WOW ! That was such a brilliant thriller

Evie Porter has a complicated life . As a child she was forced to think on her toes in order to provide for herself and her invalid mum and became a pretty skillful Con Artist .
As time went on she came to the attention of a mysterious Mr Smith who recruited her , provided the jobs and a better pay packet.
We first meet Evie on her latest job -Ryan . The problem is she is getting too close to Ryan and has dreams of severing ties to Mr Smith and settling down . But Mr Smith has other ideas and it is a game of Cat and Mouse all the way to the end .

I loved this -5 stars from me !!

Thankyou NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review

First Lie Wins is a very original storyline, full of suspense and intrigue. It is very well writtem if a bit of a jigsaw which you have to put together, but even then i doubt you'll get there before the end of the book.
I loved it and can well imagine it benig made into a film or television series.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for introducing me to a very promising author.

Good page turner and lots pof surprises in the storyline. A great read and one I would definitely recommend.

Lucca is working for an unknown man named Mr Smith.
For each job she does for him she has a different name and identity.
Her latest job is to gather information about a man called Ryan Sumner.
Lots of twist in this story with multiple timelines and aliases that sometimes I found hard to keep track of.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This had me gripped straight away.
Reminded me a bit of Killing Eve, with Evie Porter being a much toned down and less violent version of Villanelle, in that she takes on different identities to complete jobs she is given by her elusive boss. There are many characters and the book is told from different timelines, but this was so well written, I wasn’t confused at all.
There are a few twists along the way - one I predicted - but this didn’t stop my enjoyment.
A very clever book that I didn’t want to put down and read it in 3 days. Would definitely recommend.
4 ⭐️ out of 5.
Many thanks to @netgalley and @headlinebooks for the ARC.

This book is published on 9 Jan 2024.

Evie is about to meet her new boyfriend's girl friends. They're curious about her: she's a blow-in to their tight community. But Evie gives little away. Her seemingly perfect relationship has been manufactured by Evie to extract information about Ryan' s business for her mysterious boss Mr Smith.

Evie, or Lucca as she used to be known, is effectively a con artist paid to gather intelligence, putting herself in perilous circumstances. She hopes to eventually make enough money to reclaim her real identity. Until she meets a woman who's using her real name and back story. And what's Ryan's role in all this?

An intriguing and gripping book that defies the normal stereotypes. The ending positions a perfect opportunity for a follow-up.

First Lie Wins is an intriguing character-based thriller that follows the life of an undercover “fixer” who’s paid to work illegally to expose secrets, enable blackmail attempts and steal valuable items.

Read it if: you like a cat and mouse style thriller that jumps all over the place but allows you to follow the plot easily.

Don’t read it if: you prefer a more linear story.

A plot like this, where characters regularly change identities and names could be a confusing mess, but this novel is cohesive and moves at a just-fast-enough pace to keep you interested. It felt, in a lot of ways, like a real old school mystery with disguises and deception aplenty. I have little patience with being introduced to too many characters at once, but I felt the balance here was perfect, as we are introduced to several aliases of the same person in their very much illegal employment. When the plot jumped back several years, I didn’t feel frustrated (as can sometimes be the case), but excited to learn more about how all of these “jobs” linked together.

This is Ashley Easton’s first foray into adult thrillers and I’m very much hoping she continues in this arena.

With thanks to NetGalley and Headline Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well, that's been an intense and exciting read! I really enjoyed this book, the plotting was taut and the complexities of the story all made sense in the end. I'd love to see it made into a tv series as it would work really well with Lucca's breathless deadpan voiceover, I can just imagine it. It ended up with perhaps too much to explain and that slowed the tension considerably, but it was a good read that kept me interested and it was pacy through most of it. I'd recommend it if you like mystery, thriller type books but don't like the gory murders or violence that are often served up. It keeps you guessing in an almost old fashioned way about who is who. Great fun!

This was a lot of fun - I read it in one or two gulps, eager to see just how far the author could take the premise and push the characters. Read it just before reading another book about an assassin for hire, and this one felt lighter, more entertaining. I wasn't quite sure I bought the romance element fully, but there was a nice twist there too.

First time I have read a book by Ashley Easton and certainly will not be the last.
If I’m honest I was not sure if it was going to be a book I enjoyed as not my normal read, it took me a couple of chapters to get into the story but when I did I could not put it down.
I loved the characters, I also loved that I never guessed the twist and who Mr Smith was.
It has suspense, betrayal, love, desperation, friendship and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to read well crafted writing and storytelling.
Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Evie is not who people think she is. Not even her boyfriend Ryan. In fact she doesn't even exist.
The book has so many twists and turns that I didn't see coming, although so many that at times you really had to concentrate.
My first book by this author but I would definitely read another

Brilliant and unique thriller about a women who is privately undercover to uncover information about the guy she has falsely formed a relationship. Cleverly written, suspenseful and so hard to put down

This was such a great read! I just didn't want to put it down. Not sure how much I liked the main characters but, at the same time, I wanted things to work out for them.
It was a quick easy read and, although I had worked out a lot of the plot, there were still surprises in store.
Thanks to Netgalley.

Wow wow and wow again! I adored this fabulous read from the first page to the last. It’s a rollercoaster of a ride, with twists and turns throughout. It was one of those books I tried to eke out as I just didn’t want it to end, but, simply couldn’t put it down.

Evie Porter lives what appears to be an idyllic existence, but, she doesn’t really exist. Instead, she leads a variety of lives and identities, all created for her by a shadowy character, Mr Smith, who is her boss.

There are excellent, interesting characters and an exciting storyline. I requested this book based on the 5* reviews I read and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s the first book I’ve read by this author, but, am heading to buy the rest as she’s excellent.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Headline books for the opportunity to preview.

Evie Porter does not exist - she has been given the identity by the mysterious Mr Smith, her boss, who tells her everything she needs to know about her new mark but not necessarily exactly what she has to do or what information she needs to find.
It becomes clear to Evie that she is in danger, she can’t trust anyone and needs to escape from the situation she’s in. That however seems impossible
This is original and a bit of a roller coaster - kept me hooked throughout!

FIRST LIE WINS
By
ASHLEY ELSTON

384 pages

A clever idea that someone who changes her identity for every job she does for Mr Smith, meets someone who is under cover using her identity. Evie Porter meets herself as someone else at a party, instinctively assuming this is Mr Smith’s idea of fun, she tries to find out who this imposter is. Her own real identity is supposed to be safe.

As Evie becomes part of Ryans life trying to find information about Ryans sideline business for Mr Smith, she gets too close and starts to have true feelings for him. We go back to some of the other identities and jobs she’s done building up a good idea of who she is. Ryan is no angel and is totally clueless about Evie’s true identity, she keeps him in the dark as long as she can.

Things come to a head when she knows she can’t return to her true identity and her past catches up with her. She becomes suspicious of everybody and desperately wants to find out who Mr Smith is. No one has met him so he could be amongst them without her knowing.

I enjoyed this book and thought it had a clever ending.

Recommended

Fast paced and suspense building this psychological thriller will keep you interested and involved until the end. American and at the boundary of belief but a good read for this type.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Headline for this ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Who is Evie Porter? Does she exist?

Evie Porter has a charmed life - a fabulous well-connected man, big house and lots of friends - everything seems perfect…and then it’s not!
Evie takes instructions from Mr Smith - and Ryan Sumner is her mark, but she’s starting to fall for him, when she sees her double at a party - with ‘her’ name!
Evie needs to stay ahead of her past which seems to be coming up to meet her. Can she survive?
Well written quite fast paced book. A good read.
Thanks to @netgalley for the advanced copy.

This was a good thriller.

I liked the protagonist, Evie, and felt a connection with her. While I was reading, I had the constant feeling that something was too good to be true. There was some time shifting, and multiple narratives, and I was turning the pages quickly.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

Its no reflection on the book, author, or writing….I just can’t make myself care about a thriller. I may need to accept it’ll never be my genre.