many twists and so many secrets that will have your head spinning! The Hush Money series keeps getting better with each installment. T. E. Woods never disappoints!

*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.