Gwen is a special kind of psychiatrist, one who deals with patients with extreme cases of self harm, loathing and fixations. When one of her patients ends up dead in a murder-suicide, she feels partly responsible, having not taken his multiple phone calls the night before. But, she chalks it up to a hazard of the job.

Outside of Gwen’s bubble, there is a serial killer on the loose, one that has been stalking and killing teenagers around the area for some time. But one, Scott, recently broke free - and found his way home in time to tell police who his captor was.

Robert Kevin is a defense attorney. He’s also the father of one of the six dead teens. He hires Gwen to research the case on the serial killer and prove that Scott isn’t telling the truth.

<i>The Good Lie</i> was interesting, with a plot that flowed effortlessly. The very ending was a bit off in my opinion, but the primary plot cultivation was a bit of a surprise. 3.5 ⭐️

I was so excited to receive an ARC of A. R. Torre’s new thriller as she’s quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. This was unputdownable from the very first page.

A defense attorney represents an accused serial killer who has murdered 6 teenage boys, one of which is the attorney’s son. What a storyline! With many twists and turns and impeccable writing, I thought I might have figured it out but was left being utterly surprised. Torre’s character development and wonderfully fast paced story telling definitely makes this one of the top thrillers I will read this year.

‘He smirked. “Killers,” he said. “You treat killers. Current, future, and past. You’ll have to forgive me Doc. I call it like I see it.”

I was excited to receive a copy of this book from Netgalley and Thomas and Merced. Thank you for trusting me to review this book for my honest opinion.

To be honest, I read one of Torre’s books Every Last Secret before and I wasn’t particularly impressed. It wasn’t her writing but just the Beverly Hills Housewives trope. Well, I am much more entertained by her most recent title The Good Lie.

I enjoyed indulging in this book featuring the hard-working, interesting Dr. Gwen Moore. Gwen is a LA shrink who specialises in patients that have murderous, violent tendencies. Her inner monologue analyses her most interesting patients. It is not until one patient dies in a murder-suicide and things spiral from there. ENTER pained Attorney Robert Kavin who seeking justice for his son’s murder at the hands of the infamous Bloody Heart Killer (BHK). He is becoming more focused due to the latest victim escaping from the clutches of the serial killer.

This novel takes you through a minefield emotional of twists and turns. You feel empathically for the victims of the BHK, their families, and those who are working towards solving the gruesome crimes. As a fanatic of this genre, I rarely get moved by crime fiction in this way.

I finished this book on a flight to Brisbane, Queensland. Eagerly finished the book during my travels but found that pacing to be jarring in the middle of the book. The ending was slightly predictable, however, I was not disgruntled by this. Not all final climaxes have to be full of shocking, twists and turns. I just enjoyed the wonderful characters.

Well done, A R Torre. I will now be looking to delve into your backlist.

Loved this! So good, so exciting, so gripping and great story. Can't wait to read more by this author - absolutely brilliant.

I can always count on this author for a fabulous read and this one is no exception. The characters are fully developed, the setting was perfect and the mystery was not to be figured out till the the very last pages. Exactly my kind of read!

I highly recommend this one to lovers of suspense, the big twist and a good time spent in the pages of a book. This is a good one

Loved it! The story starts with Dr Moore treating disturbed minds.
There are 6 teenagers dead and the latest victim, Randall is coming back home after weeks of his captivity. The father of one of the victim is attorney Robert Kavin who is defending the killer. The big question is why? But, dr Moore is going to find out the sick true.
I must say, at one point, I was having something else in mind, another twist, but I am glad it was something else. Great thriller.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author of this book.

AR Torre always brings it - the scandal, the suspense, the thrills and the twists. I was so excited to read her latest and, true to form, this book was a page-turner. I loved the central character Gwen, a psychiatrist who specializes in clients with killer impulses. Literally. In his book, she is called upon to creat a profile for the Bloody Heart Killer, a serial killer who has been torturing and killing young boys and taking their pinky fingers as trophies. Creepy, weird, and fascinating, and as always Torre creates a tough heroine, a very creative story, a romance, and murder — all the ingredients for an unputdownable thriller.

I loved the parts about Gwen as a forensic psychiatrist. Her work as a profiler was fascinating, well-researched and compelling! Other aspects of the book worked less well for me. For example, I’m a lawyer, and I had a tough time swallowing the idea that ANY judge would let the handsome defense attorney, Robert, represent the client he chose to defend. It was hard for me to get past this massive conflict of interest, which was hard to overlook. I think it will be noticeable to non-lawyer readers too. A few other things in the book strained credulity too, but it’s hard to be mad when Torre just writes them so damn wall. Ultimately I loved Gwen and her work, and the twists and turns were just so good, as they always are from this author.

So for me, fun and well-written and unputdownable, but with a few believability issues. Probably if you’re not a lawyer, the lack of realism with the criminal defense lawyer here won’t bother you as much as it did me, because it definitely is creative and brings drama. But even with that major issue for me, this was undeniably a compelling, fun and shocking twisty book that was well worth the read..

I love the way Torre writes and can’t wait to see what she does next!

Thanks to Thomas and Mercer, NetGalley and the author for the ARC. 3.5 stars rounded up for the great twists and fun read.

Thank you Thomas & Mercer, Netgalley, and A R Torre for this book in exchange for an honest review. I thought this was a really good book, it kept me at the edge of my seat. A must read for 2021. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating from me!

Dr. Gwen is a psychiatrist. She sees persons who can become violent and may kill people. Her job is to keep them in check. If she suspects anyone may commit a crime to hurt or murder someone she is supposed to break doctor patient confidentiality and report it to the police.
She's good at her job, she feels confident she is qualified for the job she does.
Until crap hits the fan! Six young men have been kidnapped and murdered and tortured.
I have been given this book to read and review by the publisher. It was a great book. I immensely enjoyed reading it. I was somewhat surprised at the ending.

If I had to use just one word to describe A.R. Torre that would be versatile. So far I've only read three of her books, and all three have been completely different but equally engaging.

The Bloody Heart Killer has been terrorizing the city of L.A. for months, having already killed six young men. Dr. Gwen Moore is a renowned psychiatrist who specializes in treating people with violent tendencies. Robert Kavin is an attorney grieving the loss of his only child. When the seventh victim of the BH Killer manages to escape Gwen and Robert's paths come together in an attempt to discover the killer's identity.

I love when a thriller makes me think and keep developing theories, and The good lie certainly did! By 80% I was still thinking of new ones but I could never fit all the pieces. Once all is revealed you realize that the whole plot worked like a well oiled machine with every piece of the puzzle in place. The shocking ending I never saw coming was another point in its favor.

It is clear from the start that several characters are hiding secrets, the question is why would they do that. I loved Gwen and Robert's relationship and how you can't never be sure who's playing who, as both of them are holding back something from each other.

The short chapters and alternating POVs made of this an absolute page turner. Although a key aspect of the premise was a bit far fetched (I doubt that would even be possible irl), this is fiction, and if that's what it takes to have an absolutely riveting story I'll gladly turn a blind eye.

I'm already anxious to see what kind of story A.R. Torre comes up with next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a change for A. Torre! This book had me flipping the pages like crazy. There were so many players and possible suspects involved that it just kept me guessing.

Gwen's profession as a psychologist treating people with tendencies for violence was intriguing in itself. Believe me, some of the story was definitely heartbreaking with the murder of six children.

But when the 7th missing child shows up suddenly saying he was released....hmmmm, something was not adding up.

Add in a defense attorney, Robert Kavin, whose son was one of the murdered children, and things got even more interesting!

Really, really great book and highly recommend to all!

I was excited to see a new one out from A. R. Torre and this did not disappoint! I wasn't sure how this was all going to come together at first but then I saw where it was headed and I enjoyed it. In the end it was nothing mind blowing but still a good read!

A five star read! I received this advanced readers copy through NetGalley, requesting it because I have a sick love for serial killers. (Don't come at me.)

This book follows a few different perspectives, but we'll start with Dr. Gwen Moore, as you get her perspective the most. Gwen is psychiatrist in LA who deals with clients with violent tendencies, and has just discovered one of her patients has died. While she's struggling with herself on if she did the wrong thing by not going to the police about her late clients intentions, she finds herself bumping into defense attorney Robert Kavin.

Kavin, who is the father of the sixth victim of the Bloody Heart killer, is also representing Randall Thompson, the alleged BH killer. As a few days earlier, BH's seventh victim had escaped and pointed blame on Thompson, a local high school teacher.

With Thompson in custody, Kavin and Dr. Moore team up to prove Thompson's innocence, while both holding back truths from the other.

The first chapter of this book had me hooked, and every chapter after that. The pacing of the book was perfect, the characters were perfectly flawed and sometimes a bit untrustworthy, but in a good way. I love how the author's main perspectives were Dr. Moore and Kavin, but then when you would get a glimpse into the sevenths victims life through the eyes of his mother. Granted, I would have LOVED to see through the eyes of the actual BH killer, but I get that isn't for everyone. Upon finishing this book around midnight, I found myself dreaming about the plot and waking up still thinking of the characters and what happened before we were introduced into the story. For this, I would say that this was a damn good book and would recommend it to everyone who has a love for thrillers! (but more specifically, fans of Criminal Minds!)

As a parent, this book also had me asking myself if I would have done the same. (my answer is yes, btw)

4.5 stars
I was so happy to receive an ARC from this book since I LOVED the Ghostwriter!!!

We meet Gwen Moore, a psychiatrist and Robert Kavin, a defense attorney who team up to identify a serial killer. In this story is nothing as it seems and it is packed with secrets that keep you reading and reading.
I definitely didn’t see that ending!! So this is a very very satisfying thriller.

Thank you # Thomas & Mercer #NetGalley for an ARC

5 stars for this new psychological thriller by Alessandra Torre.

Six teenagers have been murdered. They have been sexually assaulted and their sexual organs have been removed and discarded like trash. So it's shocking when the seventh victim returns to his home, hurt but alive, after weeks of his absence. He was able to escape and is pointing the finger at his high school teacher, Randall Thompson!

Dr. Gwen Moore is a psychiatrist. She treats the worse kind of patient. She treats the ones who have urges to harm others. Gwen tries to guide them into a place where they can self-control these fantasies. However, a recent client and his wife are dead and now the police want to talk to her about it. At the same time, Robert Kavin, a defense attorney, wants her to come up with a profile for the Bloody Heart Killer and Randall. There is one caveat, Robert is the father of the sixth victim and he believes the man is innocent.

But how can he be sure?

I have to tell you as soon as I opened the first page I was pulled into the story. There is no way you can put this book down. I absolutely love everything about it. The dark setting, the intrigue, the twist, Gwen, her job, her psych friend, her pet.

Everything about it was perfect!

Cliffhanger: No

5/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Thomas & Mercer via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

My first A. R. Torre book showed such potential that when I was approved for The Good Lie, it went straight to the top of my list. This was a 3.5 for me, rounded up to that 4th start simply for how quickly I kept turning the pages, despite having figured out the big reveal.

This is a book about imperfect people - how deeply imperfect varying between egotistical and arrogant to - well, to serial killer.

When Dr. Gwen Moore - a genius, if she does say so herself - is given the opportunity to study the files of the Bloody Heart Killer, she cannot turn down the opportunity. Bonus for Gwen, Robert Kavin, the attorney defending the man currently accused is strikingly good-looking. Complicating things further - Robert is the father of one of the teenage boy victims. Oh, and he and Gwen slept together before embarking on their professional partnership.

Once Gwen starts her research, she realizes she was both extremely far and terrifyingly close to the truth. What starts out as concern for her career quickly becomes a fight for her life as the evidence comes to light.

This book packs an emotional punch, proving sometimes it is the journey, not the destination, that matters to the reader.

Thank you Netgalley for this preview!

I received this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion and review. This book was EXCELLENT. There were so many twists and turns and I never expected the ending. I loved how everything tied together in the end. I every new piece of information was a new shock, and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. 5 STARS

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher Thomas & Mercer for this ARC.
I truly enjoyed reading this book since I like a good mystery and clever writing. The story's engrossing, with bona fide characters, detailed, psychological characterisation of human mind, and it hooks you from the start. Narrated from different POVs, only Gwen's written in 1st person. I like how the author introduces various characters with diverse, elaborate mental problems, hence it makes you want to play detective and analyze them in order to recognize the culprit, or in this case - the BH killer. I admit I suspected Robert playing a bigger role in this scenario - no brainer - and my instincts did not fail me. The complex relationship between Gwen and Robert was a real treat for the reader - the hot&cold, mixed signals, you never know what to expect next. The ending part was a bittersweet one, but seeing how Robert turned over a new leaf and closed some chapters in his life (despite those mentioned skeletons in his closet) was satisfactory.
As for the technical part of this uncorrected proof, I've noticed the author mentioning a character named 'Bev' twice (Gwen's narration), and I'm not sure if she had decided to change 'Bev' into 'Meredith' at some point, since it only comes up with regard to Meredith's character, or is this somehow deliberate.
Anyhow, I can recommend this read to all mystery lovers. 4 strong stars from me!

This was such a fast paced, unpudownable thriller! I loved the characters, how the story unfolded, I just loved everything about it. This is how you write a thriller!! I’m so excited for this to be released!

I love me a good suspense book and this delivered. Engaging characters, smart dialogue, and a plot that kept me up past my bedtime. I liked that it has morally ambiguous situations that will leave you thinking 🤔