This book is so good! It's an excellent mystery/thriller with fascinating characters and interesting worldbuilding. What would happen if certain humans began to manifest a mutation that made them empaths? This book explores that question, with clever excerpts at the beginning of each chapter that reveal the deep impact empaths have on politics, culture, science, and more. Even though I was familiar with the concept of empaths from other media, I hadn't thought too deeply about it and was enthralled (lol) by the world of Reece, the Dead Man, empaths, scientists, government agencies, and sinister politicians. Reece is one of my new favorite characters! He's sarcastic, hilarious, and can not keep his mouth shut. He's also incredibly lonely and hiding some painful memories. The Dead Man is everything you could want from a powerful, mysterious, and surprisingly suave secret agent. Together they make a great team and I thoroughly enjoyed their bickering, banter, and hectic search for truth through the streets of Seattle. Exciting, fast paced, and filled with emotion, Liar City is a must read!

Great book! I wasn’t sure where it was going at first but I really enjoyed it and can’t wait for the next one!

Allie Therin has quickly become one of my very favorite authors. This book, set in a parallel of modern Seattle is definitely no exception. It is the start of what promises to be a truly wonderful and unique series. Reece is an empath - in every sense of the word. Empath's have emerged in this universe and are very much mistrusted by the rest of the world. Reece has recently developed some scary new powers. When a serial killer emerges in Seattle it becomes clear something much bigger is in play. When Evan Grayson, a hunter of empath's known as "the Dead Man" shows up things get even more complicated.

To say I loved Evan and Reece is perhaps the understatement of the year. They are both such wonderful characters. Evan -despite suggesting he has no emotions - clearly does. And Reece - oh my god - he is just such a refreshingly wonderful sweet man. I also loved pretty much every single side character in the book as well.

I cannot wait to read more about them. This book has everything - mystery, romance, and a good amount of action as well. The romance is just beginning here - but it is clear that much more is on the horizon for Reece and Evan.

Overall - I can't recommend this (and really anything Allie Therrin has written) highly enough.

I received this as an ARC via NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

As soon as I saw that this book involved empaths, I knew I wanted to read it. The story takes place in the city and it is these empathy helping the police force. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I liked the book overall. I just wish it had more angst. Great book with lots of action at the end.

I could not put this book down!

In an alternate Seattle "Empaths" are rare, but they can read everything about you with a touch. Heavily regulated by the government and feared and despised by much of society, Empaths are required to wear special gloves.

When Empath Reece gets a call asking him to go to a horrible crime scene he responds only because his sister is there as an officer investigating the crime and she may need help. What unfolds is a fantastic blend of fantasy, science fiction and mystery, with plenty of snark and humor. I loved the characters and cant' wait for the next in the series.

What a magnificent and original tale this was! I've only read Therin's work once before (Spellbound) and quite enjoyed it, but even that enjoyment didn't prepare me for the absolute magic that was Liar City. This is a fantastic story - and I mean that in all senses of the word. The writing is excellent. The pacing is perfect. The suspense and layers of deception are masterfully crafted. But as good as all those things are, they pale next to the absolute perfection that is the characterizations.

Wow. Just, wow.

Therin has created a set of people that are so real they jump off the pages. They are damaged yet powerful, fearful yet still fighting everything thrown at them (and there's a LOT thrown at them). The concept of the empath that she lays out is multi-faceted and emotionally complex in a way that resonates. There is humor (mostly dark but with occasional bursts of light), genuine emotion, suspense, deception, action - everything you need for a marvelous series kick-off.

I cannot wait for the next installment and will be first in line to download/read it!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, this is my first book by Allie Therin! Liar City is a murder mystery set in Seattle in a world with people called empaths. Empaths have the ability to read other peoples’ minds via touch but they also abhor violence and will do anything to avoid hurting someone else. Our main character Reece is an empath who has been asked to assist on a murder investigation alongside his sister, Jamey who works for SPD. As part of the investigation Reece is forced to work alongside The Dead Man, Evan Grayson, an infamous empath hunter.

This book has some pacing issues and was slow to get going, Reece is also surprisingly rude and abrasive given that I assumed an empath would also be sensitive to peoples’ emotions. He can also be quite dense, Grayson will make a veiled but very obvious threat and Reece complains that he speaks in riddles and makes no sense. I struggled to stay engaged in the first half of the book but around the 60% mark the pacing picked up and the book clicked with me, at that point I read nonstop until I had finished. Reece and Grayson both had enough satisfying character development to create an interesting dynamic between the two of them and I’ll definitely be reading future installments to see where that goes. For reference, this book has no romance in it but is setting the stage for a slow burn enemies to lovers plot.

Million stars. This is my first book by this author and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more.

Reece is an empath, he can feel emotions and is a pacifist to the extreme. But he is also a sarcastic prickly guy that doesn’t know how to shut up. And I adored him.

We stay most of the book in his POV and it’s a riot. The plot had me at the edge of my seat all the way through. I wouldn’t call this a romance but it definitely has the potential for it in the next books. And I for one can’t wait to see where his author takes Reece and Evan.

Extremely recommended

An absolute knockout. Once I started I had to force myself to quit reading at 3:30 in the morning, before I got too tired to absorb the details.

The twisty mystery/suspense plot is built on a premise I've seen versions of before but never worked out with such thoroughness and complexity. A mutation has turned some people into empaths, who if they touch other people can feel their emotions and physical pain; even the prospect of danger to other people appalls them. The twist here is that non-empaths are, by and large, terrified of empaths, ascribing to empaths the power to control others' emotions and behavior. Empaths are shunned socially and are legally obliged to wear gloves that block their empathy. Legislation even threatens to strip them of basic civil rights.

The whodunit question about the murders discovered at the opening is answered quickly, but the more terrifying mysteries under the surface drive the plot. The emotional arc is equally satisfying and complicated, too. Is Evan Grayson, the holy-cats-he's-not-just-an-urban-legend known as the Dead Man, an enemy of empaths or their ally or both or neither? Why has our POV character, the empath Reece Davies, become able to sense when people are lying, and why did that ability surface after a traumatic event? The complicated relationship between the two shifts between enmity and reluctant allyship, trust and betrayal, over and over; although the mystery is resolved at the end, the emotions are very much not. Neither are questions about how exactly Evan Grayson became the Dead Man, about where Reece's abilities will lead him, about how Grayson will respond, and when (please not if! WHEN) the slowly growing connection between them will be fulfilled.

Reece's characterization was a special pleasure. His empathy shapes him in surprising ways, many of which are moving and/or sad and/or noble, some of which are straight-up funny (the running bits about his driving wound up someplace I did not in the least expect).

I suppose I could pick a few nits. One of the secondary villains is no more than a caricature. Grayson's above-the-law status and his logistical reach could maybe have used more elucidation. Do I care? Nah. I'm just panting for the next in the series and hoping that Allie Therin doesn't make me wait too long.

Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Adores for the ARC!

I genuinely love this book. I haven't even completed it and I can say that. The way we see all the different perspectives creates a clear picture of the story and also causes you to create that relationship with the characters. I personally found a parallel with the treatment of the empaths and the politics of it all with the treatment of LGBT+ people in the USA in particular. I found it rather intriguing to be able to find the little coincidences between the two as I am reading. I am finding the mystery of the murder pulling me back in so I can find out who did it.

Overall I love it thus far, I can't wait to actually get to the end.
Definitely going to buy it upon release and I have already recommended it to people I know and others in my workplace.

The good
+ Reece's sarcasm
+ Reece's excessive need to keep people on the right track, and compliment them for good decisions. Professional driver is an asshole to Reece? Compliment him for drinking water instead of alcohol. Security officer gets laid off for trying to remove Reece from a building? Argue for him to be reinstated, because he was just doing his job
+ Reece being such an angry, angry cinnamon roll
+ Reece's obsession with responsible driving
+ Jamey. She's the best sister ever
+ Liam. Jamey got damn lucky with that one
+ True enemies to lovers. I mean, I think multiple arrests and a few death threats count as enemies, right? Not that Reece would dare blame Grayson for any of that...
+ Reece's certainty that somewhere under the blank face, Grayson has emotions
+ Grayson protecting Reece
+ The slowburn. With characters like these, anything close to a romantic connection couldn't grow within one book. And it doesn't
+ That texting conversation in the end was the pinnacle of romance and no one can convince me otherwise

The neutral
o I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. My review remains honest and unbiased
o This book is written in third person, with multiple POVs. These include some chapters from the bad guys and minor side characters
o I have so many unanswered questions! Now I have to read the next book and hope all of them get answered

The bad
- I only got two hours of sleep because I read this book instead of sleeping
- Everyone was all "Oooh The Dead Guy is just a myth" and stuff, and nobody really knew what he looked like. But in the book suddenly everyone knew who he was and what he looked like, and he inspired a lot more fear than an urban legend should. Confusing

Quotes
x "Is all of Stone Solutions' security watching me have a panic attack?" "There are no cameras in here and it's soundproofed." "Oh, good. I was wondering where we were going to have angry hate-sex." "What kind of man do you take me for? We only just met. I save hate-sex for second dates."


Right. So. This book was great. You should read it.



This is a copy of my original Goodreads review (found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5175501179). Any spoilers have been removed.

A huge a** thank you to Allie Therin, Carina Adores and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Liar City comes out February 28, 2023.

Liar City is the first of a Sci Fi, fantasy, and mystery trilogy, based in world where empaths or individuals have the ability to read people's emotions through touch, are feared and regulated. Reece is one of these individuals, recently he has been a part-time police consultant at the police department his sister, Jamey, works at. One very early morning Reece gets a call from, The Dead Man (real name Evan), a mysterious individual who handles cases where empaths are involved. During this phone call The Dead Man tells Reece that his sister is in need of his help on a homicide case. When at the scene of the crime Reece instead finds out his sister did not need him and that all empaths were banned from the case. Reece's ability to very poorly follow directions causes Evan to come to Seattle, and what ensues after is a race to figure out who and why there is a murder spree going on in.

There are not enough words to say how much I absolutely loved this book. The writing is fast paced and intriguing, from the moment I started the book to the moment I finished and even to this moment as I am writing this review, I did not want this book to end. I am equal parts sad and excited that there will be more installments in this story and world, sad because I don't have the last two books and excited to immerse myself in Allie Therins Seattle. Reece was funny, smart and sassy: he was not what I expected him to be in the best possible way. Evan was mysterious and information was revealed piece by piece that makes me excited to see how his character develops. The side characters brought their own humor and personality's that made the book what it was. I cannot wait to see where this story goes and how everything develops. If you are looking for a fast paced, funny and mysterious novel Liar City is for you.

As soon as I saw that this book involved empaths, I knew I wanted to read it. It's an interesting take on how empaths are helping the police solve murders with their abilities. At the same time, they are also being discriminated against and have to follow certain regulations in order to be able to live among everyone else. I love the creepiness and also the murder mystery aspect at the same time. Great read, lots of action and a great ending!

Years back, I went through a massive phase of reading as much urban fantasy as I could get my hands on, in a pretty indiscriminate way - that kind of fizzled out over time and unfortunately <I>Liar City</i> is not going to be the book to kickstart that all over again. It's not a bad book but I just found myself not giving a crap about what happens to the characters, not to mention that the putative love interest for our main character (who I feel a bit 'meh' about, to be perfectly honest) comes across as a bit of an arsehole.

The basic premise of the book is that it's set in modern day Seattle, but that some people have psychic powers - our protagonist, Reece, is an empath which means he reacts strongly to any extreme emotion and absolutely definitely shouldn't be getting dragged into murder cases even though he also works as a police consultant(?). There's also a Shadowy Government Agency, in the form of Evan. Things happen, Evan menaces around being menacing to people. It's all pretty much what you'd expect.

A bit disappointing after her previous book, which I quite enjoyed, though I also had some reservations about an element of that one as well.

I am a huge fan of Allie Therin and will read anything she writes. So when I had the chance to read Liar City, of course I took it.

Even though this won't be my favorite book by Therin, I think the series has some great potential. The book was thrilling and sweet at the same time. It's also bloody and inclusive. Twisting and familiar. I liked the world building and the settings, as well as the characters. The Dead Man is a very intriguing man, which I need to know more about.

What I liked less about the book, and this is something Therin has a tendency to do, no matter the story, is the repetition. I don't need to be told again and again about Reece's issues, unless there's another layer to it. Another part is the "telling-not-showing" parts. Some of the conversations isn't all that natural in this book. There are a lot of unfinished thoughts mixed in with sentences no one would say if they weren't on a theater scene, having to spell everything out.

Still, highly enjoyed this story and I'm really excited about reading the next on as soon as it's available.
/ Denise

I have never read anything by this author and was pleasantly surprised that I liked this book so much.

It takes place in an alternate Seattle, in a world where some people are born empaths. Although they are peaceful people, society fears them and what they could do.

One such empath, Reece, gets sucked into a murder investigation as unwillingly partner to the powerful and feared Mr. Death.

The characters are carefully crafted. The MC, Reece, has a sarcastic wit that adds humor. Relationships between the characters evolve naturally as the book progresses.

The mystery is layered and interesting.
I am hoping this turns into a series I have a new author to add to my favorites list.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. This is my honest review.

.

I love a good mystery that over laps with a romance book. That being said this book was HEAVY on the mystery and the romance was subtle hints of more to come. Talk about a slow burn.

I immediately liked Reece and his no bs attitude and his banter with Evan, but as I said there was very little pay off in the romance department. The story kept taking me places I wasn’t expecting and every character we meet was intriguing in their own way, and I was not expecting that ending.

I’ll definitely be picking up the next book when it’s out to see where Reece and Evan’s story goes.

"Fine. You're right; I'm a typical empath whose concept of attractiveness is mostly predicated on inner beauty, and if you have any of that, it's hidden from me by your creepy zombie vibe."
Grayson raised an eyebrow.
"No disrespect."


Reece Davies lives in an alternate Seattle where empaths are an uncommon but widely feared subset of people. Reece is an empath himself; a person who is massively repelled by death, violence, cruelty. a person who can connect intimately with people through what's called a 'reading' simply by touching them with bare hands.

empaths are harmless (literally; they are complete pacifists and will not defend themselves) but there's a large movement behind stricter laws limiting where empaths can go nonetheless. when the senator who is the driving force behind the new law is found brutally murdered, it's a quick scramble to try and solve the case before empaths get hit with the backlash.

Reece's older half-sister is Detective Briony "Jamey" St. James, a no-nonsense no holds barred woman who loves her brother more than anything. when she hears through the grapevine that the Dead Man is coming, a veritable boogeyman to empaths, infamous for redacted government files and massive (and mysterious) government power, she tries to hurry her brother out of Seattle entirely. unfortunately, the Dead Man has already arrived.


"What scandalous thing do you do? Telenovela star?"
"Nothing that glamorous," said Grayson, which was a neat sidestep of I'm an urban legend, but make it hot.


Evan Grayson is the Dead Man himself, called such because empaths cannot read him at all and he gives off a very bland, detached, deceased aura. Grayson is the person who initially informs Reece of the murder case his sister is working, and the mystery rushes on from there.

hands-down my favorite part of this book was the characters. Reece makes a fascinating and hilarious protagonist, and the way he's constantly freaking people out with poor sarcasm tells is hysterical. he's honest to a default and says some stone cold facts to people who definitely don't want to hear it. Jamey loves her brother a lot and her constant "if you disrespect my brother I'll make him close his eyes so I can beat you to death" energy was unmatched.


you will like this book if ;;
+ you like ride or die siblings (bc you're gonna love Jamey)
+ a complicated murder mystery is something that holds your attention
+ you want to see an interesting new take on empathy and its many drawbacks
+ you enjoy mysterious government acronyms and agencies
+ you like sarcastic protagonists
+ witty dialogue is your favorite thing to read


rep - bisexual mc
thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc ✨

A murder has Seattle on edge, and it falls to a pacifist empath—and a notorious empath hunter—to find the killer before it's too late.

A new author for me and a concept that had me intrigued from reading he blurb. I cannot say how much I enjoyed this book, it had me totally hooked. This would have to be near the top of the list for books I have read this year. The life of an empath is not easy, they have a personality that makes there lives very intense, their feelings so powerful. You do need to let the story just take you away, there may be some disbelief at times but if you just go with it you are in for a wild ride.

This book has wonderful characters, brilliantly portrayed, ones that who get inside your head and you are rooting for them all the way. The relationship between Reece and the one known as the 'Dead Man' is particularly interesting to watch grow, I really enjoyed these two getting to know each other. In the beginning they would rather have nothing to do with one another other but as the case moves forward it is obvious they will need to work together and a type of bond is formed, I would not call it friendship, maybe respect is a better word. Reece's sister Jamey is another star of the book and the love she has for her brother shines through, their closeness adds so much to the depth of the story, it really is significant.

After reading this book I will now be going back looking at this authors other books, if they captivate me like this did I will be extremely happy. If you are looking for something a little different, I highly recommend you give this a go, I know I nearly let this one pass and I am so glad I decided to to take a chance on it.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. 5 stars!

I loved every moment of this book! It’s fast-paced, action-packed, and entertaining. The characters are so fascinating and I was completely invested in this world that Therin created. would recommend this book and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series once it comes out!