Thanks Netgalley, author David Ellis, Penguin Group, Putnam Publications for the ARC.
Pub Date : July 23 2024. Out Now !
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Leo, a sharp-minded defense attorney and justice crusader, has skeletons rattling in his closet—deadly ones. The latest? A murder charge that could destroy him. But when the FBI closes in, they make him an offer: help bring down a notorious criminal, or face the music himself. With no good options, Leo takes a chance on the feds, setting him on a collision course with his ex-girlfriend Andi, an ex-cop turned private security, who’s entangled in this deadly game. Will Leo outmaneuver the forces closing in, or is he about to lose everything?
Can Leo escape this tangled web, or is his past about to bury him for good?
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After devouring Look Closer (a solid 5-star read for me), I was beyond excited to dive into this ARC—and The Best Lies did not disappoint!

Told through the perspectives of Leo, the razor-sharp defense lawyer, Chris, the relentless FBI agent, and Andi, the no-nonsense ex-cop, the story twists and turns like a rollercoaster you didn’t know you were on. Each chapter is a short, cliffhanger-filled puzzle piece in a 1000-piece thriller, building anticipation for the explosive end.

I went into this without digging deep into the synopsis and just let the plot sweep me away. And wow—talk about whiplash from the mind-bending revelations! The action is non-stop, and the characters are constantly trying to outwit each other, keeping you guessing at every turn.
While it’s unfair to compare it directly to Look Closer (totally different plots), this one offers the same adrenaline-pumping, edge-of-your-seat pacing that will get you out of any reading funk.

This one’s a solid 4/5 ⭐ for me.

If you’re a fan of heart-pounding thrillers with twists that make your jaw drop, The Best Lies is a must-read!

Unfortunately, this one didn’t do it for me. I made it about 60% in and had to throw in the towel. I found it hard to keep up with and it kept losing my interest. My apologies!

Thanks for the opportunity to read in advance!

DNF

DNF'ed at about 10% in. I really enjoyed Look Closer, but this one did not captivate me.

🗣 Thank you to netgalley and Penguin for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC! All opinions are honest and my own.

David Ellis has definitely become one of my favorites when it comes to twisty thrillers.

With LOOK CLOSER and now again with THE BEST LIES, he shocks you at every turn. I always find myself flipping back to previous chapters to reread stuff with new eyes. 👀

Honestly, my recommendation is to just go in blind and buckle in for the ride. It’s a fun one!

I have tried this one twice and just can't keep up wiith the characters, the craziness and honestly the story line just didn't grip enough. So, after twice starting and giving up, I have determined it is just me as I have a friend who did love this book! Sorry

3.5 stars. This book had A LOT going on. Lots of characters. Lots of details. Lots of double crossing. At the end I really couldn't figure out who was on what side and it felt like the last 2 hours went on forever. It was enjoyable- it was just A LOT.

David Ellis’ *The Best Lies* is a thriller that delves into betrayal and moral dilemmas. While the plot has twists, it can be hard to follow, and the pacing drags at times. The characters are complex, but the story gets bogged down by too much detail, making it difficult to stay engaged.

Overall enticing story but veryyyy elaborate with too any crosshairs. Would have liked a more singular plot point but overall okay read.

So this book just didn’t do it for me. I LOVED Look Closer but this storyline I couldn’t get into unfortunately.

Major thanks to both NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC copy of this fun thriller!!

While I think Ellis has a great writing style and a knack for the suspensfeul twists, this wasn't a homerun for me. I did really enjoy the psychological aspect of this and how all of the characters were intertwined.
Overall this was an enjoyable read, but I think I needed a huge shock or twist to really make this a 5 star read personally.

Still recommend for a good psych read!

📚 I was a big fan of "Look Closer" and had high hopes for this one! While I loved the twisty ending, I found it wasn’t the thrilling rollercoaster I expected. The setup took its sweet time, and there were so many minor characters to keep track of! 🤔 I might be in the minority here, but it felt a bit underwhelming for me. Overall, it was just okay. 3.5 stars!

Thank you to Putnam for my copy of THE BEST LIES. This one is out July 23.

I really just couldn't read this book. I have a hard time with these types of thrillers, I know there are tons of people who like them. I'll take this as a learning experience for me.

"The Best Lies" by David Ellis is a gripping thriller that keeps you on edge from start to finish. The plot twists are unexpected and perfectly timed, making it hard to put the book down. Ellis does a great job crafting complex characters, particularly the protagonist, who finds himself trapped in a web of deception. The legal and psychological aspects add depth, keeping the story both smart and suspenseful. It's a perfect pick if you're into fast-paced, twisty crime novels.

This started off strong, but honestly lost me in the end. I absolutely loved this author’s last book, so I went into this one with high expectations. I struggled to keep interested in this one, I may give it another try as an audiobook.

David is an Auto-Buy for me
This book is SMART! It's FAST! It's FUN! And it's TWISTY!
I can see this as a movie - it would be both hilarious and edge-of-your-seat exciting!

Thank you to the publisher and NG for allowing me to read and review. This was provided as part of our bookclub, Thrillers By The Bookclub, Milwaukee (WI) chapter. David joined us for the in-person chat! This is his second time joining us, and trust me when I say, as a big time judge in Chicago, THIS MAN KNOWS HOW TO WRITE A THRILLER!!

The characters are all flawed, but I found myself rooting for all of them in some shape or form (except for the truly bad guys).
The setting was familiar to me in Chicago during the cold winter. It flips from past to present. I highly recommend.

TW for death of children and child trafficking

David Ellis is an auto-buy author for me! He always delivers a complex main character and deeply intricate plot. While this one still fits in the 'thriller' category, it is not a popcorn thriller so come prepared to engage your brain and pay attention to the expensive cast of characters. While 'Look Closer' remains Ellis's top novel in my opinion, this one was thoroughly enjoyable as well!

Wow! Again I am blown away by David Ellis! He is one of the most talented and clever authors that I have ever read!
This book is about Leo, who is a pathological liar. He is a recently reinstated attorney who seeks justice no matter what the cost. When a dead drug dealers body turns up and Leo’s fingerprints are all over the weapon, nobody believes him.
This book had me so I intrigued! It is so well thought out and full of twists that I never saw coming! David is one of the smartest and kindest people I have ever met!!! I enjoyed discussing this book with him when he joined us at our bookclub @thrillersbythebookclub.mke 🖤
If you haven’t read Look Closer yet, I highly recommend it! It was my favorite book last year!!!

Thank you @putnambooks @netgalley and @david_ellis_author for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Best Lies
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: David Ellis

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Penguin Group and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Leo Balanoff is a diagnosed pathological liar with unthinkable skeletons in his family's closet. He's also a crusading attorney who seeks justice at all costs. When a ruthless drug dealer is found dead and Leo’s fingerprints show up on the murder weapon, no one believes a word he says. But he might be the FBI’s only shot at taking down the dealer’s brutal syndicate.

Risk his life going undercover for the feds or head straight to prison for murder? Leo accepts the FBI’s offer—but it comes with a price, including a collision course with his ex, Andi Piotrowski, a former cop and “the one who got away.” Forced to walk a tightrope between an ambitious FBI agent and a cruel, calculating crime boss, Leo’s trapped in a corner. But he has more secrets than anyone realizes, and a few more cards left to play.

My Thoughts: This was one of the more compelling and captivating thrillers I have read lately. It really had me from the first page through the last page. The author really did a fantastic job at blowing my mind away with this story. Just brilliant. Leo Balannoff was diagnosed as a pathological liar almost two decades ago and has more than enough skeletons in his closet. When a drug dealer / sex trafficker ends up dead, Cyrus Balik, Leo’s fingerprints are all over the scene, as well as his DNA. Even though no one believes Leo, the FBI realize that he might be the golden link to finally put away Cyrus. Leo plays a tightrope, going undercover for the FBI, crossing paths with his ex, Andi Piotrowski (the one that got away), and playing darts with an even higher on the food chain crime boss. With the amount of secrets Leo has, he has more cards to play than anyone even realizes. Will Leo lose the cards? Or even worse, his life?

The story is narrated by multiple characters, Leo (our MC), Chris (Initial FBI Agent that placed Leo undercover), Andi (Leo’s ex and the one that got away), all in present day with a few flashbacks to the past to fill the backstories. The best way to approach this book is blind, which is how I did and really enjoyed it. The characters are flawed and a bit unreliable. The characters were well developed with depth, wittiness, secretive, flawed, heaping amount of betrayal, and were intriguing. The author’s writing style was complex, multifaceted, suspenseful, twisty, thought-provoking, and just brilliant. The first part (probably around 50%) was a slow burn, building up the characters and establishing the plot. Then the plot is developed in layers, like an onion. Then the last 40% or so is action-packed with a mind blowing ending. Some, well a good portion of the twists were unpredictable, you did not see coming. So refreshing to read in this genre.

TW: sex trafficking (off screen), child abuse (off screen and assumed), and espionage. This thriller had everything you could want in a thriller, it was compelling, captivating, gripping, dark, disturbing, and brilliantly written. Normally, I do not go for spies, espionage or assassin type plots, however, I felt this one was different. It definitely had a dose of espionage, undercover agents, gangsters, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, national security, black market, and questionable ethics, however, it really just worked for this storyline. I would highly recommend this to any lover of thrilling reads.

Look Closer was a surprise favorite of mine when it came out a couple of years ago, so I was hoping The Best Lies would be able to shock me in the same way.

The story opens with Leo, a defense attorney (who’s also a pathological liar), caught in the midst of a case that could have serious repercussions for him. From that point, the story bounces between different POVs and timelines, until everything syncs up at the end. While Look Closer read a lot like your typical murder mystery, The Best Lies has more of an organized crime/corporate espionage vibe, which would be great for readers that want a thriller that’s action-packed, but not too creepy.

The Best Lies is even twistier than Ellis’ last book, but I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. The story moves quickly, and whenever you think you know what’s going on, the next chapter will prove that you actually don’t know anything. I usually enjoy books like this, but I think The Best Lies took the twists a little too far, because by the end, I had whiplash and I wasn’t entirely sure what to believe. That may have been the point of the story, but as a reader, I wanted a more definitive conclusion.

Regardless, David Ellis is quickly becoming a must-read thriller writer for me and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

The Best Lies is out now. Thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up! This book is definitely one of my favorite thrillers this year, and if you haven’t read it yet I highly recommend! It was so incredibly twisty and I truly did not see any of it coming! Just when I thought I knew what was going on, another twist came flying at me 😂 it was chock full of unreliable narrators and I was truly flabbergasted every time another one was revealed (I gasped so many times lol). Also, I would absolutely read a series about Andi and Leo…

Many thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the opportunity to read before pub day! ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. THE BEST LIES is out now!