I enjoyed the base of the story and the twists and turns, but the book was a bit too much like a police procedural for me. I picked it up because the main character is a forensic linguist, which I thought would be an interesting approach, but it was not enough to separate it from other FBI thrillers.

I love Brianna Labuskes, and she did an amazing job with this book! It was so interesting, and surprising! I definitely did not see the twists coming. I can't wait for the second book in this series to come out. I love her other books, and cannot wait to read more about Raisa.

I have found myself a new series!!! Brianna Labuskes, I am not sure where you've been hiding, but I am so glad we have found each other in your latest series about Raisa Susanto. Raisa has all the elements of a protagonist I knew I would love from the description. She's a linguist for the FBI, she's a bit rough around the edges, she's determined to prove her skills in linguistic analyses are invaluable, and she's downright funny. I loved her sass and dedication to her job. Yikes, am I writing a love letter to this character?!

On to the novel... Susanto is brought into an investigation by FBI forensic psychologist, Callum Kilkenny, when a murder takes place that replicates a murder that took place in a small town 25 years earlier. The two travel together to Ellery to figure out whether they are dealing with a copycat or a killer who has returned. Thrown in with this unexpected duo, is Delaney, the website moderator who flagged the video and reported it to the FBI. Although Raisa is surprised by the civilian involvement, she can't help but like the mechanical, plain spoken Delaney.

This book is an incredibly wild ride. The character development is strong and the intentionality in the timing of revealing details is A+ from me. At the closing of The Lies You Wrote, I instantly looked up when the next in the series would release and let me tell you, it's TOO FAR AWAY!

I think I'll be reading Labuskes' backlog in the meantime, because I enjoyed her writing style so much. It's been awhile since I took to a series this way and can't thank Brianna Labuskes enough for igniting this spark for me again.

A huge thank you to Thomas.& Mercer for granting me access to this title via NetGalley!

I read The Lies You Wrote basically in one sitting. It was very addictive and the forensic language angle was new to me. It made me start paying attention to the word choices of the characters to see if I could spot clues there.

The pacing was fast and the first of many twists hits you almost right away. There ARE quite a few side characters to keep track of but I only had to go back once to remind myself of who they were. Raisa does spend a lot of time in her head, which I don't mind, but I know that some other readers dislike a lot of inner monologue. An excellent start to a new series featuring Raisa and I can't wait until the second one comes out!

Massive thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC copy of this great read!

I thoroughly enjoyed Raisa's character and the depth of her story. I was intrigued by the linguistic approach this had and really loved how that played out throughout the story.

I had my suspicions of some of the characters, but absolutely did not see this ending coming!
Kudos to Brianna Labuskes for keeping the reader engaged enough throughout then packing a punch at the end!

This one is out now (as of yesterday 1/1!!!)
Def recommend this read if you enjoy trying to pick through a crime story and cold cases!

If you’re a frequent reader over here at Feed The Bookworm, you know I’m a huge sucker for a good police procedural thriller. I think it’s because I read a lot of detective stories when I first discovered my love of books. This book came out of nowhere for me. If you’re a fan of Women’s Murder Club and Stephanie Plum, I can guarantee that you’ll love “The Lies You Wrote” by Brianna Labuskes. This was a one-day read for me and marked my first book of the new year. Throughout the day, I switched between the audio and Kindle versions, depending on my activities. I love that both the Kindle book and the audiobook are in KU.
The book centers around Raisa Susanto, a forensic linguist for the FBI. Side tangent – I didn’t know a forensic linguist was even a thing before this. Prior to reading “The Lies You Wrote”, my dream book job was event planner for a billionaire’s consulting firm (can you tell I’ve been reading a lot of romance books this winter?), but now I want to be a forensic linguist and play with words all day.
Raisa is tough, smart, and wily, raised on the streets and in foster care after losing her parents. She’s a loner in the FBI, with no partner and one of only two linguists, so she gets farmed out to other departments. She’s quick with her words and pulls no punches

She’s paired with Callum Kilkenny, a broody, gruff, and seasoned FBI forensic psychologist to investigate a copycat killing of a crime committed 25 years ago. So far, so good, very straightforward. Now throw in a true crime podcaster snooping around trying to get a scoop (Jenna) and a police informant cyber wiz who has inserted herself into the case (Delaney), and things start to get interesting.

Raisa is coming off the loss in a tough case, where her conclusions led down the wrong end, and things went badly. Callum is renowned for his capture of the ABC killer 10 years ago, however it also came with the loss of his wife, who was targeted by the serial killer before Callum brought him down. Now the must figure out if they’re dealing with a copy cat killer, or if the real killer evaded capture decades ago.
This book was such a twisty, turn-filled, and captivating mystery. I always pride myself on being able to figure out “the twist,” but this book had so many it was like whiplash. Where in some stories this could be considered overwhelming, it all makes perfect sense in the context of this book. I was able to kind of figure out the mini twist, the buildup to the big twist was great, even though I kind of saw it coming.

Labuskes is a master wordsmith (I am trying to figure out a way to use psycho-killer stabby man in every day conversation somehow), her prose is witty, engaging, and fast-paced. The book made me laugh, kept me reading, kept me guessing, and most importantly I cannot wait to read the next book. I’m so happy that it’s going to be a series. The romantic thriller lover in me is hoping for a little romance between Raisa and Callum. In the mean time, Labuskes has a robust backlist to enjoy, many of which are in KU. I’ll be happily reading all of them while I wait for The Truth You Told, due out September 10, 2024. One sale now, you can grab your copy of The Lies You Wrote here. This awesome book is available on KU for both reading and listening!
Thank you so much to the author, Brianna Labuskes, Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC copy of this book. The Lies You Wrote is out now, and available on Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Unlimited Audio.

I’ve enjoyed all of the books by Brianna Labuskes, and enjoyed the new character introduction.
Raisa Susanto is a forensic linguist, which was new for me. Well written, and I enjoyed the linguistic tidbits that were included.

Book Review: The Lies You Wrote, Raisa Susanto #1 by Brianna Labuskes
Published by Thomas & Mercer and an Amazon First Reads book, January 1, 2024

★★★★☆ (4.25 Stars!)

Beyond the purview of a typical FBI thriller, author Brianna Labuskes crafts a cliffhanger which leans hard on the validity of forensic linguistics paired with forensic psychology as lead areas in effective crime-solving, setting aside the usual G-man fare of behavioral analysis, counterintelligence, cyber and violent crimes.

// The Lies You Wrote, Raisa Susanto #1 by Brianna Labuskes (2024) //

FBI Field Office
Seattle, WA

A young woman is sitting cross-legged on a desk with $20 bills tucked into her bra strap, playing a parlor game with six FBI agents.

No, she's not a go-go dancer or strip teaser.

Her name is Special Agent Raisa Susanto, the brand new series' strong female protagonist with the Indonesian name, early out of stage left to demonstrate her forensic linguistics acuity.

She parses the common pangram "...the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog..." scribbled by one of the agents on a board, and forensically deduces out of thin air, without access to personnel files, the pangram writer's sex, age, school, college major, then figures out that that person is a pariah with few actual friends in the department.

"How accurate was I?", she asks.
"Spot on.", they say, as she slips the cash into the back of her jeans. Good hustler pickings for a few thrills.

Witty, if you look at it one way, but hard to grasp why the author would chose to portray her new heroine early on as impish, frivolous, jejune, unprofessional, squatting undignified on top of a a desk.

It is a cringeable opening, if you look at it another way, contrived, all too too clever by half, enough to lose an avid reader at "hello". I had to suspend my disbelief.

------

Everly, Washington State.
A fictional town at the mouth of the North Cascades National Park near the US-Canadian border.

A forensic linguist. A forensic psychologist. Both positions derided (in the book) as pencil pushing, innocuous and dispensable with negligible impact on operations, farmed out by the FBI to cases rather than posted in a regional station.

Would the pair be an effective combo to play lead agents in a present-day double murder and suspected copycat of a decades-old massacre in this quiet Pacific Northwest town?

The cast is joined by a moderator on "Flik" (presumably a TikTok-esque site), who, herself can read sentence patterns as if they were fingerprints to identify "unsubs". The "Whidbey Island Rapist", an unrelated case, was her first, so we read.

And, to complete the curious quartet, a true crime podcaster who "...has bright pink hair, eight rings in her eyebrows, another two dozen spread out over both ears, and another one in her lip...."

As they draw out facts and collect evidence in their collaborative investigation amid threats to their well-being, the impromptu crew finds out the hard way that it's a small world.

As their lives come to full circle...

----------

Contrived. Engaging. Brilliant! Even as the narrative ever so slowly teethers on the edge of implausibility.

Raisa Susanto, orphan. Exquisite name, which gets all but appropriated in Book 1. Will we be entertained by glimpses into her adoptive Indonesian heritage in the next iteration?

Review based on an advanced reading copy courtesy of Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley.

Gripping! This page turner hooked me from the beginning and didn't let go. I love Raisa. She is one of the most complex characters I've read. I'm also a big fan of Kilkenny. The mystery was fast paced and full of surprises and suspense. I felt like I was right beside the characters. And then there was that ending. I can't wait for the next book!

The Lies You Wrote is the first book in the Raisa Susanto series.

Tim and Becks Parker were murdered twenty -five years ago by their teenage son, Alex, after which he committed suicide. There are plenty of conspiracy theorists that claim Alex was innocent and have taken to blogs to keep this crime alive. But when a family connected to the Parkers are murdered Raisa Susanto is whisked to the small town by Callum Kilkenny in order to find the killer. Raisa is a forensic linguist, who quickly sees the resemblance to the Parker murders.

As the team investigates the murders, questions arise about the investigation of the twenty-five-year-old murders. Raisa reviews the case files which is considerable short. She also questions what happened to the missing sisters and where are they now. The bodies start to accumulate which only leads to new questions about Alex Parker and who will be next.

I enjoy police procedural thrillers. But the plot of a forensic linguist is an interesting addition. This is more cerebral than others I have read. I thought this was a wonderful start to a new series. Looking forward to reading the next one.

So I am going to be honest, cause that’s what I do. I didn’t think I would enjoy this book very much right off the start because not only does it start off with a woman trying to prove herself to a room full of men, but she is using linguistics to do it. From a man’s point of view, it could be comical. But I digress, it turned out so much better than I could have hoped for.

I expected the whole linguistic part of the story to completely bore me and be a lame part to the story, but that is not the case. The author did an awesome job at her research for a linguistic analysis and how exactly they do their job.

The storyline, was great! When Raisa says that something is just off with her gut, the way it is written, you believe it too. The past murder mystery being blended with the current one is done in a twisted yet interesting way that actually puts both murders together. I did not expect the ending however, that threw me for a total loop where I had to stop and try to remember when that hint was event potentially mentioned in the book… and it is, I went back and looked. I can’t wait to see where book 2 leads, and with the way it ended it’s going to be good!! But also… I really have to wait 10 months 😩

I think I actually picked up on the possibility of a relationship coming from Raisa and Kilkenny.. nothing over dramatically romantic but more respectful of sorts.. only the author knows how that will play out for the characters.

I am recommending this to all thriller mystery readers. It is a great book to start the new year off with!

Brianna Labuskes knows how to write a suspenseful mystery. This new series stars forensic linguist Raisa Susanto. A double murder has happened in Everly, Washington. Coincidentally, this new murder is on the same day that another murder occurred in the same town 25 years ago. The previous murder was thought to be "solved" with the suicide of Alex, the couple's son. He admitted to the crime in his suicide note.

The FBI begins to investgate the latest double murder with Raisa Susanto using her knowledge of linguists to seek out clues. She partners with Callum Kilkenny, a forensic psychologist, he is able to analyze behavior. As they delve into the current case, the past resurfaces. Is there a connection with the deaths in 1998? Are they dealing with a copycat?

The mystery is told through multiple POV. I especially enjoyed those of Delaney Moore, a content moderator. This is a solid start for the series. I look forward to the next case.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, for an ARC. The review is my own.

3.5 The ending of this book was amazing the middle not so much. This book follows a few different POVs but mostly follows Rasia a FBI linguist who study’s writing comparisons. She is called in on a case where a copycat killer started killing people on the 25th anniversary of the Parker Murder Suicide. We also follow Delaney a moderator for kind of a TikTok website when reviewing the videos she comes across a video and reports it to the FBI becoming a consultant on the same case. We follow these women as they try to catch the copy cat killer but things aren’t quite what they seem.

Overall I really enjoyed this book the twist and turns were fun and the last 25 percent was a fast paced over the top thriller. Now the first 75 percent was a little slow for my liking I would find myself getting distracted then losing interest. I also wasn’t the biggest fans of the characters on this one. I really didn’t care for Rasia and I felt like the podcaster character could have been explored more. Again though overall had a fun time just a little too slow paced for me. I hope to pick up more from this author in the future. I would like to thank net galley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Raisa is a forensic linguist who works with the FBI. When she and her colleague Callum start working on a case involving a copycat murder, she doesn't know that the case will hit much closer to home than she expected.

I thought this was an interesting take on this type of thriller. i liked the linguistic aspect because it was different. I liked the twists and turns and thought it was all well done. I really enjoyed it!

I received a complimentary copy from Thomas and Mercer and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

The book starts with a double murder that mimics a murder from a decade ago. The murderer Alex killed his parents and left a letter of submission admitting everything. To solve the double murder Raisa is paired with forensic psychologist Callum Kilkenny. It's uniquely written, quite engrossing and a page-turner. Perfect for fans of criminal minds.

Actual rating :3.5/5

This was quite good, I gotta say! Fast paced, lots of twists and turns, exactly what I was hoping for when I picked it up from NetGalley. It gets a yes from me!

The Lies You Wrote is the first in a new crime procedural book series that has a similar feel as Kathy Reichs’ Temperance Brennan series, save the tone is more serious in nature and the female protagonist here is a FBI agent herself, who specializes in the field of forensic linguistics.

The last sentence there is what drew me to this title: A female FBI agent who specializes in forensic linguistics. That’s all I needed to know to request this title. I’m sorry to say that’s just about all I liked about this book. Any time The Lies You Wrote focused on forensic linguistics I was hooked right in and riveted to the page; but, whenever the book strayed away from Agent Raisa Susanto and her fervent passion and expertise, I either found the story lackluster or I was busy wondering why no one had cottoned onto the whodunit of it all like I had some time back.

Honestly, there were parts of this book that really stretched my ability to suspend disbelief. Near the end I started scoffing, but I was willing to see it through.

The book is a little too long and a little too arrogant in its cleverness, but it’s not entirely bad. The forensic linguistics parts are interesting, informative, and fun as all get out for a linguistics nerd like me. I’m hoping that in subsequent installments in the series the substance of the characters improves.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. This review was written without compensation. Thank you.

File Under: Book Series/Crime Fiction/Serial Killer/Suspense Mystery/Suspense Thriller

This was my first Brianna Labuskes book and I really liked it. I didn’t see any of the big twists and turns coming, so lots of fun! When a married couple is murdered in the same small town in Washington where a murder/suicide occurred 25 years ago, FBI agent and forensic linguist Raisa Sasunto is brought into the investigation. Analyzing the suicide note and other writings of the murderer from 25 years ago could help solve this new case. Alex Parker murdered his parents and then killed himself, confessing to the crime in a note left behind. Raisa and forensic psychologist Callum Kilkenny become aware of a true crime podcaster and an internet content moderator casting doubt on Alex’s guilt and claiming that he was also a victim. Raisa and Callum need to figure out if the new crime is a copycat killer or something even worse. Brianna Labuskes takes us on a wild ride as deep, dark secrets are revealed. I look forward to reading more of her books. Thanks to #netgalley #thomas&mercer and #briannalabuskes for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Raisa Susanto has a very interesting professions, that of a forensic linguist for the FBI of which there are very few. Raisa is called in, along with FBI forensic psychologist, Callum Kilkenny, to investigate what appears to be a copycat murder-suicide in the same small time as one that occurred 25 years before. There is a lot going on here and there are different storylines occurring at the same time, all of which keeps the reader guessing. The author throws in many twists, turns and red herrings along the way which keeps you guessing right up to the end.

I am looking forward to the next installment for Raisa Susanto and highly recommend this author's Dr. Gretchen White series. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC.

Ms. Lasbuskes gives us a very intriguing read to kick off her new series featuring Raisa Susanto, an FBI forensic linguist. Raisa is paired with Callum Kilkenny, an FBI forensic psychologist/profiler, to solve a series of new murders that appear to be connected to a murder/suicide that occurred 25 years ago. The murderer is giving little time between victims for Susanto and Kilkenny to find the ties between the past and present killings. How many will die before they can identify and stop the killer?

There are a lot of things to like about this book. As always, Labuskes gives us complex and human characters, a plot line that keeps you guessing, and plenty of red herrings, twists and turns to keep you off balance. The pairing of Susanto and Kilkenny is a good one - I like that both of them have been through career storms in the past. I find the career choice of the Raisa interesting and think that it will lead to lots of fascinating storylines.

Admittedly, you must be willing to walk across the belief suspension bridge to fully appreciate this thriller, but it's such a small price to pay for the rest of it. I would've given this novel 5 stars but felt that there a bit too many characters to keep track of between the two timelines, cases, and multiple perspectives.

This author was added to my must-read list after I read her first book and I'm really excited to watch this new series develop!

My thanks to Thomas & Mercer for allowing me to read a DRC via NetGalley. Publication is 1/1/24. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.