I haven't read the first two books in this series. This installment appears to be ok as a standalone but perhaps would have been more enjoyable if I'd read the others first. It was an ok mystery. I didn't especially like the characters but the plot moved along pretty well.

Roxana is a private investigator. One night she gets a call from her brother. He is worried about a woman who has come to his apartment in a panic and left suddenly. She is someone he knew before and now she is missing. He last call, on the brother's phone, was a panic whispered message to her father.

It became apparent quickly that this was part of a series. That didn't make it hard to follow the story, just curious about some of the backstory of the characters. Reading this one made me want to go back and read the ones before. It was fast-paced and easy to read. It had plenty of clues, to help the reader solve the mystery along with the detective, and lots of action. Most of all, I liked Rox. She was flawed without being a total mess. She responded to things in a natural way. She actually did the work and didn't just wait for the information to come to her (I've read too many like that lately. Heck, I even like the Ohio setting. I will be reading more in the series as soon as I can.

This book does not have the big twist factor, but doesn’t need it. With a very solid plot and a crew of great characters, this is exactly what a good Private Eye book should be. While this is book 3 in the series, it’s the first for me. It definitely can be read as a stand alone, although things alluded to from the past have me intrigued. It’s time to go back and read the other two! Gritty and a bit on the dark side, this is an enjoyable, fast paced mystery.

This series just keeps getting better. There was suspense from the very beginning. Really enjoyed reading this, and love how lifelike the characters are. I'll be waiting for the next one.

Roxane is a complex, underworked private investigator trying to save her brother from a murder charge in the Stories You Tell.

When her brother Andrew calls Roxane in the middle of the night, she comes running. Andrew is worried about former co-worker and one-time (or maybe two time) lover, Addison. Addison arrived at his house earlier bloody and incoherent. She then ran off before he could get the whole story. Work has been slow for PI Roxane so she agrees to check on the girl.

Roxane discovers Addison really is missing and she worked at the nightclub across the street from Andrew’s home. When Addison’s father reports her missing, Andrew is the police’s number one suspect. Roxane decides she must solve the crime to prevent Andrew from being indicted for murder.

Stories You Tell is a character-driven police procedural where the winter setting in Ohio almost feels like a character too. Roxane’s relationships are the heart of the book with lover Catherine, ex-lover Tom who was also her dead policeman father’s partner, and her brother Andrew. There are many mysteries to solve within this book but the clues are carefully hidden making it a fun tale for armchair detectives.

Overall, the book received 4 stars from me. I’m looking forward to reading the earlier, and subsequent, books in this series.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Private Investigator Roxane Weary and her brother, Andrew, are night owls, but it's still never good news when she gets a call from Andrew in the middle of the night. This time, Andrew tells her that he's just had the strangest visit from Addison Stowe, a young woman who used to work with him at the hotel where he tends bar. She seemed panicked and scared, begging to used Andrew's phone, and she disappeared almost as quickly as she arrived. At Andrew's pleading, Roxane starts looking for Addison, but she quickly realizes this is not a straightforward case. Soon the police are on Addison's trail--and Andrew's too. Add a dead cop to the mix, and it looks like Andrew could be mixed up in something serious.

"Clients hired me to find lots of things, and I took them all seriously--but people, most of all."

So, I won't lie. I have a particular affinity for one Roxane Weary, our sarcastic, intelligent, bisexual PI. This is the third book in Roxane's series, and I just love them all. You know how you can give your iPhone a name? Well, one of mine (I have one for work and one for personal use, okay) is named Roxane. This gritty PI has wormed her way into my heart. And I've said it before and I'll say it again--it's just so refreshing to have a bisexual character in mainstream fiction who is real. She's not a crazy person or a murderer, she's just a smart, complex character. The main character. And when Roxane is talking, it sounds like my own friends hanging out. It makes me happy.

"The state of straight people was troubling."

This book finds Roxane on a slightly personal quest, as her search for Addison gets real fast, once it looks like Andrew could be in some big time trouble. Her searching leads her to a shady nightclub--including its shifty manager--and some of Addison's suburban friends. We also, as mentioned, have a dead cop, meaning that Tom is in full force in this one. Tom is the former partner of Roxane's late father, and Roxane's old flame. I'm happy to report that there's plenty happening in Roxane's personal life--both with Catherine and Tom. Lots of sexual tension and witty banter on a variety of fronts. (And I am the only one who would be perfectly fine if Catherine just disappeared? Roxane deserves someone who treats her properly.)

Anyway, despite a cast of recurring characters, this one will standalone just fine. That being said, if you haven't read the first two books, I highly recommend them. The conversational first-person style Lepionka uses for Roxane is amazing and draws you in from the start. I adore Roxane's voice. (Partially because I deem her my kindred spirit--see below.)

"Apparently he was one of those people who listened to and deleted messages instead of just reading the transcription and ignoring it like I did."

Roxane is a witty, awesome, complex main character, and she's nearly impossible not to love. The story itself is dark and twisted, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. No gimmicks, just a good mystery. There's lots of humor, lots of surprises, and lots of Roxane, one of the best PIs around. 4.5 stars.

https://www.pittsburghcurrent.com/mystery-novels-in-an-age-of-open-secrets/
By Jody DiPerna
Pittsburgh Current Lit Writer
jody@pittsburghcurrent.com



Roxanne Weary drinks too much Crown Royal. She is sometimes reckless and headstrong. She carries complicated grief after her father’s death and fumbles through her difficult love life. She is doing some contract investigative work for a high-end workout apparel company (a hilarious riff on the cult-like reverence of Lululemon devotees) while suffering through a particularly cold, snowy winter in central Ohio. And then she gets a frantic call in the middle of the night from her brother.

This is where you meet the protagonist of Kristen Lepionka’s latest mystery, “The Stories You Tell,” just out this month from Minotaur Books, the third installment in her Roxanne Weary series.

Roxanne is not a former cop, but as the daughter of a policeman, she’s not entirely unfamiliar with the inner-workings of the department. That said, it presents challenges for Lepionka to work through creatively precisely because Roxanne doesn’t have the power of the badge behind her. Nor is Roxanne a hacker. So she uses the channels available to all private citizens.

“The types of information you can find online, public records — it’s straight crazy, actually,” Lepionka told the Current via telephone from her home in Columbus. “When you drill down to the local level, the types of information that’s available … I put that together by doing searches — starting with my own information and exploring from there. I hope that didn’t sound creepy.”

But mystery writers should be a little creepy, right?

While state, county and municipal records can provide a treasure trove of information to any private citizen from the comfort of their own homes, the availability of that information isn’t new to the digital era. Divorces, civil litigation, criminal records, tax liens, homeownership, real estate values and the like have always been there in paper form, easily searchable in the analog days.

But we are living in a different era from dusty old deed book volumes and Raymond Chandler. Back then, the starting point for a detective mystery could simply be that somebody was not at home to receive a vital message. Now? That’s virtually impossible.

Lepionka thoroughly embraces 21st century America to her advantage. Roxanne uses social media as she seeks to unravel the mystery her brother is tangled up in. Plus, Lepionka created a few other modern elements to fill in the story, most notably SpinSpo (the aforementioned Lululemon-like company) and a Columbus-specific dating and messaging app.

“When you’re writing, you can make up whatever technology you want, but I’m not writing fantasy novels. I want it to be something that feels real,” she said.

Roxanne ends up digging for other, deeper truths, though. In an era when we’ve all surrendered our privacy to Facebook and Twitter without even the merest fight, just what constitutes mystery? How does a writer build suspense? Lepionka views it as an opportunity to examine our interior lives.

“It does require thinking about mysteries in a different way. It becomes about finding out what people don’t tell anyone,” she said. “Mysteries are always about a secret. Our secrets have just become different types of secrets. With social media, you may feel like you know someone because you read about them on Twitter or Facebook. Is that the same as knowing a person? It presents a lot of interesting opportunities to explore what it means about human nature — the things we choose to put out there versus the things we keep secret.”

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview The Stories you Tell by Kristen Lepionka. This is my first read by thie author and it is a series book.
When Roxanne gets a call from her brother, Andrew, in the middle of a cold night, she is irritated but goes to see him. Andrew is distraught about a woman who was at his apartment but left mysteriously. Andrew is acting strange, but that's usual for him. He wants Roxanne to help find her and make sure she is ok.
This is what Roxanne does and so she sets out to find this woman, but finds out alot more.
And soon the police are looking at Andrew because this woman can't be found and Andrew looks like a prime suspect.
Solid plot, good characters.
3.5 stars.

I will admit.. I didn’t know this book was part of a series before I read it- BUT I enjoyed Roxane’s character so much that I definitely am making it a point to go back and read the first two of the series, so I can have a better understanding of this book and of Roxane!
The mystery itself was very well done, I enjoyed all the twists and turns and I was NOT expecting it to end like that! 😳 I found the beginning to be a bit slow, and I was a bit disengaged but it definitely picked up towards the middle of it and I read the rest in less than a day, very very engaging!
Thank you so much NetGalley & Minotaur books for the advanced reader copy, I can’t wait to go back and read the first two!

"A mystery with a deadline --- what could go wrong?" Ohio-based private investigator Roxane Weary stars in another incredible installment of Kristen Lepionka's compelling crime series. Roxane makes winter season ends meet with low-stress assignments, like searching for the source of counterfeit leggings. However, as she well knows, things can heat up in an instant. Late one night her brother Andrew calls in a panic about a woman who disappears after leaving his apartment. A murky world of appearances, both online and in Roxane's relationships with on-again lover Catherine and "it's complicated" former lover/friend, Tom, make it difficult to suss out reality. Lepionka's mastery of dialogue and character development over the course of the series enriches relationships between recurring cast members. Roxane is an especially strong blend of vibrant and vulnerable qualities. Everyone who comes into contact with this tenacious P.I., readers and characters alike (well, not so much for the criminals) is better off for having met her. I'm eager for the next step in her journey.

Roxane Weary is a Private Detective who answers a call from her brother Andrew who is in a state of panic over a late night visitor. Roxanne quickly becomes involved in the case of Addison who has seemed to vanish after visiting her brother. The story quickly evolves into more than just the disappearance of Addison but also the mystery of another cop searching for Addison. Is the nightclub where Addison worked which is now suddenly closed a clue? Could it be the mobsters would run the nightclub? How is it all connected? Can Roxanne figure it all out before Andrew is charged in Addison’s case?

This is the first book I have read in this series. I loved the character of Roxanne who is intelligent, caring, witty and and strong. Everything you need in a female lead character. This definitely can be read as a stand alone novel as Kristen Lepionka does a fabulous job of filling you in on the back story of Roxanne. I thoroughly enjoyed how the story twists and turns and how new characters were introduced. Thank you so much to St.Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book to review. It was fabulous!

I'm sorry I couldn't finish this book. I couldn't get into it and even though I tried several times it just wasn't the book for me. Doesn't mean I won't try the author again but I can't with this book. Thank you for the opportunity.

The Stories You Tell was my first by the author. I can honestly say I can’t wait to read more.
I wasn’t aware until after I read the book that it’s in a series, I did not read any of the other books and had no problem following the storyline or the characters. In fact, Roxane may move into my top 10 book characters of all time. She’s flawed in such human ways, and I just loved her voice throughout the book. I do want to go back and read the other books to see if I can figure out what’s going on with their family.
For this one Roxane, who is a private investigator, gets a late-night call from her brother, Andrew, asking for help. A woman he used to work with showed up out of the blue to use his phone, he could tell something was wrong with the girl but she ran away and disappeared. Roxane agrees to look for the girl. There are several twists and turns. I would say none made my mouth drop open, but I was anxious to discover what was going on.
There were parts of the story that moved slowly or that I found frustrating for various reasons. Some characters deserved to be punched in the face, IMHO. I think that was the point. I would highly recommend this book/series and can not wait to go back and read the other books.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review.

I really like these books. Mostly because i like the character of Roxane. She's tough, she's a bit reckless, but she's smart and cares alot about people. While this wasn't my favorite of the tree mysteries so far, it was enjoyable. Mostly because of Roxane. It just didn't seem as dark or dangerous as the first two. I'll definitely be over here waiting impatiently for the next one.

Although this is the third book in the Roxane Weary series, this was the first book I've read in it. I've been wanting to try this series ever since it was recommended by one of my favorite authors at a book signing event and am so glad to have finally added it to the top of my reading list. I found it very easy to dive into Book #3 and am planning to check out the first two books ASAP. This one reads like a standalone, but I'm interested to see how the series has evolved from the first book to this one.

This novel had many elements that I love in a mystery: a strong female protagonist, brisk pacing, multiple mysteries, and a strong sense of place. While I have not experienced winter in Ohio, I could easily imagine what it must be like as the story progressed. I felt that the descriptions added depth to the story and helped bring Roxane's world to life. I loved the wry writing and can see myself making this series a regular in my reading rotation. I enjoyed spending time with the characters and found myself drawn into the story from the first chapter.

In this installment, Roxane, who works as a private investigator, receives a call from her brother Andrew in the middle of the night. His evening was interrupted by a work acquaintance who showed up unexpectedly at his door, clearly in distress, asking to use his phone. When she leaves his apartment, he can't shake the feeling that something is very wrong and contacts Roxane to help track the woman down. This soon turns into a missing persons case, with Andrew emerging as the top suspect.

In addition to trying to find the missing woman and clear her brother's name, Roxane is also working a second case involving counterfeit goods and juggling personal relationship issues. I felt that the development of all three of those story elements was well done and kept me engaged from start to finish. This well-rounded story struck the right balance between Roxane's professional and personal lives.

If you're a fan of female P.I.s like Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski and Laura Lippman's Tess Monaghan, this series should be right up your alley!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review.

The Stories You Tell is Kristen Lepionka’s third mystery featuring quick witted Private Investigator Roxane Weary. When Roxane receives a late night phone call from her brother Andrew, she’s instantly roped into yet another string of tangled events. Addison, an ex flame and previous coworker of Andrew’s, showed up to his apartment hysterical and begging to use his phone. She seemingly called her father and then took off into the night. Not only is Addison missing, but the nightclub she works at has closed down and the owner and bouncer are nowhere to be found. To make matters worse, a cop has been found dead across town.

This is my favorite detective series by far. Lepionka’s series is not your typical police mystery, the way she weaves the storyline through Roxane’s thought processes and conversations is spot on and makes the story easy to follow. Roxane is relatable and smart, I love being inside her head as she works out these multi-layered plots. Although this book could be read as a stand alone, I highly recommend starting with book one. We really see Roxane’s character development progress throughout the books, as well as her personal relationships. This was a solid 5 star read!

Publication Date: July 9

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love this series so much. Roxane Weary is one of the most distinct PI voices I've read, and I love that she is tough as nails- but still really cares about people, and works hard to protect them. This story was fantastic, and it all lead to a conclusion I didn't see coming- with great characters and an interesting and unpredictable plot, there's not much more that I can ask for in a mystery!

Oh how I love these Roxane Weary books, I was so happy to get my hands on this. Reading this The Stories You Tell was like meeting up with old friends you hadn’t seen in a while. Kristen Lepionka does such a great job with her characters; Roxanne is by far is the best of them but in addition we have her love interests, her family and friends and some of her shady connections all from previous books. These combined with a new mystery all add up to a great read.

The mystery this time starts out seeming like a simple case of a party girl having a bad night. But she ends up missing and the police think that Roxanne’s brother was involved. With the stakes raised she goes all in on finding out what happened. Roxann’s investigation proceeds with her signature intelligence, charm, willingness to put herself in crazy situations and a bit of drunken messiness. There a plenty of twists and turns a long the way and the ending doesn’t disappoint.

Can’t wait for the next book in this series.

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press Minotaur Books for providing me with the ARC.

The Stories You Tell is a fantastic mystery that grabbed me from the first chapter. Great writing and characters.

If you have been following this blog long enough, y’all know how much I hate reading books out of order if they are in a series. So when I realized that The Stories You Tell was the 3rd book in the Roxane Weary series, I did a facepalm. I prepared myself for being lost while reading this book. Well, I lucked out. The Stories You Tell can be read as a standalone book.

I enjoyed The Stories You Tell storyline. I thought that the storyline was well written. There was a little lag in the middle of the book. That happened right around when Andrew got arrested. But the book got back on track shortly afterward.

I liked Roxane. She committed to finding Addison after Andrew called her that night. She was also committed to finding out the truth when Andrew got arrested. I was iffy about her relationship with Catherine. I don’t know what went down in the first two books, but there was a disconnect between them the beginning. I was also confused about what was going on with Tom. The end of the book didn’t help with my confusion.

The mystery angle of the book was well written. The author did a fantastic job keeping where Addison was and what happened that night at the club under wraps. There were several other storylines (the dead ex-cop, the missing club staff, and the dating app) that were spun off from the main plotline. The author also did a fantastic job of combining all the secondary plotlines into the first one. When she started doing it, it didn’t make sense. But, after the scene with Brock, it began to make sense.

The end of The Stories You Tell was intense. It went lightning fast from the moment Roxane started putting things together. For a brief minute, I did think Jordy was in on what Elise was doing. But my mind was changed shortly after that.