When you go to a doctor you trust them with your life. But what happens when they lie to you? And when that lie effects the rest of your life in a bad way, what would you do----many would seek revenge. Two women who seek that revenge go undercover to get the revenge they seek, and take down the pharma. company who was behind their losses, and the losses of many other women, even tho it belongs to their own family.

Book Review 💊



“When the stakes are life and death, did a few low matter?”



Woahhhh what did I just read! The First To Lie is a fast paced, page turner!! A few time times I went back and was like noooo that’s not what I read but yep it was. So many lies and deceit! I was slowly putting it all together but I hadn’t guessed it all correctly! The characters were fantastic, I felt like they could be people you could know. I loved that the story was thick uncertainty!!! The ending was explosive with tying up all the twists!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Hank Ryan, Forge Books and Netgalley
For my copy for honest review!

Releasing September 2020 (not my picture).

As a Super Reader, I was gifted a NetGalley copy of "The First To Lie." This is also the first book of Ms. Ryan's I have had the opportunity to read.The premise of this book is that a large pharmaceutical company, Pharminex, is marketing a drug that has more side effects than they are willing to admit. There are quite a few people who were hurt by this drug, either physically or emotionally. So many characters in this book were pretending to be someone else entirely in order to uncover the cover-up about this drug.

If you like a read that has characters that are sometimes hard to keep up with as to which identity they are at certain times coupled with some deep-seated family secrets and perhaps a bit of romance along the way, I highly recommend you add this to your to be read stack!

entertaining, twisty and convoluted. while i guess a lot of the twists, there were a few that surprised me. enjoyed the book and the moral questions it raised, though the ending felt weak to me and not believable esp the identity of one of the main character. it felt harder, as well to get involved in the backstories of brooke and lacey, maybe needed more of a bridge from the past to the present. it was an ambitious effort and i am glad for the arc and the chance to read it

This book was my first of Hank Phillippi Ryan's, but certainly not my last. She keeps the twists and turns going like no other book I've read! Very confusing at times, and amazed the characters could keep themselves straight! Wow, a real page turner. The only thing I was sure of was that Abigail wasn't real, but other than that, I didn't really know who was who. I wanted Trevor to show up though. The only real let down. Enjoy the book, it will grab you 'til the end.

Oh my gosh! Wow! I loved this book. It was very engaging, hard to put down. I had to find out what was going on. So many twists and turns. Nothing is as it seems. Sometimes a little confusing, but the confusion is cleared and you continue, or was it?? You are kept on the edge of your seat throughout. Is the pharmaceutical industry to be trusted at all, especially where money is concerned. How many have been effected? You must read this book! Do not miss it. I loved this book, it is truly brilliant!

This was the second book that I’ve read by the author, Hank Philippi Ryan. I enjoyed the story immensely right up until the end, where the finale didn’t land just right with me AND that’s ok. Sometimes you don’t agree with how a story ends but can still enjoy the ride and it was quite the ride. The story starts flipping between two characters, Ellie and Nora. Ellie is about to start a new job as a journalist for a TV station that is about to reopen in the coming weeks. She’s following a story about a pharmaceutical company’s miracle drug whose off label use promises to help women who are having difficulty getting pregnant. However, the drug has devastating effects for some patients. Nora has just landed a job at the company to sell this miracle drug and she’s learning all about it, visiting doctors’ offices to sell the product, but she also knows that it might not be great for all patients. As Ellie is trying to investigate and bring down this company, the family that owns the company, the Vanderwalds, are getting ready to throw a gala in honor of their son and highlighting the scholarship that was started in his name after his death around seven years ago. It is fast paced and the intertwining of the various characters storylines does at times get complicated and you know that it is building to one or more dark twists. If the ending had landed a bit better with me, I would have rated it higher and it was a very enjoyable ride.

When I opened the cover of The First to Lie I had no idea what to expect. One third in, I still wasn't sure what was really going on. We knew, up front, there would be lies. But how does the reader differentiate lies from non-lies? I have heard that everybody lies. But they don't always lie all the time. Or do they? Just about when I thought I had some idea who was who, out of nowhere came some crumbs indicating I was on the wrong track altogether

This story felt like a ride at the fair - the one where the car is traveling along and abruptly changes direction. Can you get whiplash from reading a book?. From one page to the next, from one moment to the next we don't know where this is going. "She felt poised on the edge of a chambered nautilus shell, about to wind deeper and deeper into its dark center." And we were with her every step of the way.

"Lawyers and journalists. Together they had the power to make things right." If only that were true in the real world.!

As it ended I predicted a couple of things based on pieces I was putting together. But there was one surprise that was so over the top I am still shaking my head. It should have been obvious to one character very early on but then we'd not have had this fabulous ride. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for and advance copy.

The lies abound, the fingers point to one and then another, ones head spins with all the twists and turns in this excellent read.

Up front, I will say this NetGalley download was a gift from the author, Hank Phillippi Ryan. Thank you.

Drug maker Pharminex is under attack. Reporter Ellie Berenson is out to nail them for deceptive practices – like encouraging the off-label use of a drug that can have dire side effects on the people who take it. The story is much more complex than that with layer atop lay, lies hiding lies, false truths shielding real truths.

There is a steady level of tension throughout the story. You always wonder what’s going to happen next. And it builds and builds toward the end where more twist that the double helix of DNA come to light.

This was a very engaging story that kept me guessing right up to the end. I thought I had things figured out a dozen times then something would come along that had me thinking maybe I didn’t. In the end, my suspicions were right but I’d cast the roles wrong.

This download had the usual number of errors for an e-book.

If you’ve never read a Hank Phillippi Ryan book, pick one up. I guarantee you’ll be back for more when you're done. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3041353913

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

A drug company, hiding serious side-effects of their product, was the all too believable background to the story.

The novel was interesting and had many twists and turns. I did not figure out what was coming until it was unveiled at the end. There were several different "main" characters and each had lies to explain their particular connections to the action. At times, it felt that I was on a merry-go-round trying to keep everyone's role organized in my mind. That being said, each person played a significant part in the development of the story.

This book did not disappoint me after being drawn in by the description. Another hit by Hank Phillippi Ryan! I will always pick up a book by this author.

This book is a maze to find the truth. I’ve never read a book that had so many lies and identities that didn’t confuse me in some way, but not this book. Ryan writes in a clear and precise way that I was able to easily follow all the twists and turns. The storyline pulls at the heartstrings. The character development is well thought out. I’ve been to Boston many times and through the author’s detailed descriptions I was able to picture exactly where the characters were often throughout the book. This was an enjoyable and thought provoking book! I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Intricately and cleverly plotted with a satisfying denouement. Requires a somewhat suspension of disbelief in that the younger sister did not recognize the older "sister-in-law." My 4.5-star rating is because this book suffers slightly from my comparison to the The Murder List which was my highest rated book last year! I have loved every one of her books and eagerly await the next one!
Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an electronic ARC of this thriller. Although at times confusing, it was an entertaining, engrossing story.
Pharminex is a mega-pharmaceutical company owned and founded by the wealthy Vanderwald family. Unfortunately, one of its most popular miracle fertility drugs doesn't always work, and it can leave some women permanently barren. Rather than disclose this potential side effect, the company just settles with and silences its victims.
Ellie is an investigative reporter for Channel 11 who is determined to take Pharminex down. Preferably, in conjunction with an upcoming gala fundraiser for a foundation established in the name of the Vanderwalds' only son Trevor, who died in a tragic sailing accident seven years earlier.
Nora is a sales representative for Pharminex. Fishing for information on the inside, she's also trying to bring the company down.
There's a lawyer involved, and he connects with both women. Under different identities.
Then there's Meg, the annoying neighbor who moved into Ellie's apartment building and then just happens to start working at Channel 11--as Ellie's research assistant on her story. Except Meg occasionally goes rogue.
In the course of the investigation, two women who are potential witnesses die in mysterious car crashes.
We get two more points of view via flashback..Trevor's younger sister Brooke and Lacey, his widow, were also harmed by Pharminex products. Both have been out of the public eye since the sailing accident.
Just when you think there are too many characters to keep track of... all is not what it seems.
There were a few loose ends and parts of the story seemed implausible, but I kept turning the pages and enjoyed the read.

What a superbly crafted book! The story revolves around Big Pharma, a drug that causes more problems than it solves and the family that owns it. A TV reporter trying to find a way to bring the story to the air; a researcher who may not be who or what he says and all manner of twists and turns. I could not put this book down! Just when you think you have it all figured out, wrong! Yet another twist! This rivals any true life story of Big Pharma. It will keep you up till all hours of the night just because you can’t put it down! Hank Phillippi Ryan has written another prize-worthy book!

THE FIRST TO LIE by Hank Phillippi Ryan is a gripping and twisty thriller that took me on a wild ride from beginning to end. It is a story filled with secrets, lies, revenge and the search for justice that kept me guessing with each page I turned. The book takes the reader inside the world of investigative reporting and the inner workings of a ruthless pharmaceutical company. The characters were complex and expertly developed and I enjoyed how the author deftly presented their backstories. Are any of them telling the truth? Who can be trusted? Who was the first to lie? Each time I thought I had untangled the web of deception, I was proven wrong and I never guessed the shocking finale. This might just be my new favorite from Hank Phillippi Ryan and I highly recommend it! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.

This was a page turner, but it was also incredibly silly. I could see the twists coming from a mile away and all the secret identify stuff was just goofy and incredibly unrealistic. The ending was schmaltzy, with two characters reuniting in an implausible relationship. This book is for you if you’re looking for a quick read to get lost in, but you don’t really care too much about believable plot turns.

Wow!!! Hank has done it again! This suspenseful tale is full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end! Craftily plotted, oozing with suspense, and with just a touch of sinister intentions, this book will have you asking yourself - "Who isn't lying?"

Great subject matter with a plausible storyline that kept me engaged and enthralled.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Amazing! The twists and turns in this book kept on coming, right until the end. What I suspected was going on with these characters investigating a drug company was a far cry from what really happened. Everyone lies. A must read.