The state of California is being terrorised by a serial killer the media have named The Bloody Heart Killer, who kidnaps teenage boys, and tortures them horribly over a period of weeks before killing them. When one of the boys escapes, and names the killer as local high school teacher Randall Thompson, it seems the killer has been caught. However, defence attorney Robert Kavin, whose son Gabe was a victim of the Bloody Heart Killer, is not convinced, and offers to represent Randall to prove his innocence and stop the police wasting time investigating the wrong suspect so that they catch and imprison the right one.

Gwen Moore is a psychiatrist who specialises in patients presenting with violent ideation. Although dealing with a troubling case of her own with a potentially volatile client, Glen agrees to Robert's request to create a profile of the killer, and the two are soon drawn into an intricate web of deceit, misdirection, and cunning. as they work to find the identity of the killer. But it seems that everyone involved has a secret to keep...and some of those secrets might be deadly.

I really enjoyed this well-paced and very twisty thriller. Definitely on the darker side, this one had me hooked pretty early on. While I felt bits of the ending were a little far fetched, I really enjoyed most of the twists and turns, and although I guessed some of them, I didn't predict that main out-of-left-field one ,so extra props for that. I'd like to see more from these characters as both Gwen and Robert were complex, flawed, and well-developed.

Enjoyable serial-killer thriller with well-plotted twists - would definitely recommend.

A book about secrets, a serial killer, an unlikely suspect behind bars, and troubled main leads? Count me in!

At less than 300 pages, this was a very fast-paced thriller that I breezed through in around 3 to 4 hours. I loved how there was layer after layer of mystery, with so much going on and so many mind-boggling puzzle pieces that you aren't sure how they would come together or if they even fit at all.

I enjoyed how most of the story was from the perspective of a psychiatrist who specialises in clients with violent tendencies. Her POV provided a lot of interesting insight, from the behaviour of serial killers to the dynamics of marriage.

My favourite storyline would be the criminal defense attorney (aka the male lead) stepping up to represent the man accused of being the Bloody Heart Killer — who the lawyer's own son was a victim of. I was actually hoping for some legal/courtroom scenes but this book isn't about that at all. Rather than courtroom action, it delves into the human psyche.

There were some good twists that I didn't see coming at all and which left my jaws dropping. Partly because I was so sucked into the story that my mind wasn't trying to figure out the whodunit like it usually does.

Thank you for a greatly enjoyable read!

The Good Lie
A. R. Torre

Due 07/2021

Scott Harden has just escaped from a serial killer {The Bloody Heart ❤️ Killer ) and ran four miles to his house, his mother Nita couldn’t believe her eyes , 60 days he was gone. She was only waiting for a call to come identify her sons body.

Gwen Moore is a psychiatrist specializing in Violent tendencies and obsession .

Robert Kavin is a successful lawyer with a lot of loss in his life.

The B. H. Killer has killed 6 boys before by strangulation, mutilated , cut up into pieces , placed in trash bags and always they have a heart cut out in their chest . The boys are always popular ,arrogant , and well liked by there friends. Same age. Good looking etc.
Gwen & Robert Kavin are both working on the case together. Robert however has more to loose here, his son was also killed by the B. H. killer. But he is now defending the identified killer, a local high school teacher Pro Bono. He doesn’t believe he’s guilty.

You go back and forth trying to guess who really did. Did the school teacher do it. What’s Scott hiding. It’s a lot btw. How does Robert know it’s not him.
Loved this book A. R. Torre never gets it wrong , romance or thriller - they’re always a page turner 📕📗📚

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

4.5 blockbuster ending stars

This author is now a favorite! This one kept me on the edge of my seat and the ending blew me away! I was not on the right track at all. It’s so fun when an author does that.

For characters in this one we have Gwen – a psychiatrist who treats people with violent tendencies. There’s also attorney Robert, still suffering grief from losing his son. We know that both Gwen and Robert are hiding things from each other and from us.

And we can’t forget about the Bloody Heart Killer – a serial killer who has claimed the lives of six young men. The victims are all good looking, popular teenagers. BHK deposits their mutilated bodies with a heart carved in their chests. The shocking twist is that the seventh victim has escaped, and he’s identified the killer. Maybe even more surprising is that Robert decides to represent the accused. What does Robert know? Can Gwen help him find the killer? She creates a profile of the killer, but something seems off.

This one built the tension until a powerhouse conclusion! All the clues were there, but I did not put them together. Can’t wait to see what this versatile author writes next.

THIS is how you write a thriller!

Unputdownable from the first page to the last.

The Bloody Heart Killer is reliable.
He kidnapped handsome, popular boys, held them prisoner for a month or two, and then strangled them, leaving mutilated naked bodies with a heart carved into their chest.

Six teens murdered.
And, then the seventh escapes., and identifies his captor...a teacher from his high school, Randall Thompson.

So why is Robert Kavin, the still traumatized father of one of the Victims, representing the accused.?
Why is he SO sure that Randall Thompson is innocent?

He hires Psychiatrist Dr. Gwen Moore to profile the killer.

Both are smart and observant and used to reading their clients, who are often depraved predators.

And, although they are working together, it often felt like they were two boxers in a ring, pivoting around each other, throwing out a jab on occasion to see where it might land, because each one felt like the other was holding something back.

They were reading each other too.

A.R. Torre writes with an attention to detail like few others. Her characters feel like “real people” who you could meet on the street the next day. Everything they say and do feels so authentic. It’s definitely one of her strengths.

Fooling me, with her masterful stories of suspense, is another!

5 glowing stars!

Thank You to Thomas & Mercer for my gifted copy through NetGalley!
It was my pleasure to provide a candid review!
Available July 20, 2021

A.R. Torre, can we pleaaaaase have more of Gwen? Please! I am obsessed. Gwen is truly one badass woman. I loved the depth of her character. Her whit, her intelligence, her empathy, and especially her power to understand people with an affinity for violence.

I always finish Torre’s books in a day. Well, maybe not anymore with a 16 month old, but I tried to inhale as much of this book at each sitting as I could. It was everything good about a true crime doc, but in book form. It was gritty, sexy, dark, and mysterious. I mean, come on! This book is about an active serial killer in California. It’s a tale as old as time.

A friend and I had just been saying how rare of an event a serial killer is these days, thanks to DNA, cell phones, social media, etc. And then this book dropped into my hands and sent me on a plunging roller coaster ride.

The writing was stellar. I fell in love with the author way back to The Girl in 6E, and have tried to read every single thing from her since. I truly believe that Torre deserves to be up there with the thriller masters.

I highly recommend this one - but be forewarned, there are very heavy trigger warnings. If you’re interested, send me a message. I can let you know what they are.

I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller. It follows De Gwen Moore who specialises in treating mentally ill patients who have a tendency towards violence, who could end up being murderers. She’s been fascinated by the bloody heart serial killer and finally gets a chance to delve into the case when boy abducted by the killer escapes. The rest of the story follows Gwen as she tries to unlock the secrets behind the killings.
It was fast paced and kept me hooked till the end. I did have a good idea about the killer after the halfway point but it still managed to surprise me towards the end. Definitely recommended for anyone looking for a good thriller

Thank NetGalle6 for the advanced copy.
This is my second book by this author and I really enjoyed it. There were lots of twists and turns and I read it in 2 nights. I would recommend for mystery / suspense lovers!

4.5 stars (rounded up)
I do love it when Alessandra ventures to the dark side with her writing.
Told from a couple of POV's (mostly Gwen's), we unravel each character's secrets and lies until the ugly truth is laid bare.
Gwen is a particularly sympathetic character, a psychiatrist weighed down by her guilt over something one of her patients might have done.
Although the Girl in 6e remains my favourite thriller by this author, The Good Lie is Alessandra at her best. Well worth any time and money you might invest. I have already pre-ordered a paperback for my collection.

I wasn't sure about this book at first because of how it started out. It felt a little too quick and like the characters weren't going to be developed.

It didn't take long to get really invested in the story, and I'm sure I read way too quickly because I wanted to know how it ended so badly.

In the end I would say this book was exciting and had good twists. I still wish the characters had a bit more to them as the dialogue from each character sounded the same as every other character.

This book blew me away! I was unable to but it down. Perfect, dazzlingly, very well written. The details the author described throughout the book was so amazing. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Wow! This was an amazing read! I would try to go into this as blind as possible. What you need to know:
A psychiatrist and defense attorney team up to discover the truth about murders taking place in their area. Read this book. It's amazing!

An attention grabber from the moment you pick it up. The Good Life will keep you on your toes guessing who did what and what comes next.

Amazingly Awesome!!!! I thought this was going to be a fluff piece or very easy mystery. I was wrong, I could not stop reading this book. This book will pull you within the first few pages and it does not let you go. I highly recommend this to someone who feels they are in a reading slump or wants something new to read. I also feel like this would be a great book club book for discussion.

Dr. Gwen Moore is a psychiatrist who specializes in people with violent tendencies. She spends her days listening to her clients live out their wildest fantasies about killing family members, and tries to talk them down and help figure out the root cause of their problems. When a local man is arrested and accused of being the notorious Bloody Heart Killer (BHK), Gwen is hired by his lawyer, Robert Kavin, to create a profile of the killer. To everyone's surprise Robert has offered to represent the accused pro bono, even though BHK killed his son. As Gwen delves deeper into the investigation she realizes that her relationship with Robert may not be all that it seems to be and she might be entering dangerous territory.

I was so excited to read Torre's new book, I loved Every Last Secret and this one did not disappoint. Her books flow so well and she really knows how to engage readers and keep them guessing until the very end. I would definitely recommend this book!

Good read. I prefer more domestic of an outlook, not so much of the legal or detective, but still held my attention well😊

Work got in the way with my reading of this book. For that, I am not pleased. I should have and could have read this book in one sitting had it not been for real life. This book is that well written and well paced. It's definitely a book that you want to devour and savor at the same time.

So, who did it? Who is the serial killer? Who killed the others in the story? This book is one big whodoneit, with some twists and turns you might see coming (and maybe not) but smack you in the gut each time. I was so enraptured with the story and these characters, I wasn't sure I wanted to know the end result. Now, I did have my suspicions early one, and they were mostly correct. But the ride the book takes to get the reader to the final destination is nothing short of thrilling.

As always, Torre delivers a book that's full of flawed characters, a bag full of doubts and suspense, and an overall story that will sit with the reader for days on end. I want more of these stories from her. These are what she should be writing more of.

Dr. Gwen Moore is a psychiatrist who specializes in killers, specifically clients with violent tendencies and obsessions. After one of her clients and his wife are found dead in their home, Gwen struggles with guilt over how she handled his sessions. Gwen gets the opportunity of a lifetime when the latest victim of the serial killer, dubbed the Bloody Heart Killer, narrowly escapes with his life. He identifies a local High School teacher, Randall Thompson, as the man who was holding him captive. Defense attorney Robert Kavin is convinced Thompson is innocent, despite his son being the sixth victim of BH. Robert hires Gwen to create a psych profile of the killer and his victims, exactly what she needs to repair her reputation. Robert and Gwen's relationship grows more complex as she digs into the case files and begins to suspect that Robert may be hiding something.

The Good Lie is a fantastic new thriller by author A.R. Torre. I fell in love with this author's novel Ghostwriter and was very excited to get a chance to review her newest novel. This is an intricate thriller which ties several events and people together to create a novel you won’t want to put down. The characters are perfectly flawed making the reader question their motives and principles as more of the story is revealed. This was a very enjoyable, quick read, with plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing.

A defense attorney decides to represent a man accused of killing 6 teenagers. One of them was that attorney's son... This premise was enough to intrigue me!

The story begins with the latest victim of the Bloody Heart killer coming home after escaping. We also meet Gwen Moore, a psychiatrist who specializes in killers. I have to say I really liked this character and she's the reason why my rating is rounded up instead or down. She often has to face moral dilemmas because of her work and that was very interesting.

I can say I'm totally satisfied with this book, the first I read by A. R. Torre (I know, I'm late to the party!). The writing flowed easily, the story was fast paced and the plot mixed mystery with a bit of romance. Don't expect an unpredictable final twist, but you shouldn't be disappointed either. Let's just say I was thoroughly enthralled from the start and that I 100% recommend to read it as soon as you can!

4.5 rounded up

Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Publication date: July 20, 2021

Whew! What a story! Very good from start to finish, with a plot that flowed nicely and characters I couldn’t trust. The Good Lie by A.R. Torre is a must-read for those who enjoy suspense. You should absolutely read Every Last Secret by this author, available now. That was another very good suspense/thriller too.

Synopsis:

Six teens murdered. A suspect behind bars. A desperate father. In a case this shadowy, the truth is easy to hide.

Psychiatrist Dr. Gwen Moore is an expert on killers. She’s spent a decade treating California’s most depraved predators and unlocking their motives—predators much like the notorious Bloody Heart serial killer, whose latest teenage victim escaped and then identified local high school teacher Randall Thompson as his captor. The case against Thompson as the Bloody Heart Killer is damning—and closed, as far as Gwen and the media are concerned. If not for one new development…

Defense attorney Robert Kavin is a still-traumatized father whose own son fell prey to the BH Killer. Convinced of Thompson’s innocence, he steps in to represent him. Now Robert wants Gwen to interview the accused, create a psych profile of the killer and his victims, and help clear his client’s name.

As Gwen and Robert grow closer and she dives deeper into the investigation, grave questions arise. So does Gwen’s suspicion that Robert is hiding something—and that he might not be the only one with a secret.

Out in July. But Read Every Last Secret right now!