I never repeat the blurb. I absolutely loved James' DI Fenchurch series so snapped up the chance to read an ARC of this new series. We've hopped across to Seattle, Washington for this new series with FBI agent Max Carter. The story of a double kidnapping changes perspective throughout as the narrative swaps between the protagonists' viewpoints until a complex web of power, lies and deceit is unravelled. Roll on the next one.

In this first book in a new series by Ed James, readers are introduced to FBI agent Max Carter. His past and family issues are touched on, and those things are imperative when it comes to seeing how hard Carter works on his cases.

Max Carter certainly does not have an easy job. As he directs the FBI's Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team, his cases are hard-hitting. Max focused on this work because he himself was abducted as a child.

His current case involves Megan Holliday's two children as they were abducted while she was drugged. It is immediately learned that her husband Christopher is a U.S. Senator. Max cannot help but have suspicious ideas from the very start. Christopher's sudden disappearance definitely raises Max's suspicion.

Tell me Lies is not for the faint of heart. It is full of danger and despair and the action starts and continues at breakneck speed. This story, often quite tragic, is an excellent first book in the new Max Carter series by Ed James. I could not put this book down, despite the devastation I felt while reading. Carter is a thorough FBI agent and I look forward to reading more of his cases in the future.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
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This was a thriller about a child abduction featuring Max Carter, the FBI agent who is tasked with tracking down and finding the kidnapped children.
Senator Halliday’s two young children are snatched and his wife is left unconscious on their doorstep with a note not to contact the authorities. However she ignores this and Max’s team are called in.
Meanwhile the kidnappers contact the senator but he has a lot to hide and this complicates the abduction investigation.
This book is told from lots of different points of view, the kidnapper’s, Senator Halliday’s, Max Carter’s- in fact there are so many different characters in this story that it took all my concentration to keep track of them.
This book is a slow burner but once it got going I did enjoy reading about Max and his efforts to find the children. Many of the characters were unpleasant and I had little sympathy for them including, the Senator himself, who seemed to only care about his career and keeping his secrets.
I felt that the various points of view in the narrative did slow down the pace in the first part of the book as it took a while to work out who everyone was and what motivated them.
However by the end of the book I felt that my interest had been sufficiently piqued and I would give book 2 a try when it is published.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

This slow burn story was one that I am kind of torn with. Parts I liked and others I didn't. The story was a little slower than I normally like so that took some of the enjoyment out of this one. The multi POVs were a little too much in this one as well. I had issues keeping track of everyone and felt lost a lot of the time. The pacing was off and well in the long run I just don't think this one was for me.

Having read some of Ed’s previous books I was looking forward to reading this. I wasn’t disappointed, plenty of twists to keep me engrossed with a helping of revenge and corruption. I can’t wait for the next instalment.

Tell Me Lies opens with two kidnappings: The first, of a boy a couple of years in the past; the second of 2 children in the present. Their mom immediately calls the police. Their dad, U.S. senator Holliday, ignores the FBI's calls to come to talk to them. Instead, he goes off on his own to meet the kidnapper. What does he have to hide?

The novel alternates between several points of view: the senator, the FBI agent, and the kidnapper. What does the kidnapper want? What is the senator hiding? And can Max Carter figure it all out in time to save the senator's kids?

I liked the characters and the story, though I wish that there had been more focus on Carter. I found the rapid flipping of points of view disruptive to the narrative. Had the story not been so compelling, I would have stopped. I hope that the next Max Carter book (which "Book 1" presumes) focuses more on Max and dispells with the multiple POVs. Because Ed James writes well and tells a great story.

Megan Holliday is married to a US Senator they have two children a girl and a boy. Megan takes her children out on return to their home Megan gets out of her car and is attacked by a man who injects a sleeping drug into her neck, he leaves her sitting by her front door with a note on her lap saying don’t call the police. The same stranger kidnaps both of her children. She does call the police and Max Carter a leading FBI officer with the Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team is given the case. Max has a bad relationship with his father and does not stop until he has found abducted children. As this case involves a Senator it is not a straight forward abduction.

I have read other books by the author but I must say that I really enjoyed this book, it's fast paced with lots of twists that I had no idea where it was going to end and that's what I love most about reading. I'm already looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Let me say that I enjoy the writing of Ed James and especially the excellent DI Fenchurch series. But unfortunately I struggled to feel the same about this new series featuring Detective Max Carter. Admittedly the more I read the more I did enjoy it so maybe for me it is a slow burner and with my prior knowledge of the authors writing would certainly give the series another chance.
Megan Holliday's world is crushed when she has her two children abducted and against the kidnappers advice decides to call the police. FBI agent Max Carter is in charge of the case, who himself was once abducted himself so knows all about these types of crime. Megan's husband is senator Holliday so the case is never going to be straight forward and when he is contacted by the abductor and told to meet him or his two kids will die he feels he has no other option.
The more I write and reflect about this book the more I feel that I may have been a little harsh.

I would like to thank both Net Galley and Bookouture for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

.wow,What a book, revenge,corruption,death,politics. Max Carter certainly had his hands full with this one. Loved it. Can't wait for the next one.

Corruption at the highest levels of government, children kidnapped, enter Max Carter, a new protagonist in an exciting new series. Well-paced and excellent plot keeps the story moving and the reader interested.

I love Ed James’ work, having read all his previous novels. This is a new series featuring the FBI and Max Carter.

A tale of mystery and intrigue and double dealing and corruption at the highest level of US Government.

Loved it. Looking forward to the next one