This is the 2nd book in the author's Triple Threat series, and while I did read the first, I would agree they can be read as stand-alones (which is definitely a huge bonus!). Each of the 3 books here features one of 3 sisters which is the thread that ties them all together. I was very happy that this book started right off with little if any backstory to detract from the mystery at hand, but still includes appearances from Cate's sisters here & there which will be a treat for those who read the first novel. The author really does a fabulous job of creating a stand-alone story while including little bits & pieces to reference other books!

There was a bit of a formatting problem with the ebook, since there was no indication of a separation between viewpoints. It wasn't much of a problem to figure out whose "head" we were in, though, because the points of view were each very unique, and the reader quickly becomes familiar with the main characters.

I still found this to be a superb character-driven/ psychological mystery! I loved how Cate (a detective with the St. Louis PD) went undercover to play the role of a boarding school teen to find out what happened to a student and her boyfriend who had both gone missing. Cate's roommate, Kayla, was a wonderful addition to the story who unknowingly helped Cate work through some unresolved issues in her past. Sometimes voices of wisdom come from unexpected sources in our lives, after all!

When Cate runs into her ex-boyfriend, Zeke, a DEA agent also undercover as the school's new Spanish teacher to try to infiltrate a drug smuggling operation, their paths cross and the sparks fly!

I guessed who the villains were right off the bat, so there wasn't as much mystery or suspense as I would have liked. I also wish the author hadn't included a very random character who readers never saw to solve the mystery, and that aspect felt a bit contrived.

However, the real focus of the book was the story of how Cate & Zeke had to face their pasts and learn to work together and be honest with each other to put the missing pieces together.

I cannot say enough how much I appreciated the fact that this was clean read - meaning, no on-page violence, gore, cursing, etc. and how justice was served in the end (without unnecessary violence as well). Best of all, the author address key issues facing our society in such a compassionate way, I would allow my teenage daughter to read this book!

Irene Hannon hooks the reader and takes them for an incredible ride with her suspenseful romance, “Labyrinth of lies.” We follow police detective Cate Reilly when she goes undercover as a student at Ivy Hill Academy to investigate the disappearance of a young woman. Cate is reacquainted with her past love, Zeke Sloan who is now working for the DEA. The two must overlook the hurt of the past to work together and solve the mystery.

The story is impeccably written and the character development is sensational. It was hard to put down and the continuous turns and fast paced action kept the reader guessing. The story is written with incredible attention to detail as the author paints the most realistic picture of St. Louis.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and was not required to post a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Labyrinth of Lies
by Irene Hannon
Pub Date 05 Oct 2021
Revell
Christian


I am reviewing a copy of Labyrinth of Lies through Revell and Netgalley:




After the daughter of a high profile businessman disappears from an exclusive girls' boarding school, police detective Cate Reilly is tapped for an undercover assignment. It isn’t long before she realizes that beneath the veneer of polish and wealth, things are not as they seem at Ivy Hill Academy.




Zeke Sloan has never forgotten Cate, but it isn’t the the best time for their paths to cross again. When their two agendas intertwine and startling connections emerge among the players--the danger escalates in a significant manner.




Who is the mastermind behind the elaborate ruse?




How far will they go to protect their house of cards?




I give Labyrinth of Lies five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

It seems that lately, many of the books I’ve read have been a second chance romance in one form or another. In Labyrinth of Lies, both primary characters find themselves working undercover on separate cases at the same exclusive private girls school. It becomes obvious early in their story that each still have feelings for the other but one is not quite ready to forgive and trust again.

Cate is posing as a student as she attempts to get to the bottom of what happened to a missing student. In order to discover the top leadership of a drug ring, Zeke is acting as a substitute Spanish teacher. They begin working together to solve both mysteries as evidence quickly points to a possible connection between the cases.

Labyrinth of Lies is not as action filled as many suspense novels but is one that gave my mind a workout as I attempted to solve the mystery along with Cate and Zeke. As one suspect after another presented themselves, I remained confused for most of the narrative. You can count me as surprised when the top man was revealed. I would never have suspected him!

All in all, Labyrinth of Lies was expertly written with plenty of red herrings and unexpected twists along the way. A touch of action and danger may be enough to please those who thrive on adrenaline and the lowkey romance will please others.

As expected, I enjoyed this book and look forward to others by this excellent author.

This is book 2 in the A Triple Threat series by Irene Hannon and I thoroughly enjoyed myself while reading it.

In this story we follow 2 main characters: Cate and Zeke - who about 8 years ago were madly in love until one of them walked away, they haven't seen each other since.

Cate is a detective asked to go undercover at an elite all-girls boarding school, called Ivy Hill. A student named Stephanie and her boyfriend have been missing for several months. Did she run away (as the police have said) or is something dangerous lurking on the grounds of the campus? All goes well, until the first day of classes when Cate discovered her ex is substitute teaching at the school and may blow her cover.

Meanwhile, Zeke is an ATF agent tasked with solving a crime regarding a large drug cartel which seems to involve Ivy Hill. He goes undercover as a teacher in order to solve the crime. However, he is shocked to see Cate posing as a student on his first day. This is the only woman he has ever loved, the one who got away - he never thought he'd see her again. How is he going to deal with her and not blow the whole thing?

This book is a fast paced page turner from the beginning. The mystery surrounding the missing student was really interesting; but, for me, the romance storyline was the most engaging part. Will they or won't they reunite? It takes the whole book to find out, and the ending was really satisfying.

My only complaint is the spiritual side of the book. This is marketed a Christian fiction, but there's nothing distinctly Christian about it. There are comments about God and almost passive mentions of prayer (because the characters doing it don't necessarily believe it will help them), but nothing specifically about Jesus. The characters do mention their "moral code" but no real reasons WHY they hold to it. The exception is the character of Kayla, the teen roommate of Cate. She was more distinctly Christian than any of the adults, in my opinion.

Overall, though, I did really enjoy reading this and look forward to checking out more books by this author.

*I received a free advanced e-copy of this book from the publisher, through Net Galley, in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to both of them for the opportunity to read this book!"

Cate Reilly is relieved to be done with undercover work. However, she is the only county detective who can pass as a seventeen year old student at a prestigious St. Louis girls’ boarding school to investigate the disappearance of a prominent businessman’s daughter. Cate can handle one last undercover assignment, befriending her new roommate to find answers about the missing girl, and she can handle the cold walks through the woods in search of evidence of foul play, but she has to work hard to handle the fact that the man who broke her heart is teaching her Spanish class.

Zeke Sloan has seen and survived it all during his time undercover with the Mexican drug cartel. He should be more safe on assignment as a Spanish teacher at Ivy Hill Academy, investigating a drug trafficking ring that is using the school for clandestine operations. Zeke never thought the biggest danger on this assignment would be to his heart, until Cate walks into his Spanish class and back into his life. As they work together to determine how their investigations may be linked, they also find themselves working together to figure out what went wrong in their relationship and if they can restore trust and repair wounds they thought would never heal.

The Triple Threat series from Irene Hannon gets an intense second installment with Labyrinth of Lies. She grabbed my attention with book one, Point of Danger, when Hannon introduced us to a family of sisters who feel like our own. Following the Reilly sisters, Triple Threat delivers intense action and swoon-worthy romance.

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

Labyrinth of Lies is about the oldest Reilly sister, Cate. Even though it is the second in the series it can be read as a stand-alone novel. The first book in the series, Point of Danger, featured Cate's sister, Eve.

I remembered from the first book that Cate had no desire to do another undercover gig, yet here we are in the second book, with her in an undercover gig. There was a big inconsistency right at the beginning, that kind of soured things for me. At the end of Point of Danger, Eve and Brent are married. At the beginning of this book, they have been engaged for four days, really? Also, the beginning was difficult to read because there was not a clear break from one scene to the next, which interrupted the flow of reading. This happened sporadically throughout the rest of the book (ebook).

Overall, the story was a good mystery, a decent storyline, but not quite as gripping as I have come to expect from Hannon's writing. The mystery was easier to figure out and the depth of emotion for the main characters was off. There was more romance than suspense and the faith element was lacking as well.

Thank you to Revell and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book. I was not required to provide a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Police detective Cate Reilly goes undercover at an elite girls' school when the daughter of a high profile businessman goes missing. She teams up with DEA agent and former flame Zeke Sloan to unravel the twisted goings on, beneath the veneer of wealth and privilege.

A fast paced suspense, with characters that you can cheer for to the end. Cate is fast thinking and intelligent, she isn't exactly thrilled to be working with Zeke, but the lives of the girls at the school are on the line. There is a lot going on, as Cate and Zeke work to find answers while keeping their covers. I liked how they reconnected, making strides towards mending their relationship, finding common ground in their faith.

While this is the second book in the series, it does stand on its own, though I loved seeing familiar characters form the previous book. A riveting plot and great character interaction make this book hard to put down. Can't wait to read Grace's story!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Labyrinth of lies by Irene Hannon
Irene Shannon has written outstanding book's but I have to say that this is my all-time favorite. "Labyrinth of Lies" is such a page-turner and has characters that pull you into the storyline.

The story starts with Cate Reilly a detective whom goes undercover at a all girls school, because one of the girls disappeared. Cate is a very strong character and very likeable. While she is at Ivy Hill Academy, Cate runs into none other than a man from her past. Zake Sloan whom is also undercover. He's working on stopping a drug cartel that maybe working out of the academy. Zake is likable also!

I'm giving this story a 5 out of 5 star's

I received this complimentary copy from Revell for a honest review. All opinions and thoughts are mine.

Labyrinth of Lies is the second book in the Triple Threat series by Irene Hannon, but it can be read as a stand-alone novel. This series follows the O'Reilly sisters with each book telling the story of each sister. Police detective Cate O'Reilly is tired of being undercover but is forced to go undercover once again to help solve the disappearance of a teenage girl at a private girls boarding school. Posing as a teenage girl, she is surprised when the new Spanish teacher is her ex-boyfriend, Zeke Sloan, who is also an ATF agent. Why is Zeke at the school? Cate and Zeke quickly discover that a drug-smuggling ring is using the school as a drop zone. Hannon has crafted a blend of suspense, romance, and a little bit of humor in this next installment of the Triple Threat series.

This is another great thriller from Irene Hannon. The twists and turns keep you reading long into the night. The characters are relatable and believable. The story ends with all the major players being well defined in their part of the story. Justice does prevail.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC for an honest review.

Labyrinth of Lies by Irene Hannon – Filled with Suspense and Mystery

Labyrinth of Lies by Irene Hannon is the second book in the Triple Threat series. In this newest book, readers are introduced to Cate Reilly, sister to Eve Reilly featured in the first book of the series Point of Danger.

Cate is a detective in St. Louis County, and she’s the right person for an undercover assignment. Teenagers Stephanie Laurent and Alex Johnson have been missing for two months. New evidence indicates they are not runaways but victims of foul play. Cate agrees to go undercover at Ivy Hill Academy to try and find out what happened to the missing teens. It’s been eight years since she’d last seen Zeke Sloan, the man she loved who walked out on her for his career as a DEA agent. As it turns out, Zeke is also working undercover at the school as a Spanish teacher. Cate’s undercover assignment just got a lot more complicated.

Irene did a great job in building the suspense and mystery. It was at times unnerving, especially for the characters whose lives were being impacted by the subterfuge around them. I really liked the characters, especially Kayla, Edwardo Garcia, and his wife Margarita. As the story unfolds, readers learn how characters got caught up in the evils of drug trafficking. Because some of the characters go by anonymous names, like Razor and Wolf, you don’t know who the bad guys are. It was interesting reading about how people justify getting involved in evil. I liked the friendship that developed between Cate and Kayla. I didn’t know how Edwardo would be able to get out of the impossible situation he was in. I also liked how Cate and Zeke worked through their relationship.

I wish the character’s Christian faith had been developed in this storyline. I think the book would have been richer with that element. I wasn’t too keen on the feminist aspect of Cate and her sisters and the focus on the physical attraction between Cate and Zeke in a Christian fiction book.

If you like mystery and suspense, give Labyrinth of Lies by Irene Hannon a read. I liked this second book better than the first one in the series because of some of the characters.

I would like to thank Revell Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of Labyrinth of Lies by Irene Hannon. I was under no obligation to give a favorable review.

Labyrinth of Lies by Irene Hannon

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
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Story Notes

Another brilliant suspense/crime drama from Irene Hannon that also has a love story in need of redemption.

Mystery/suspense stories are my ultimate love in literature. There is something so satisfying about reading a really deep story that builds anxiety and then brings everything around to the perfect conclusion. Irene Hannon is exceptional at this type of writing and this book is a great example. The dual cases involving several federal investigative services was done in the best way, with plenty of give and take/conversations happening that ensured all the "bad guys" were caught in the end. The chemistry between Zeke and Cate was on fire but never inappropriate. Irene kept the spice and the tension without making it uncomfortable for anyone to read. And the way they work together as colleagues is just as good. I also loved the way that Irene kept the revelations of everyone slow and drawn out. I had some suspicions but was still somewhat surprised at the end - which means I really liked the book even more. I highly recommend this story for those who like clean mystery/suspense fiction. This book and the first one in the series is definitely worth the time to read. I'm really excited to see where she will go with the last story - I'm truly looking forward to reading it!
I received this temporary complimentary E-Book from Revell via NetGalley. I am not required by anyone to write a positive review but am happy to do so. I will receive no fiscal compensation for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

Talk about a labyrinth of lies… great name for this 2nd book in the Triple Threat Series. So much deception and getting to the truth makes this a book one you won’t want to put down much. I really enjoyed the banter between Cate and Zeke. I was caught up in the multiple storylines. I look forward to the next book!

I’m not going to lie, book one in this series was a major miss for me and made me a bit wary of this one. But since I’ve long been a fan of the author I wanted to still give it a chance.
It was better than the first but still missed the mark for me. The premise of a 33 year old woman being able to pass as a high schooler for an indefinite amount of time without any one even questioning it for a second was not believable in the slightest. And the fact that she was posing as a student while the love interest, Zeke, was undercover as a teacher just felt icky despite the fact that they had a previous relationship and knew who the other was immediately. It also made it hard for there to be any actual romance because it would have been wrong to every one watching who weren’t aware of their true identities and ages. The only time they really got to spend together one on one were the twice weekly “tutoring” sessions he arranged which somehow never raised anyone’s suspicions even though he didn’t offer tutoring to any other students. Their past history did make the romance not completely unbelievable even if we didn’t get to see a lot of on page interactions.
There were a lot of characters and POVs which gave us a lot of the story throughout so there wasn’t a lot of keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat mystery or suspense but the crime story was still interesting and kept me reading to see how it was resolved.
I could have done without the epilogue proposal that seems to always be at the end of suspense books and is a major pet peeve of mine but I know other people like that so it is what it is.
All in all while this wasn’t a favorite of mine it was still readable and kept my interest throughout.

Labyrinth of Lies by Irene Hannon is book two in A Triple Threat Novel series. While this is part of a series that focuses on three sisters, this is a great stand alone story. The story is well written so it is easy to imagine what is happening. It is fast-paced and full of mystery and suspense that is kept me reading to see what was going to happen.

I enjoyed the parts of the book where Cate was undercover as a girl almost half her age and was trying to dress and act the part. The closeness she has with her sisters is heartwarming and the lighthearted teasing is enjoyable as well. I also enjoyed the parts of Zeke trying to do what he felt was needed to make up for his past. This is a good clean read Christian Romantic Suspense story.

I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this book, this is my honest review.

What a fantastic book by Irene Hannon! It keeps you on your toes wondering who all the players are and what part they play. Also following the main character’s personal lives, you wonder and keep hoping for Cate to forgive Zeke. If I have a negative about this book it is that at the beginning, the amount of point of view characters was a little overwhelming. There were times where I forgot who the character was even though we had already been introduced to them simply because there were a lot of players.

The next instalment of the Reilly sisters. This one follows Cate, the detective as she goes undercover again, this time as a student at a boarding school. Little does she know that her long lost ex is also undercover, as a DEA agent posing as a teacher at the same school. Drama and tension ensues. A fast paced read.

On the pages of Labyrinth of Lies by Irene Hannon, detective Cate Reilly is sent to an exclusive girls boarding school to discover the whereabouts of a wealthy man’s daughter. As she begins her undercover work, Cate unexpectedly encounters Zeke Sloan, a man from her past. She is not sure how to react to this complication!

Both Cate and Zeke have specific assignments they hope to complete; however, they are unsure that they have gotten over their feelings for each other. Watch as Cate and Zeke meet some very interesting characters as they investigate their individual cases!

You will be surprised when their cases begin to blend together. By the final pages of this tale, hold tight as Cate and her roommate attempt to rescue themselves from a very deadly situation!

Labyrinth of Lies is a modern-day suspense novel, and was written by Irene Hannon. It is book two in the Triple Threat series, but it is not necessary to have read book one in order to enjoy this one.

Summary: Detective Cate Reilly has no desire to be undercover ever again. In fact, she’s made that very clear.

But when a case comes along that only she can pull off, she reluctantly accepts the assignment.

The only problem? When she arrives, she finds that her former boyfriend Zeke Sloan is undercover on a different assignment at the same location.

Can the two manage to co-exist without breaking their covers? And can they work together to stop a dangerous group of criminals before it’s too late?

My Thoughts: This book is very good. It has a unique plot that I enjoyed, and some really great suspense-with a love story thrown in to the mix.

The book is very well-written, there are plenty of twists and turns, great characters, and I enjoyed it through to the very end.

This was a fun read, and I would definitely recommend it!

I would like to thank Revell for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my review. Thank you!