This is 1 of those books I find difficult to review. I so wanted to love it. The storyline sounded great and I saw it compared to Lee Child and David Baldacci so I really wanted to enjoy it. It unfortunately didn't deliver. The story seemed disjointed to me and some parts just didn't make sense. It started off very well but then the behaviour of some of the characters didn't make sense. Will parents really behave like that when their children are kidnapped? Maybe I will have to give the book a second chance and read it again at a later stage.

Thank you to #netgalley and #bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

What the freak!! This was one book which started with a bang, the kidnapping of a Senator’s children and drugging his wife and ended up with FBI Agent Max Carter finding the truth including the skeletons in the cupboards.

My first book by Ed James, and I enjoyed it completely. An action packed story with Max racing against time to bring back the kids made me stick to my kindle. The kidnappers didn’t want money, they wanted something more which made me all the more eager to know the senator’s secrets.

Max Carter was delectable, he was bold and intelligent, sauve and interesting. I was quite enamored by him in the entire book. Excitement coursed through me with every word of the prose, and each chapter ratcheted up the suspense. I love books which can thrill me so much. The plot lines seemed seamless as they were strategized well.

The author knew how to keep my pulse racing, and that was what made this book an absolutely fun filled ride… What a way to start my weekend.

Tell Me Lies is the first in what appears to be a promising new police procedural series featuring Special Agent Max Carter a member of the FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team based out of the FBI Seattle Field Office. Max Carter and his colleagues are called in investigate when senators wife Megan Holliday rouses from a drug-induced slumber on her doorstep cold and alone and discovers a note in her lap telling her not to call the police. She takes a look around and finds her car is gone and moving inside the house her heart stops when she comes to the realisation that both her young children, Brandon and Avery, are missing. Her husband, Chris, then receives a very scary text which asks him to meet up with the perpetrator and it included a photograph of the two children who appeared to have also been drugged.

I have loved Ed James’s thrillers since Ghost in the Machine but this one brings a potent mix of emotion, surprising reveals and twists, and tension he ratchets up over the course of the story. There is plenty going and the action barely allows you a moment to compose yourself after a shocking twist takes you completely by surprise. It’s a thrill-a-minute and I couldn’t contain my excitement and satisfaction when I kept guessing wrongly what was about to happen; it’s one of the most cleverly plotted thrillers I have encountered in years with the suspects each having a possible motive for the attack. Some of the scariest and most nightmarish crime reads involve the abduction and/or harm of children, and not only is this an addictive and engrossing read, the type we’ve come to expect from Mr James, but it is quite emotive due to the subject matter too. This is one fast-paced thrill ride crime readers won’t want to miss. Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.

A unique and gripping premise, this book takes you on a wild ride inside the mind of a diabolical killer...one who ends up hitting a bit too close to home. Eye-opening twists keep you engrossed in the story for hours on end, and culminates with a satisfying conclusion. Recommended.

**My sincere thanks to the author and publisher for providing a copy free of charge through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**

This is the first in a new series from an author I have not read before.It is pretty standard case of kidnapping and have a a detective come to the rescue story. The main character carter was great and very knowledgeable. I can’t wait for the next book in the series

This is my first book by this author. I usually prefer books based in the UK, but the synopsis for this book sounded like the kind of read I would enjoy. Based in Seattle, and featuring FBI Special Agent Max Carter, this book focusses on the abduction of Senator Holliday’s two children and the ensuing race against time for Max Carter in finding them.

This is a high action political thriller, with the story told from the perspectives of the different characters. Max Carter is a great character based within an FBI unit specialised in abduction cases. From what you find out throughout the story, Max has had a difficult past. You don’t get to find out too much more with the story being focussed on the missing children, but this leaves it for Max’s character to develop more in future books. I do like his character though, and found him gritty, determined and all in all a very clever guy!

The plot twists and turns as it moves through the book. It gives you plenty of suspects with all the different characters, and leads you up so many wrong paths in pursuit of the truth. You may think that the amount of characters is a little difficult to keep up with at times, but it’s such an easy book to read that this just doesn’t happen. The storyline flows effortlessly, and I found it a good American thriller read, on a par with some of the bigger names in the business!! An enjoyable read, full of pursuits, danger and corruption. Roll on the next book of the series so we can find out more about Special Agent Max Carter.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

3.5 Hearts This is the first in a new series from an author I have not read before.

I will say this is a bit of a traditional kidnapping/don’t call the cops/detective to the rescue story but it is still worth the read. Agent Carter is a really interesting character. He is very smart but I didn’t feel like he was flaunting it. He has just been doing this so long he knows the ins and outs of the situation.

Agent Carter is part of the CARD team that handles child abduction so I hope that each of the books is wrapped around the exact same situations.

May be worth getting to know Agent Carter a bit better. Will give the second book a try.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book in this series and it gets off to a great start.
Megan wakes up on her porch after being drugged and having her children taken from her, and despite a note telling her not to, she calls the Police.
Her husband is a senator and gets a message to meet someone if he wants to see his children again and then his nightmare begins.
We also learn about an incident at a school where a child is abducted because of his father and it’s not until later in the book that we find out how the incidents are linked.
Max Carter is with the FBI and does all he can to find the children but is not in the story much as it kind of runs itself with Holliday and Mason finding out what really happened.
I’d like to get to know Max more so look forward to more books in this series.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Max Carter is the main character in Ed James' new book Tell Me Lies which is the start of what appears to be an excellent series

The action comes thick and fast as the storyline moves along at a rapid pace as Carter and colleagues try to locate 2 missing children

Tell Me Lies is definitely a book worth reading

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of Tell Me Lies, the first novel to feature Special Agent Max Carter of the FBI Seattle Field Office’s Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team.

Megan Holliday wakes from being attacked and drugged to find her two pre-school children, Brandon and Avery, missing. Meantime, her husband, Senator Chris Holliday is reacting to the text he just received, a picture of his drugged children and a message saying “meet me”. The senator wants to find his children so he ignores the FBI and sets out to find them.

I thoroughly enjoyed Tell Me Lies which is an exhilarating, high octane read with plenty of twists and turns. It is told from various points of view, including the kidnapper, and for once I didn’t find that distracting, The story is so high octane and the various characters’ real motives well hidden - as you can guess from the title most of them have lots to hide - that I just kept reading to find out what was coming next. I would like to say that the plot line is rather far fetched but with what has come out of America recently, maybe not. I didn’t have too much difficulty swallowing the premise although how fast the technology worked for them made me wonder. Never mind, it adds to the fast moving atmosphere of the novel. I liked the way the novel twists and turns the reader’s preconceptions and assumptions on their heads. You never know what’s coming next.

It is not, however, a difficult novel to understand. Each character has a clearly defined role so it’s all about motivation and that’s where the changing point of view comes in handy, signalling the whys and wherefores of each action (mostly). The language is simple and clear as well. In some ways I felt it was below my reading age but the clarity makes up for it.

The characterisation is not particularly nuanced but it never is in a thriller, although the author is not afraid to mix it up so that the stock bad guy isn’t perhaps all bad when you understand his motivation or perhaps he is, given his actions. That’s the subtle part - making the reader think.

Tell Me Lies is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Tell Me Lies is the first book in a new series by best-selling author, Ed James.

Let me start by saying this is a fast paced and enthralling book. A page turner impossible to put down. I do not hesitate recommending it heartily.

Max Carter is a special agent in a FBI unit specialized in abduction cases. He and his team are called into action when the two children of an US senator are kidnapped from under their mother, immediately after a shopping trip. Max Carter’s job isn’t made easy by the fact that the father, Senator Holloway, seems to be keeping some things to himself, and keeps wandering away.

This doesn’t surprise the reader (and is not a spoiler) as, right away in its first chapter, the book let us know the story wasn’t going to be about a simple abduction.

The writing style is unusual. First person is used for the antagonists, third person for our hero and his entourage. This feels weird at the beginning, but I got used to it pretty quickly.

All along the book, Max Carter and his FBI Unit are always kept one step behind. They’re led by the kidnappers and the other characters those kidnappers meet on the way. The dual first/third person narrative strengthen the feeling that Max Carter and his entourage are rather secondary characters in this story.

This was unexpected for a first book in a series, in which I expected to learn more about the main character. However, this served the story pretty well.

As we follow the kidnappers on their own fascinating quest, the successive discoveries and twists constantly alter their relationships with the characters they’re interacting with, which makes for a very compelling reading, keeping us on our toes while an intricate conspiracy is slowly untangled.

So, maybe I didn’t learn much about Special Agent Max Carter this time around, but I’ll certainly be there for the second book, in which I have no doubt the character will get more fleshed out.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this unbiased review.

FBI agent Max Carter heads up the Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team - he’s good at his job - understands the distress of being abducted, but then he should do, because Max himself was abducted as a child.

His latest case begins when mother of two and Senator’s wife, Megan Holliday, awakes to find herself slumped on her front doorstep with a note on her lap warning her “Don’t Call The Police “. Her car, and more importantly, her children who were inside it are gone!

Senator Chris Holliday meanwhile, is contacted by the abductor, and told to meet him or his children will die.

This was a complex but compelling read, that takes the reader into the murky world of politics, greed and corruption, and involving more than just the Senator’s children, as if that wasn’t bad enough!

Though a little slow at times, it was a great read, good storyline, and a strong protagonist in Max Carter.

My first book by this author. I was very curious to find out what he had in store for me. It goes without a doubt that the story has to captivate you, but the writing style can also make or break a book.

No need to worry here. I was sucked into the story straight away and the cat and mouse game was a great asset.

We all need money, but unfortunately it's also often used for less above board deals.

When children of famous parents are abducted, it often has to do with a ransom. Agent Carter is on the case and he got a lot more than he bargained for. He finds himself in the middle of a hornet's nest. 

A very good start to a new series with devastating and heartbreaking moments and revelations and where the 'good ones' did not seem to be that good and you might sympathise with the 'bad ones'. 4 stars.

Thank you, Ed James and Bookouture.

This has a pretty big cast with lots of good twists. With a different writing style and some complexity, it kept me engaged. Recommended for thriller fans.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!

This is the first book in a new series featuring Detective Max Carter. The book starts with the kidnapping of two children and soon the whole book and investigation to the kidnapping spin out of control. Just as soon as you think you know something, whoops, the carpet is pulled from under you and you are back at square one. I have read and loved each and everyone of Ed James's books, and I am so happy to see a new lead detective series starting here.
Highly recommended.

Awesome thriller that kept me turning the page to see how it ends.
Agent Max Carter specializes in abducted children. When a senator's two children are abducted right from their mother in front of their home, Max is called in to find the missing children. What he stumbles across is a web of lies, cover ups, and dirty deals that bounce from person to person in the Federal Offices. Can he connect the dots fast enough to save the children from further being pawns in this deadly game?
While the list of characters is long, the story unfolds in such a way that moving from person to person is easy and makes sense. Great story from beginning to end, which did have a small cliff hanger.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Tell Me Lies is the first in a new series from Ed James featuring FBI Agent, Max Carter. It opens up with an intense, throat grabbing, gut punching scene that dragged all the emotions from me. Wow, what a start to a new book and a new series! By the end of chapter two I was having serious palpitations! Ed James certainly knows how to build the tension, it was literally oozing out of the pages!
Told from alternating POV, the kidnapper, Senator Holliday and FBI Agent, Max Carter I quickly found myself rooted firmly within each of their worlds.
As far as characters go, well, Senator Holliday, I just couldn't work out if I liked him or if I even trusted him. There's a whole load of secrets going on in this man’s life and I just wanted to scream at him to get home to his wife when the kids went missing. And of course he is caught up in the murky world of politics, where corruption and cover ups seem to be the name of the game.
Max Carter, now isn’t he just the most intriguing character, there's a whole load of issues going on with this FBI Agent and this book left me screaming for more! Max’s father keeps turning up looking for help and it soon becomes very clear that there is no love lost between the two men. We do find out a little about what has gone on in the past for Max and his father but the book leaves just enough for you to want to scream at Ed James to hurry up and get book number two in the series out there!
We do find out who the kidnapper is and while this guy was a serious bad guy there was something about him that makes the reader warm to him, you really need to read this book to find out!
Tell Me Lies is interspersed with chapters referring to the previous kidnapping which is referenced at the beginning of the book and like a jigsaw all the pieces begin to slot into place, but not so easy that the reader is able to work out what’s going on, believe me, you will be twisted into knots reading this one! The narrative paints a picture perfect scene, I've never been to Seattle yet I could see it in those pages, I tell you, I lived and breathed this book as I read it!
The pace and the tension builds right from the start of this book and when you get a chance to breathe then make sure you do. The pace matches the plot and as a reader I felt myself totally engrossed in the world inside those pages. I think I experienced everything those characters were going through, from the parental fear, to the kidnappers state of heightened tension to the frustration of the agents on the case. I was like a wrung out dishcloth by the time I was done!
Power, politics and corruption are the main themes of this book and at times I was wondering just who to believe and whose side I should be on! Tell Me Lies has all the ingredients of a cracking read; intriguing, engaging and believable characters; a bloody good plot and perfect pacing, wrap this up with a great sense of place and we are good to go! I cannot wait until the 2nd in this series! Do yourself a favour and get out there and read it now!

This review will appear on my blog as part of the blog tour in January.

Unfortunately this book was a bit descriptive for me. I prefer my books to have a couple of storylines running consecutively that join with a big twist ending.
This book was like reading a story to my children, this happened, then this, then this etc... with no cliffhangers.
It was written well and the author has potential but I need more suspense for me to keep turning the pages. I don’t need to know every tiny detail.

Megan has everything she ever wanted; married to Senator Chris Holliday with two young children, she loves her life. Then she is attacked on her own doorstep and when she regains consciousness her children are missing, her husband isn't answering his phone, and her world is spinning out of control.

Special Agent Max Carter is leading the investigation for the Seattle FBI's Child Abduction Rapid Response Team, knowing time is always against him in high profile cases but determined to do everything in his power to return the two youngsters to their parents.

Ed James is one of my favourite authors whose books so far have always been first class so I was excited to find out he had a new series beginning with this title. I was a little concerned however, that this was a step away from his other work, which concentrates on the point of view of one main character for the most part and are set in the UK. I needn't have worried, this is brilliant from start to finish and I loved it.

Max Carter is a great protagonist, obviously with a difficult past, as the most successful main characters always do, which is slotted into the main storyline effortlessly. The story was fast paced, believable and with so many twists it kept me turning the pages way past my bedtime! The only thing I would have liked, which made no difference to the actual story to be fair, was an idea of how much time was passing.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys Ed James novels or fast moving stories which keep the tension way up. This book knocks it out of the park on every level and I can't wait for the next one.

A young Muslim student is removed from his high school by armed men. A year later, Megan Holliday arrives home and is attacked and her two children kidnapped. In the meantime, her husband Senator Christopher Holliday receives a call from the kidnappers. They want information from him in regards to an operation that he approved. FBI Special Agent Max Carter is assigned to the case while he is dealing with the anger he has towards his own father. I found this book very confusing as I never had a clear understanding as to what happened to the young Muslim boy and found it unbelievable that Christopher would ignore the FBI to deal with the kidnappers on his own. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)