4.9 ⭐️

I’m not going to lie…at first I thought I knew where the book was headed, and it was feeling a bit unoriginal. Perhaps I was going a bit hard because I expect much more out of anything with the Patterson name.

🫨 But then…it flipped me upside down, hung me by my toes, slapped me in the face, and blew me away so hard that it dried my naturally curly hair straight in 1 minute flat!

This was very original! Things were not at all what they seemed. Very page-turning. Very hard to solve ahead of time. And very thrilling.

Thanks to NetGalley; Little Brown and Company; and James Patterson & David Ellis for providing me with a complimentary ARC to review!

I really love David Ellis books and became a fan of his with his last book. When I saw that he had paired up with James Patterson, I was pleasantly surprised. However, with this book, I found the story line to move along a little too slow for me.
The story is about Marcie and David Bowers and they are well known in town. David saves someone from committing suicide and becomes sort of a local hero. That brings some challenges with it that Marcie must figure out.

Thank you to #netgalley for this #arc

In true James Patterson style. I was hooked from Page 1. Marcie left her hometown , because she wanted bigger and better things. Then returns to care for her mother meets and fall in love with David. Is he really David Bowers? Or is he a wanted felon? Marci must uncover the lies and find the truth to save her family.

Lies He Told Me by James Patterson; David Ellis
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was so eager to read this story written by 2 amazing authors.. I was not disappointed!


Secrets begins to unravel for picture perfect family, the Bowers. David Bowers becomes a local hero when he saves a man from drowning. Things start to get odd when wife Marcy notices things around the house misplaced and even a small fire in their yard.

I really enjoyed this twisty book. I was hoping for a different ending

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Man, did this book have some things I didn’t see coming, and one that I did.

The characters were well-developed and believable and the story was entertaining and well-told.

Why not a solid 4 stars? I found myself skimming pages to get to the good stuff, and there was a lot of good stuff! The twists were great, but some of the “filler” was just….meh.

Overall, I recommend.

This book was great. I had a hard time putting it down. I love books with twists and this book had plenty. Great thriller...

WOW! This is my first read from these authors together and all I can say is WOW! This thriller is SO bingeable. I could not put it down. I was turning pages SO quickly and neglecting the rest of my life in order to finish this. I want to share everything that I possibly can, however I do not want to give away a single second of it in worry of ruining a moment of it for someone else. All I can say in good faith is that it is SO good, you won't be able to put it down, and I think you will love it.

Once again I'm in the minority. I thought this book was a decent twisty thriller with some issues. The characters weren't very likable and the implausible story was not interesting enough to hold my attention. It could just be my mood of late but I don't enjoy it enough to recommend it to anyone. My thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

💛𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗠𝗘💛
𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔯
🗓️𝙿𝚞𝚋 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟹𝟶, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺
🤩𝕄𝕪 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: 𝟝 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤! ★★★★★

🤏𝚃𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚝...an attorney and mother of two discovers her husbands secret life—and it might cost them all their lives….

🌻𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚢...Holy shit!! 🥳The expectation I had for this being written by my fav thriller author(David Ellis) AND James Patterson was steep, but it DEF delivered even with that hype I had in my mind! 🙌PLEASEEEEE go in blind. I mean what else do you need to know other than the geniuses that wrote it & it’s a thriller?!? That’s right, nothing! 😁Doing this made it even more unexpected😳, more delectable 🤤, more bingeable 👊& more devour-able!! 🤩 (yes, I know binge & devour are basically the same thing but this one needed another big adjective😁) The book starts off strong & hardly ever lets up! 👏Mic drop to these authors! 🎤💧 @david_ellis_author @jamespattersonbooks

Entirely predictable and completely unbelievable mob trope.

After a daring rescue, the video of the hero David Bowers goes viral and his whole life blows up. His wife is caught unawares and things go from bad to worse as the bad guys close in. Marcie can’t trust anyone except maybe (how continently) her old ex boyfriend who is now a cop.

Others have already mentioned the unrealistic plot points and the stereotypical characterizations. You’ll have to suspend disbelief to enjoy this one to any extent. The behavior and actions of the characters is basically a total cliche and I spent most of my time shaking my head. The chapters are short and the author keeps certain information to himself long enough to get irritating. The story is told from various points of view and skips around between them a lot. I did not relate to any of the characters nor like any of them. I generally like Patterson standalones, but this will be an exception. The whole ramp up, climax and conclusion were just way too outrageous to enjoy.

I listened to the audiobook while also following along with the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. I much preferred the male narrator’s voice as the women’s overly dramatic reading was occasionally quite annoying. I always find that the experience of listening while reading helps improve a book I’m not really into.

I see I’m again an outlier but this book was definitely not for me.

Note: I was given a digital ARC through NetGalley in exchange for a review.
“Everyone in Hemingway Grove, Illinois, knows David and Marcie Bowers.
David owns the local pub.
Marcie is a former big-city lawyer who practices family law.
When David jumps into Cotton River to save a drowning stranger, he’s celebrated as a hero. His muscled physique, shaved head, and piercing blue eyes are broadcast on every news outlet.
For most people, newfound fame is a lifeline.
For David Bowers, it’s a death sentence.
For Marcie Bowers, it’s a test.
A wife knows the difference between a loving husband and father and a cold-blooded assassin. Right?”
This was one of the best James Patterson books that I have read. Not only was there amazing twists all throughout the book, but it always kept me on the edge of my seat. This is probably my favorite James Patterson thriller, and I would highly recommend it!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

Wow, there were so many layers to this story and you just kept finding new layers of secrets unfold. Nothing is what it seems and you cannot trust anyone.

There are so many things that I want to say but I don't want to give away any of the secrets that would spoil your reading of this story. You just feel for Marcie as she goes through this awful time and doesn't seem to know her husband like she thought. Was their life a lie?

I am still blow away by this book days after reading it and wish that I could give Marcie a big hug!

This book was so compelling that I resisted going to the end to see how it turned out, it has to be read straight through and then you go back and reread the parts you thought were facts..lol

Let me start this review by saying James Patterson has a special place in my heart and is a key player in my love for thrillers. There isn’t a Patterson thriller that leaves me disappointed. When Patterson AND Ellis write the book - that puts it even on another level (if you haven’t listened to Invisible by these two on audiobook, go ahead and add that one to your TBR as well - 100 🦴 read)

This book is crazy. The twists. The lies. The manipulation. I didn’t know who to trust. Once I started this book, all I could think about was “what’s going to happen next” - so make sure you set a chunk of time out to read it because you won’t be able to put it down. You need to get this book ASAP (I’ll also be finding a physical copy for my shelves because it was THAT good).

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown, and Company for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I flew through this book. It kept me guessing and I did not guess what he was hiding. Highly recommend.

This book led me in different directions. I wasn’t expecting it. David Ellis has become a favorite author of mine after Look Closer and I was excited to read this and wasn’t disappointed. It was a quick read and kept me turning the pages.

Reading Lies He Told Me reminded me of being on a ride at Disneyland. The amusement park ride spins and twists around corners. Things pop out at you unexpectedly. You didn't even know they were coming. This is how I felt through the whole book. I couldn't put it down! I kept saying, "What the...?" There were so many unexpected twists and turns.

About The Book:

The perfect family. David and Marcie Bowers. Two cute kids. He owns the pub in town and becomes a local hero. She is a family practice lawyer. One of them isn't really who they appear to be. Okay, that's all I'm going to say. Don't even read more about the book summary on Amazon. It gives away too much and takes away the fun.

My Thoughts On The Book:

Patterson and Ellis made a great team while writing this book. I always wonder how Patterson teams up with another author to produce these amazing books. I read this book in two days because there were so many surprises throughout the story. The characters were relatable, and I would switch back and forth between cheering them on.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers/mysteries, then you will like this book. It reminded me of The Housemaid and The Wife Between Us.

Thank you to NetGalley, Little Brown & Co, James Patterson and David Ellis for my copy of this book. This is my honest book review.

If you would like to read more of my reviews, you can find them at: https://judiholst.com/book-reviews/

I liked this book. It kept me interested the whole time always wanting to know what was going to happen next. The ending caught me by surprise. Good book.

This was my first James Patterson book as well as my first by David Ellis. I loved it!! I brought it on a camping trip and finished it in a little over a day. Kept me intrigued from the very beginning!!

David Bowers is a respected pub owner, and his wife Marcie is a respected lawyer. They live in a small town in Illinois with their two kids, Grace and Lincoln. They’re living a quiet, normal life until, while on a romantic walk, an SUV crashes through the bridge they’re standing on, falling into the river below. David immediately jumps in to save the man, who’d had a seizure, and becomes a hero.

Soon, strange things start happening. Their dog Lulu disappears. Things around their house are suddenly in strange places, there was a fire in their yard, and a mysterious vehicle seems to be watching their house. This is when I thought I was in the middle of a psychological thriller, but I was wrong! This is actually a twisty, action-packed crime/legal thriller. One of Marcie’s old clients has found her, thanks to her husband’s heroics going viral, and now the entire family is in danger.

I’d like to say more than that, but I can’t - readers should go into this one fresh! I’m usually not big on action thrillers, but this one was pretty riveting, and the ending was fantastic. This is a fast-paced page turner that will leave you shocked, several times. 4.5 stars.

(Thank you to Little, Brown and Company, James Patterson, David Ellis and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

I haven't read a James Patterson book in a while and I've never read David Ellis, but I definitely will now! This was a quick page turner with a lot of twists and turns and I'm always a sucker for short chapters!

David and Marcie and their two children are living a blissfully happy life until David jumps into the river to save someone's life and becomes a local hero whose face is plastered all over the news. Afterwards, strange things start happening to the family and Marcie becomes suspicious that her husband is keeping secrets from her, secrets that will put her and her children in danger. The roller coaster of a ride begins as the secrets unfold. If you like a fast placed thriller with a criminal, the local police detective and an FBI agent all thrown in, you'll love this book!

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.