ARC audiobook provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“Only One Lie” is set in Seattle in 1942 and mainly told from the perspective of two women: Vera Chandler, a newly minted female pilot and newlywed to a navy pilot, and Priscilla Ellis, a glamourous wife of a wealthy and influential banker and mother of little Max Ellis. Soon enough, these women are drawn together in a confluence of circumstances.

Max is kidnapped in the middle of the night, but when Priscilla and her husband rush to pay the ransom, they stumble upon the lifeless body of the kidnapper. Max is nowhere to be found. Despite the wealth and power of the Ellis family, they can’t seem to find Max and bring him home.

At the same time, Vera’s husband, Hugh, is deployed to the Pacific. As a result, Hugh must give up his regular job as a pilot for the Ellis’ banking business. Taking a chance before he leaves, Hugh blindly suggests to the Ellis family he knows a good pilot who would be able to take over for him on short notice, failing to mention the pilot is female and his wife. After proving herself, Vera is given the job, albeit reluctantly.

On the job, Vera meets Priscilla, who, in a moment of desperation, makes Vera an offer she can’t refuse. In exchange for a grand favor, Vera agrees to try to help Priscilla find Max. As Vera digs deeper into the mystery and discovers more about the Ellis family, she quickly discovers just how dangerous they may be. Soon Vera finds herself racing against time to not only save Max, but to also save herself.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a pretty fast-paced mystery with a well-rounded cast of characters. The story arc flowed well. The characters were both likeable, and, when appropriate, not. There were some little tangential storylines that I thought were not completely necessary to the story as a whole, but they didn’t detract from the story overall. I did guess a few things in the plot, although not everything, and I thought the ending wound up nicely. The author’s writing style was well executed and engaging. Some reviewers noted that the story wasn’t realistic, which is fairly accurate. Could all of it have played out as written in real life? I highly doubt it. However, that doesn’t make the story any less enjoyable.

My copy of this book was an audiobook, so I must comment on the narrator. I thought she did an excellent job. Her narrative pace and voice were well-executed. Her character voices were well done and believable.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this book. It was a fun, fast-paced mystery. I would highly recommend this book for adult and older young adult readers, fans of fiction, and fans of mysteries. Based on this book, I will definitely be looking into other books by this author for more enjoyable reads!

Thank you for this book in exchange for my honest review.
Being that I received Only One Lie by Audrey J. Cole in audio format, I was able to hear the writer’s intention for surprise even better than if I was reading the book in print. The author did a fabulous job at suspense and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

I usually love books set in the WWII timeframe. This book just has to much going on. Do we wanna focus on the kidnapping or the advances for women? I enjoy a good mystery but I don’t really like those “seriously” moments. Vera at times seems to be lacking intelligence at other times she’s brilliant. I will add this book to my library because I know my oldest daughter will enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This was a great audiobook. It started off a bit slow and I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy it.
But it quickly picked up and got interesting and I was hooked. I kept waiting to see where Vera would end up next while helping Priscella search for her missing son.
Plenty of twists and turns and surprises in this book.
Narrator did a great job as well.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. This was a good book to listen to, but i think I would have struggled if I had read it. I like how this book empowers women back during the war. Also shows corruption in big families and how entitled some people are to think they can get away with anything. Lots of good intertwined themes here.

Decent book but I could not for the life of me stand the second narrator. I was cringing listening to it.

Thank you OrangeSky Audio and Netgalley.com. It was an interrsting story from Northern Pacific. I loved to learn some new details of the Second World War. I was interested to see the story about a female pilot. The experience, the choices she had to make. Helping someone and discovering all the bad things that happen in this world is really sad. But anyway the mysrery and history were great combined and was a greeping listening for me.

Oh my gosh I think I just found one of my new very favorite thrillers of this year! I absolutely loved this audiobook! It kept me on my toes and had me hooked from the very beginning.

While I thought the book was well written, I didn’t love the story. It felt like some parts were just dragged out too long or unnecessary. I did enjoy Vera and how strong of a women she was. Many thanks to NetGalley for the generous arc!

Book Title: Only One Lie
Author: Audrey J. Cole
Narrators: Kimberley Austin and Krys Janae
Publisher: Orange Sky Audio
Genre: Mystery, Historical Fiction
Pub Date: December 27, 2022
My Rating: 4.5 rounded up

I am not a big WWII fan ~ it was a horrible time in our history and most stories are sad.
This one is during WWII, the setting is the Pacific Northwest, and our protagonist is a female pilot.
Many years ago I read author, Fannie Flagg's book "The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion" it also feature WWII women Pilots. It was excellent.

Seattle, 1942: Young three year old Max Ellis has been kidnapped; his parents comply with ransom demands. When they arrive at the designated spot they find the kidnapper and the ransom but the kidnapper is found dead and Max is still missing.
Vera Chandler– our protagonist and her husband Hugh are both pilots. Hugh is the private pilot for the Ellis family. He is also in the Naval Reserve and just received a telegram that he has been deployed for service has to report for service in Hawaii. Since male pilots are in demand, Vera gets Hugh’s job as the Ellis family’s private pilot.
Vera has concerns about the mysterious kidnapping of the family's son, Max. Priscilla,
Max's mother, begs Vera to help her. Vera cannot help by notices how cruel Vincent is to his wife. Priscilla tells Vera that a private investigated is needed by Vincent claims he has this under control and won’t allow Priscilla to hire anyone else.
She sees an ally in Vera and Vera finally agrees. Vera discovers many secrets as she is soon aware of what is happening behind-the-scene. (Wow! Trust me there is a lot going on!)

Narrators Kimberley Austin and Krys Janas do a great job in performing these characters.
Their narration and yes! as well as Ms. Cole’s writing has us loving Vera, Priscilla as well as other great likeable characters and also have us hating Vincent immediately.

Note: A couple readers describes this as a cozy mystery ~ I am a big cozy mystery fan and although this follows most of what defines a cozy, there is more nasty language than necessary. Vincent’s nasty language certainly doesn’t ‘fit’ a cozy!
https://cozy-mystery.com/Definition-of-a-Cozy-Mystery.html
True I didn’t agree completely however when another reader describes this as . . . . A hidden gem…I agree 100%!!!

Want to thank NetGalley and Orange Sky Audio for granting me the pleasure of listening to this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for December 27, 2022

This was a very noir feeling story full of strong independent women.

A little boy, Max, had been kidnapped and the man who was supposed to deliver him home upon the ransom payment is found dead at the drop.

Meanwhile, pilot Vera’s fellow pilot husband has been deployed in the Second World War. She takes over as personal pilot for the wealth family who employed him. The very same family searching for young Max.

Max’s mother, Priscilla is devastated at the disappearance of her son and she enlists Vera’s help. The family she married into will stop at nothing to protect their image, including institutionalizing Priscilla after Max’s disappearance. There is something off about the family and Vera finds herself in great danger while she searches for the truth.

While this book had a good plot, I found it slightly middle of the road. I’m not sure if it was the pacing or if it was plot holes… I just felt this book was okay. I really enjoyed the focus on strong women showing their worth in a man’s world.

Only One Lie by Audrey J. Cole
Narrated by Krys Janae and Kimberly Austin

I'm a big fan of historical fiction and mystery/thrillers so this story sounded like it would have a lot of things going for it in my eyes. Vera Chandler, wife of a military pilot, is a pilot herself, and when her husband is called back into action she is able to take over his job as a private pilot to the wealthy Ellis family. Sadly Vera comes into the Ellis family's lives just as young Max Ellis has been kidnapped. There you have it, a flying job for a young woman who hopes to someday join the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron and a mystery to be solved of a child who has been kidnapped.

In reality, the story puts women's advances into the world of men, when it comes to aiding the war effort by ferrying planes, on the back seat to the Ellis family kidnapping plot. Which is fine because I enjoy mysteries. But in this case, there are so many "you have got to be kidding me!" moments that the story lost some of its appeal for me. Vera does so many things that I could not believe she would do and those things just pile on, one after another. At one point she could give a stunt driver a run for his money. So many of the choices Vera makes boggle my mind and sometimes she seems to be running mighty low on common sense. I'd love to list Vera's offences but that would be telling so you'll have to read/listen to the story and see what you think of her antics. Yes, she is fighting against evil but I don't think this is the way you are supposed to do it and I don't think you'd get away with doing it this way. I had to swallow the story with a huge grain of salt. Bring a salt shaker.

I do look forward to seeing what others think of the story. I tend to like things to be a bit more realistic. The narrators do a good job with the story although I did prefer Vera's narrator over the narrator of Max's mom since Max's mom seemed to spend a large part of her story speaking in a whispery manner.

Thank you to OrangeSky Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

Only One Lie (Audiobook)

Only One Lie is historical fiction/mystery set in 1940’s Seattle. Vera, the main character, is an aspiring pilot who takes over her husband, Hugh’s, private pilot job for the Ellis family after he is deployed. The Ellis’s are a very wealthy family with a lot of connections. Just before Vera takes over Hugh’s job news breaks the the Ellis’s son, Max, has been kidnapped. On Vera’s first flight for the Ellis’s Max’s mother, Pricilla, turns to Vera for help. She claims that none of her family can be trusted and Vera is her only hope. At first she is eager to help Pricilla find Max. However, she soon learns that maybe no one in the Ellis family can be trusted. She realizes she may have taken a very, very dangerous job and there may be no way out of it.

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this book! It was my first book by Audrey J. Cole and it did not disappoint. I loved the historical side of it. I thought a lot of the story was very accurate for the era which makes the read even more enjoyable. I loved the twists and turns in the book as well! Audrey definitely kept me guessing up until the end. Even after the mystery was uncovered there was still a lot of action to keep the reader engaged.

I will say that the story was a bit of a slow start for me. It wasn’t until about halfway through that I was hooked but the ending was well worth the wait! I also wasn’t a huge fan of the narrators of this book which,at points, made it hard to listen too but I would still recommend!

Only One Lie is out December 27th and if you are a fan of historical fiction and or mysteries/thrillers you should add this one to you TBR!

Wow! This book really surprised me. I've never read this author before so I didn't know what to expect.

The story is set in the middle of war. Vera, the main character, is one brave cookie! Her husband is a private pilot for a wealthy, well-known family, but he is sent off to fight in the war as a pilot in the navy. Vera also flies planes, (that is, in fact, how they met!) She offers to fill her husband's shoes and stand in as the pilot for this family while he's away.

Meanwhile, Max Ellis, the child of that wealthy family, has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom. Unfortunately, when they go to deliver the payment and get him back, the kidnapper is found murdered! Finding Max now might be impossible. His mother, frantic and married to a misogynist, trades Vera a huge favor in exchange to get her help in finding the boy. Vera agrees, but the cost is dangerous and deadly!

This book was so fast-paced and well written. I received the audio version in exchange for my honest review, and I listened to the whole thing in a day! The narrators were wonderful and the story kept me guessing. I absolutely loved it! The historical time frame enhanced the storyline so much, but this is very much a thriller- and one you definitely need to read!

Huge thanks again to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to listen to the arc! Love love love!!

This book releases the 27th of December 2022.

Only One Lie by @audreyjcole is a fantastic blend of historical fiction and suspense. The book follows Vera in her pursuit to become a pilot in Seattle, 1942. This time frame brings the fears of WWII, along with the kidnapping of a local boy from a prominent and wealthy family. Vera finds herself wrapped up in the drama of the war and this kidnapping.

The audiobook is well narrated and kept my attention throughout this gripping story. I highly recommend grabbing this book or audiobook with those holiday gift cards or money that you receive!

Thank you @netgalley and @orangeskyaudio for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up.

This book was billed as a "thrilling, suspense-driven mystery" and it ended up being an "ok" thriller but compelling historical fiction mystery for me. The mystery of the kidnapping is at the heart of the story, but it was a lot less compelling than the life of the female pilots. If you're looking for historical fiction, then you will likely enjoy this book. However, if what you're looking for is a suspenseful thriller, this probably isn't going to fit the bill. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rainier Publishing, and OrangeSky Audio for this ARC!

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

Both of the narrators of this book did a fantastic job! I found their voices pleasant and easy to listen to. The story was very interesting being set right after Pearl Harbor and all the mysteries surrounding a young boys disappearance from his home. I really liked the dynamics of all the characters interaction but the only thing I was there was a little more of was backstory for Vera and Priscilla. I enjoyed all the twists and how I couldn’t guess with where it was going to end up and would definitely recommend to others who are fans of mysteries and thrillers.