Loved the Setting and that it featured a bad ass woman pilot that could fly fighter planes. the overall plot was just okay. I didn't get sucked into this story. Also the random one chapters from sub characters was a little off and felt not necessary. I did enjoy it though and that narration was good as well for the audio. I just was wanting to be more invested in the story.

WOW! What a great story! This book is my first read for author Audrey J. Cole and it will definitely not be my last. What a talented author. This book has it all. Romance, suspense, trials, true friends, wrongs righted. What a fascinating storyline of female pilots during the Pearl Harbor bombing era. There are several storylines that interweave for a fantastic book. Must read. I was given an advanced reader copy of this book by NetGalley and I am freely leaving my review.

As intrigued as I am by female WWII pilots, this story was slow and all over the place. I had a difficult time remaining interested in the story and found the pilot aspect only tangentially related to the story. Vera was likeable but many impulsive and careless decisions. The mystery took forever to unfold and while it did pick up at the end, it was too late for me to really be invested in the ending.

I flew through this one while assembling new bookcases and it kept me moving and grooving! I loved the female empowerment aspects! Also, the cover is GORGEOUS!

I'm a fan of historical fiction, but this book was too slow paced for my liking. It also seemed to be all over the place at times. I was not a fan of the narrator.

Only One Lie by Audrey J. Cole

The story takes place in Seattle in 1942. The war is on with Pearl Harbor being attacked and a kidnapping of young Max Ellis has. When the boy’s parents comply with ransom demands, the kidnapper is found dead and their son still missing. Hugh who is Vera's husband has to abandon his job with the Ellis's as their private pilot to head off to war. Vera Chandler steps in as the pilot for the Ellis family after her husband Hugh is deployed to the Pacific for war. Left alone, her unsupported parent’s words wanting her to be a nurse for her country still haunts her. In an exchange for a favor that Vera can’t refuse, she helps the desperate mother of their missing child, Max. Soon, she is in a race to save the child’s life, and it could be the only way she can save her own.

This story was really fast paced and it griped you into the race to recover Max and Vera saving her own life. Vera starts off as just the family pilot but Max's mother begs her to look into the missing child to help her find the boy. The Ellis family are not likable characters they are crooked and just felt sort of evil. Anyways I liked how Mrs. Cole tells a story she pulls you in has you hanging off your seat with the adrenaline filled ending that feels complete. I enjoyed reading about the women pilots that did their duty to assist in the war.

This is billed as a historical fiction in relation to the women pilots and the mystery evolves around the missing Ellis boy. It is said during this time period some wealthy families did have their kids kidnapped during the time period like the Lindberg's son. This story was based out of the west coast specifically Seattle.

This was a solid four star read for me and I cannot wait to read more from this author in the future. I recommend this book to people who like historical fiction from WW2 and who like mysteries their is something for both type of readers that each should enjoy the story.

It was narrated by Kimberly Austin and Krys Janae it was easy to follow along with both women and it made it so enjoyable to listen to the audiobook. Each character had their own voice.

Thank you to Netgalley and OrangeSky Audio and BooksGo Social for a free audio and book copy of Only One Lie for an honest review. All thoughts and ideas in this review are my own.

Only One Lie turns out to be multiple lies by a family to loathe. The Ellis family has no redeeming qualities. They are greedy, self-centered, unsympathetic, narcissistic characters who live life because they can, not because they want to make a difference.

This is evident when the Ellis family discovers their young son Max has been kidnapped. They are so consumed with covering up what they all contributed to the actual kidnapping that Max gets lost in the background. Vera Chandler comes into their life as a private pilot when her husband is deployed during WW2. She replaces him as the family pilot, which raises some questions because women did not typically take on such careers during this time period in 1942.

While I found Vera to be one of the only likeable characters in this novel, I did appreciate how the women in this story formed a bond to dismantle the myth that women of this generation could only handle certain jobs. Vera makes many on the run decisions that are admirable but not very realistic. In the end, will she be the only one who cares enough to find Max?

Thank you to NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for allowing me an ALC of this novel.

Such a clever title for what happens in the book!
This book is set in the WWII and while it does gives us some details about what happened during that time it mainly focuses on a kidnapping mystery. Told in dual POV, Vera and Priscilla.
The narrators Kimberly Austin and Krys Janae were great. The narrator for Priscilla was okay and as the story progresses I understood why they chose her voice to sound soft. Their voices were clear and concise and you can feel their emotions come across.
I really enjoyed Vera’s POV as it showed how she began helping Priscilla and how she became a spy, and running for her life.
While some of the events that took place, I had to suspend belief it was still a very addicting listen and I was on the edge of my seat listening. I found myself invested and rooting for Vera in hopes that she would find the missing child.

I love this quiet in-between time. I’m on vacation, my emails are quiet, and it’s a time when I can catch up on things that bring me joy.

Speaking on things that bring me joy, I’ve been doing tons of reading, like this suspenseful gem that’s a little bit historical fiction and a whole lot of mystery combined into a fast-paced and bingeable read. Bonus: If you’re a KU member, you can read this one for free!

I’m not usually big on historical fiction but this one looked so good that I couldn’t pass it up. I enjoyed the author’s writing style and the storyline was interesting.

Thoroughly absorbing tale that kept me intrigued all the way through. The collaboration of the 2 main characters although inevitable had a great feeling about it. Narrator was entertaining too

Only One Lie by AudreyJ. Cole was such a wild ride. I feel like SO MUCH happened (but don't worry, I won't give it away!) The story is set in the PNW during WWII. Vera is a newly licensed pilot who takes over her husband's job as a private pilot after he leaves for the war. While working for the very wealthy ( and very corrupt) family, Vera is recruited by the wife to investigate what happened to her missing son. Vera agrees to help, and gets in way over her head. The mystery has way more to it than I originally thought, which made it even more thrilling to listen to! There were a few jumps in narration that I didn't love, but overall it was a good mystery. 3.5 stars!

*Thank you NetGalley for sending me this audio ARC to review*

Devil is in the details. This book will take you to a different time. All the details about the women flying in WWII was fascinating.

Cole has a way of really taking you to the time and place that she is writing about. The story line will make you doubt everyone and will keep you guessing until the end.

Audio Narration was excellent and very fitting.

It’s 1942 and Vera Chandler is the wife of a military pilot and aspires to one day join the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron. When Vera’s husband is called into action, she takes over his job as a private pilot to the wealthy Ellis family. Vera comes along right after three-year-old Max Ellis has been kidnapped. Through Vera, the reader is able to see the deceit and corruption that hides behind the wealth and privilege of the Ellis family.

I would classify this book as a blend of historical fiction and cozy mystery. Audrey Cole does an amazing job describing both the pacific northwest and the world of a pilot. I really enjoy Cole’s work and this book was no exception. It was well-researched and well-executed. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great cozy mystery set at a different time! 4.5/5 stars!

“Seattle, 1942. News of the war is interrupted by the kidnapping of young Max Ellis, heir to the wealthiest banking family on the west coast. When the boy’s parents comply with the ransom demands, the kidnapper is found dead and their son remains missing. For newlywed Vera Chandler, the story hits close to home—her husband Hugh is just six months into his job as the Ellis’s private pilot.”

I was excited to read this book, as I love historical, girl-power fiction, and am always on the lookout for another amazing new-to-me author.

The premise held promise. I loved learning about female pilots during WWII and I’m here for any story where women support and uplift other women.

The novel itself, however, was just TOO MUCH. Too many huge leaps in logic. Too many sub-plots. Too many boneheaded decisions. Too many actors with zero nuance. Too much inner monologue about Mommy’s Precious Little Sailor.

Now, this author is BELOVED on GoodReads, so I’ll own that I’m in the minority.

I just wanted more of the WAFS and less “I know you managed to burn the meatloaf in the span of a 3 minute conversation, and can’t keep plants alive, but I caught you reading a mystery novel, so you must be the PERFECT PERSON to help me find my son’s kidnapper, and keep me out of the lobotomizing loony bin!”

5/10

Thanks to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, and OrangeSky Audio for this ARC.

I will push it to 3.25 stars. I'm a big fan of historical fiction, especially when it centers upon women, but "Only One Lie" was a bit too much of a cozy mystery for my liking. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to review the audiobook.

3.5⭐️
The story was interesting and I particularly liked the look back at 1942 Seattle and the deeper look at female pilots in the states at that time. I also loved that some of this was set in Ballard, which is where dear friends of ours live!

I strongly preferred one narrator over the other which made it a little bit difficult to fully enjoy the sections from Max’s moms perspective. I actually would’ve enjoyed this a bit more had it not had so many extra dramatic moments. Just when you think the characters were in the clear, something else over the top happened. Suspending belief is a must when reading this but as long as you’re willing to do that I think you’ll find this a nice and quick listen.

Thank you orange sky audio and Netgalley for the alc in exchange for an honest review.

The Female Pilot

Wow! This is one good story. I listened to the audio book and I couldn't stop until it was finished. It starts off strong and stays fast paced throughout the book with a bang of an ending.

It's set in the beginning of WWII but is not a story of the war , but a mystery set during the war time in Seattle, Washington. A young boy Max is kidnapped from a famous banking family and held for ransom. The companies personal pilot Hugh is called to service because of the war and the need for pilots. Because his new wife Vera is also a pilot he asks the family to let her take over his job as private pilot for the family.

When Vera takes over this job she is not aware of the secrets of the Ellis family and how it will affect her. She becomes pulled into their drama by Priscilla one of the Ellis brother's wives. Vera tries to help her solve the mystery of her kidnapped son and get him back but she gets involved in some very sticky situations while doing so at the risk of her life and some of those around her.

It is a very well written mystery and it keeps you listening until the end. It has many twists and turns and the ending is very well done. You will really enjoy this mystery. I Recommend this book.

The narrators, both of them, did a fantastic job. I really liked the two narrators. They had pleasant voices to listen to and were very easy to understand.

Thanks to Audrey J. Cole for writing a great mystery story, to Kimberly Austin and Krys Janae for a wonderful narration, to OrangeSky Audio for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy to listen to and review.

I really liked the premise of this book. There were aspects that reminded me of The Huntress by Kate Quinn, particularly the female pilots.

I listened to the audio version of this book and to be completely honest, I found the narrator for Vera to be very robotic and therefore difficult to listen to. It was almost like having Siri or Alexa reading to me! I think I would have enjoyed the book far more had I either read it myself or if the narrator for Vera read with a natural and expressive tone.

At times, I felt that the author fell into the trap of "telling" instead of "showing" - it's difficult to say whether this was magnified by the narrator's tone, or if it was something that the author can improve upon.

In saying all of this, I would be interested now in reading some of Audrey J. Cole's other work as I certainly wouldn't be writing this author off.

Girl Power! - But in a good way. This was amazing, sad, and scary. I loved it all. It was clearly well researched too! I absolutely loved the narration. It was perfection. thank you for letting me have a listen!