Truth, Lies and Second Dates is the most tropetastic thing I have ever read. And it’s by design! The author, MaryJanice Davidson, made a list of SIXTY tropes and weaved them into the story. (It was great fun going through the list afterwards.)

This whole book was just fun in general and I loved that it didn’t take itself seriously. The author flirted with breaking the fourth wall through the use of entertaining and quite informative footnotes and I felt that the set up worked quite well.

But what is this book about, you ask?

The heroine, a heroic commercial pilot, rather inexplicably becomes suspected of murdering her best friend when she goes home for the 10-year memorial. The hero starts investigating the case and also falling for our dear irreverent captain. He starts trying to clear her name and becomes more and more convinced that she’s a target for the killer as the heroine starts experiencing a number of threatening (but rather hilarious) mishaps.

I honestly could not pinpoint WHY she became a suspect in the first place and there were other inconsistencies in the story that irked me a little. An example of an inconsistency is the hero is a doctor/coroner and several years younger than the heroine who is 27. HOW? Unless he’s some sort of medical prodigy /Doogie Howser, the math doesn’t line up. I was ultimately able to put that aside to enjoy the story, but ymmv.

The best part of the book was the largish cast of quirky characters and the fast paced ping-ponging dialogue that was just full of snark and witticisms. The tone reminded me of the fast-talking scattergun cadence used in the Gilmore Girls and I think it worked quite well here as the reader puzzles through the subtext of dialogue.

The romance between the MCs was sweet and slow-burny but the main focus of the book was definitely the mystery. However the romance reader in me was largely still quite content.

All in all, a light frothy read despite murders, plane crashes, and addictions.

What a ride! Loved this sassy, snarky, turn around romance. The humor abounds, in spite of the stalking, evil murderer, who throws in wrenches and anything else possible to muck up our heroine’s life. Awesome fun, laugh out loud fun, with a side of steam. Don’t miss this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟💫 3.5/5 stars

Truth, Lies, and Second Dates is a mash-up of a romcom and a suspense thriller with a slightly deceiving cover. I went into the book (despite reading the synopsis) expecting a romcom and, while it does have the banter of a romcom, it also throws in a cold case murder that adds more suspense and weight to the story.

Truth, Lies, and Second Dates is about Captain Ava Capp, a pilot who is back in the hometown she never wanted to return to. M.E. Dr. Tom Baker remembers Ava, as well as the cold case that caused her to leave town. Of course sparks fly and Ava is finally forced to confront her past.

While I love the interesting mashup of genres and how this is not a typical romcom or a typical romantic suspense, the genres never fully gelled for me. The book never quite decided what it wanted to be and instead was an odd mixture that at times worked and at other times did not. However, I had fun reading it and it was an entertaining read with plenty of laugh out loud moments. I do think that readers who want a new spin on a romantic suspense novel would enjoy this one.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Although a romantic crime drama, I found this book difficult to get into. I started reading it three times before I was finally able to get to the meat of the story. Even then, despite the humour and really good plot, I found it difficult to follow the storyline, which was continually interrupted by the characters' inner dialogue. The characters for the most part are interesting and complicated and I did not see the end coming. I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I was not so distracted by the inner chatter. I received a copy of this novel as a gift through NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Captain Ava Capp has been running away from life for a long time. She has created her own family in the airline industry. It is time to go home for a memorial that is 10 years in the making. The way she gets through things is with a sarcastic sense of humor. Only this memorial has not gone as planned. Tom Baker is a forensic county coroner. The crazier the death, the more he is intrigued. When the two of them meet, they discombobulate each other. One thing is clear, someone is trying to kill Ava just like Danielle. It is going to take them both to solve this mystery and get their HEA.

This book made me giggle with all of the tropes and kept me enthralled with the mystery of who killed Danielle ten years ago and why was it resurfacing?

I had read a previous book in this "series" that was ok, not horrible but not great. So I was a little hesitant to read this book but am glad since I was pleasantly surprised. I loved Hannah, the precocious niece of Dr. Tom Baker, the ME for the town in Minnesota. She is just a little too smart for her own good, but she helps keep Tom grounded...most of the time. I loved the nerdy talk from Tom and Hannah and even Ava.

The tropes are what kept me in stitches - yes everything was expected when it came to the characters, but it all worked in my mind. G.B. and India are two hoots on top of everything else.

The romance between Ava and Tom took time to grow but when they finally came together, sparks galore.  They had some missteps but it worked well into the storyline.  It was interesting that they were both interested in the macabre of Minnesota.

"Who knew the capital of Minnesota was such a hotbed of exotic/weird murders?"

There are remnants of the previous book at the beginning and the end involving Blake from the 2nd book. I like how it was tied together to create a flow from one story to the next even though they were not intertwined.

We give this book 4 1/2 paws up.

I did not realize this was a third novel in a series. I prefer to read series in order just in case there is character growth or secondary characters appear in another book. I tried to get the first two books in the series but didn't have luck at the library so I am not going to read this one. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this one.

I will leave a review on Amazon or B&N on Dec 15, 2020

Overall I found Truth, Lies, and Second Dates to be a pretty easy read, at times it was funny at times it had a serious side to it. I enjoyed the Ava character, but found Tom to be a little to ditzy for my liking. This was my first book by this author, and I will try more of her books. I would recommend this book to others.

I received a ARC from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press and was under no obligation to leave a favorable review, all opinions expressed here are my own

Finding a Killer 3.5*
Took me awhile to get into this book, and by that I mean over a third of the way through, but then I started to enjoy it. Rather than the romance or the mystery, it was the insights into being a pilot and the banter between Captain and flight crew (particularly GB) that I found the most interesting bits of this story. I would consider reading something by this author again.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Truth, Lies, and Second Dates is my 1st Davidson book! I was excited to dive in, and I didn't really look into the book much before starting.

The cover and title made me think this would be fluffy. There are certainly light, fun times, but there was a darker side as well that was unexpected (but not unwelcome). Ava has a tragic past that is haunting, but her current life is vibrant, funny, and full! I really loved the side characters in the story; it reminded me a bit of the side characters in a Stephanie Plum book-zany! After many years away, Ava returns to her hometown and the source of her painful past. It is there she connects with the ME, Dr. Tom Baker. Together with Tom, she begins to solve the mystery of what happened years ago, find love, and learn to forgive herself.

Personally, the romance is light. Its not bad or anything, but as a hard core romance reader, I categorize this more women's fiction with a romance than straight up romance. The driving force of the story is in Ava's growth as a character-accepting her past, coming to terms with it, putting it behind her, etc. Ava and Tom are great, but their romance isn't the focal point.

Fans of Kristen Higgins, Janet Evanovich, and Christina Lauren will enjoy this comedy of errors and find it a delightful way to pass a weekend in front of the fire!

To be really honest, I'm a little confused with this one. There were many times when I didn't know where the characters were or how they ended up in a certain place and why they ended up in a certain place. It was a weird but witty murder mystery, and I didn't really get why the mother of the deceased, Danielle, was now, after ten years, accusing Ava of having committed the murder of Danielle. The dialogue was funny at times, and I actually did like Ava and Tom, most of the time, but my favorite character in this story was Tom's niece, Hannah, a precocious and funny child. I loved her. I don't know, I didn't dislike this book, I think perhaps this writing style just didn't jibe with me.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy.

Calificación: 2.5

Hace 8 meses leí la segunda parte en la serie Danger sin saber siquiera que era parte de una saga. La historia se me hizo bastante exagerada pero interesante. Y ahora que leo la tercera parte me entero que la autora buscaba precisamente eso, extrapolar esos clichés que encontramos en la literatura. Y qué bueno que leí eso al inicio de este libro porque sino hubiera puesto los ojos en blanco cada dos páginas.

Ava Capp es una piloto con un oscuro pasado y Tom Baker es un médico forense que quiere resolver un viejo asesinato. Hay tantos libros con esta temática donde gente que no debería, está investigando algo y eso siempre se me ha hecho raro pero uno termina aceptándolo como parte necesaria de la historia y su progreso. En este libro la protagonista por lo menos le pregunta al forense si es algo normal que personas civiles hagan este tipo de cosas pero al final son ellos los que tienen que descubrir al asesino.

Desafortunadamente no me gustó tanto la historia. los protagonistas no lograron engancharme y la historia fue demasiado exagerada para mi gusto. Siento que si no hubiera sabido de antemano que esto era lo que la autora quería en la historia me hubiera gustado aun menos.

Love this author and loved this book! Cannot wait to read the rest of this series and see what MJD has in store next.

This book was a little confusing for me, it was kind of a mystery, kind of a romance but also just an place for witty quips.

There was so much dialogue it was really hard for me to tell who was speaking at times so that was really distracting.

Captain Ava Capp is a pilot and doesn't spend too long in one place. She does make a stop in her home town and just happens to run into the brother of her best friend who was murdered 10 years ago.

Dr. Tom Baker is the current ME for the county and someone who can't forget the case of Ava's friend. It just so happens that Ava and Tom share a passionate make out session, just before discovering something goes wrong at the memorial.

While it appears Ava is a suspect by the family, she is also determined to find out what really happened and why someone is still trying to cause trouble.

There was some really heavy moments in this book, that was not in line with a typical romance. However I really like Dr. Tom and his extended family. He is taking care if his niece and his sisters father-in-law is also helping. She provided some levity and also pushed them together in some sweet moments.

Dr. Tom and Ava also have something in common, they are both extremely blunt, and have no filter which is something they both seemed to have issues with when connecting with others so it was great to see that they both felt understood without judgement.

Overall this book was enjoyable if often confusing and a little over the top.

3.5 Stars

Not sure what to think of this book - I adored the snark and sassy characters- I loved the representation of Tom and his niece being on the spectrum.

But on the other hand, each character was so snarky and sassy it was hard at times to tell who was speaking because they all sounded the same after a while.

The mystery element of this book was super unique - I liked it! It kept me reading to find out 'Who Done It'

Oh, I almost forgot - I loved how the author annotated and added little personal notes in some chapters!

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Griffin for an early copy to give my sassy thoughts.

Captain Ava Capp had left her past and home state of Minnesota behind for over a decade, becoming a pilot and flying all over the world. Returning to her home town unexpectedly, Ava runs into Dr. Tom Baker, the medical examiner that is now looking into the murder of her best friend, which had driven her away. An attraction between them exists, so can they solve the cold case and still work together?

While this is the third in a series of novels exploring romance novel tropes and spinning them on their head, there's no need to have read those to enjoy this one. This is a murder mystery as well as a romance, and MaryJanice injects a lot of humor into the text as well. As with her prior novels, some of that is parenthetically added to the text, which is stream of consciousness from Ava's point of view. Dialogue is witty and snappy, full of fun banter and snark, just how I like it. Chapters are short, matching the snappy dialogue, and makes the "just one more chapter" instinct an incredible time sink. Before I knew it, I read more chapters than I intended to!

Ava and Tom have great chemistry. He's very literal and a little goofy, with a precocious niece that has a very polysyllabic vocabulary at a very young age. It's adorable, and they mesh with Ava's quirky sense of humor very well. The bulk of the story is told in conversations, so it zings back and forth very quickly. There is description where necessary, but that tends to take a backseat to the conversations. Ava and Tom have very witty banter and help each other out in more ways than one. Just like the other books in this series, we have a list of tropes that were played around with for this novel, as well as the parenthetical commentary for which ones were inverted. I really enjoyed this book, and it was a fun way to spend my afternoon.

MaryJanice Davidson is a new to me author and I'm thrilled that I found her. Truth, Lies, and Second Dates has it all and then some as the author mixes a murder mystery with a sweet little romance beautifully. This one was an easy read and I loved how wonderfully the story flowed. It kept me glued to my reader with a strong lead character in Ava Capp, loving that she's a pilot, and her time with Tom is a bit bittersweet but welcomed as she finds herself back in the hometown she left behind all those years ago.

This book was just what I needed to cleanse my palate, so to speak, from all the same old same old that is out there currently. I would not hesitate to read more from this author and I look forward to checking out her other work.

Well worth your time, Truth, Lies, and Second Dates was a great surprise and I happily give it a solid 4 stars!

This book was hilarious. I honestly love Captain Capp! She has such a funny personality that I couldn’t put this book down. In light of what she has been through, she is the type of person to make any situation manageable- regardless of what people think about her.

I love how Ava and Tom got together and he felt a need to be her bodyguard and find the real killer. It’s great how the author added someone on the spectrum to have such a big role in this story.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Such a light hearted read I couldn’t put down!

This is a quirky story that pokes fun at the very tropes that we expect when reading. You will definitely laugh out loud at times and enjoy the story, even the dark humor.
Sometimes you have to stop running to find the thing you're missing. And it's okay to remember the past without losing yourself. Be prepared for witty tales of near catastrophes and a pint sized genius who will one day rule the world.

Oh my gosh! This was the best book and I adore these two characters. I think they're best two in a book I've read this year. Captain Ava Capp (lots of jokes here) doesn't like strings and ends a semi-regular booty call with Blake (you know Blake from his own book or his twin's book). She ends up flying to Minnesota, a place she's avoided for ten years because of the horrible memories of her childhood friend's murder. It just so happens the friend's twin brother (yes, a different set of twins) is on her flight and invites her to the 10-year memorial. Things go downhill from there. It turns out the family blames her and that's just the beginning of her problems. Dr. Tom Baker remembers the case from when he was young and carries the cold case around with him and is trying to raise a genius niece. They are thrown together and sparks fly ultimately they work together on the case. Tom was such a strange character that I loved and it was clear Ava was the only woman for him. But he lives in the hated Minnesota, so what will they do?