A Dead Lie by Claire Sheldon.
Detective Jen Garner Book 4.
I really did enjoy this book. Even though it's book 4 I was able to read it as a standalone. It was a quick and easy read. I loved the short chapters. This was a twisty and gripping read. I couldn't put it down once I started it. This was a strange case. I wasn't sure if I believed the chloe or not. I was surprised with the ending. I'm looking forward to the next book. I would recommend this book.

Blurb.
MEET DETECTIVE JEN GARNER: DEVOTED WIFE, PERFECT MOTHER . . . WITH A DARK PAST SHE’LL DO ANYTHING TO OUTRUN.

Jen Garner's life is a delicate balancing act between her past as an undercover police officer and her present as a mother trying to build a new life for her family.

Until a woman claiming to be her best friend, Chloe Seaward, shows up on her doorstep.

But Chloe died years ago during an undercover operation.

Her reappearance isn’t just a shock — it’s a threat.

And now everything that Jen has built begins to unravel.

Caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse with no one she can trust, can Jen uncover the truth . . . and keep her family safe?

#Adeadlie @ClaireSheldon #DetectiveJenGarner #ChocLit #PsychologicalThrillers #HeistCrime #VigilantJustice #Women'sAction&AdventureFiction
#netgalley

I enjoyed getting to know Jen Garner in this novel, it had that twists and turns that I was hoping for and enjoyed in this genre. The overall story worked with what I wanted and the character development was really well done. I enjoyed how good Claire Sheldon’s writing was and that it had that element that I was looking for.

Took a while to really get into this book. Lots of twists and a variety of characters. A strong main character.

Well written characters but an awful lot of them.
I picked this book up several times before i really got into it.
Twists and turns and some a little confusing.
Overall an ok read for me.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

This is the first Claire Sheldon book I have read. I think my experience would have been richer if I had read the previous three novels, but this one stood on its own well. Overall I enjoyed the story. It kept up a decent pace. I liked the characters, especially Hannah, I felt her struggle and stress. I found no big plot twists or crazy secrets; the story stood well on its own merit. There were a few places where I needed suspension of disbelief to carry on reading and I found a few of the dialogue exchanges a little clunky. Thank you to NetGalley and Choc Lit for the ARC in exchange for honest feedback.

Jen Garner's life is a delicate balancing act between her past as an undercover police officer and her present as a mother trying to build a new life for her family. Until a woman claiming to be her best friend, Chloe Seaward, shows up on her doorstep. But Chloe died years ago during an undercover operation. Now everything that Jen has built begins to unravel. Because Chloe's appearance isn't just a shock - it's a threat. Caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse with no one she can trust, can Jen uncover the truth.... and keep her family safe?

I didn't know that this was the fourth book in the series when I requested it. The story has a dual timeline - the past, two years ago, and the present day. It's told from multiple points of view. There were lots of characters and far too much going on. It's well-written and fast-paced. I don't think this book can be read as a standalone. I think I've lost out on a lot of background information.

Published 24th October 2024

I would like to thank #NetGalley #JoffeBooks #ChocLit and the author #ClaireSheldon for my ARC of #ADeadLie in exchange for an honest review.

This is a good character driven read , Jen is the perfect mother a devoted wife but she has secrets she would rather anyone not find out about.. Enter Chloe......

This was a good read and filled with drama, twists and turns.

It is well written and I am looking forward to a sequel as I did think some things were left unfinished...

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. This book has a lot of twists and turns that you keep you wondering if it is truly Chloe or an imposter. I enjoyed the story line very much but I found it hard to follow the characters. Not only were there multiple people that the story follows but some characters have another identity which got very confusing at times.

Reviewed on goodreads 10/11/2024

I really like the author builds characters and the relationships between them. I wanted to like this more than I did. The different aliases of characters were confusing and hard to follow. With dialogue referring to Lisa but the character being referred to by the author as Jen, for example. Also, there were a lot of different points of view and timelines so I kept having to refer back to check who was saying what and when.

I really liked the blurb and the promise on this book but it failed to live up to my expectations of an addictive read. The characterisation was good but lacking in depth and I didn't like the format of the different timelines from different characters. It just lacked in flow, twists and suspense with the ending coming just too quickly. There are a few unanswered questions which makes me think there could be a follow up but I don't know if I would read it. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I really wanted to like this book but it was a struggle. The plot just didn’t seem believable. The jumping from character to character also made it hard to keep up with. Thank you for giving me the opportunity for this ARC, I wish I could’ve gotten into it more.

A DEVOTED WIFE. THE PERFECT MOTHER. A DARK PAST SHE’LL DO ANYTHING TO OUTRUN. MEET DETECTIVE JEN GARNER. The past won't stay buried . . . and neither will she!! Good book! This book had suspense, intrigue, action, plenty of secrets, murder, mystery, a great who done it and a few twists and turns. The story was interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for the eARC.
I started reading this book yesterday, read it for several hours and then at night, and realized this morning I didn't remember much of the story. Different timelines and too many characters got totally muddled in my mind. Sorry!

I really struggled with this book as there was too many characters. In the of the first six chapters there was six characters and I found it hard to keep up and remember who each of them were.