Listen for the Lie - Amy Tintera

Listen for the Lie is Amy Tintera's adult debut novel. 

I was drawn to the red cover, the sinuous tape and the blurbs from some of my favorite authors.

It's no secret that I absolutely adore epistolary storytelling. Much of Listen for the Lie book is told as chapters and interviews of a true crime podcast.

And now you're wondering what that crime might be, aren't you?

Five years ago Lucy fled her small town. Why? Pretty much all of the residents believe she had murdered her best friend. She was never prosecuted for the killing -  and she never went back home. Until now. 

Lucy is completely different than I had expected. I appreciated something different and unexpected to catch my attention. she's got a dark sense of humor and she freely jokes that she just might be the killer. Is she a killer? Innocent? Her inner voice is loud - and very dark. It's more than a little concerning. Her behaviour just seems to purposely rile up those who loved the victim.

There is a wealth of supporting characters who provide their thoughts, memories and actions to the host of the podcast. I have to say that my favorite character was Beverly -  Lucy's Grandmother. You'll see why. 

Now, I mentioned the epistolary style. It's absolutely the perfect way to hide the clues. Who is lying? Who changes their narrative? Will you put the pieces together before the last page? I'm happy to say that I didn't! And again, it's nice to not know the ending.

This was a fun read and I hope that Tintera tackles another adult book. See for yourself - read an excerpt of Listen for the Lie.

Murder in the Family - Cara Hunter

Oh wow! Cara Hunter's new book, Murder in the Family, is crazy good! 

Why? Well, first up is the style used in telling the tale. It's an epistolary novel - not bits of it, but all of it! 

The book is setup as a true crime show with six experts determined to solve a twenty year old cold case. Police reports, emails, memos, online chat rooms, interviews, memories, newspaper clippings, texts, messages, old photos, suppositions, clues and more are all there for the reader to see.

But - can you determine who the culprit is? I couldn't! Which is absolutely fine with me. I truly enjoy being unable to solve a mystery book. Hunter makes it very difficult to solve, with multiple twists and turns that change the direction of the investigation. Fantastic!

There is a large cast of characters in Murder in the Family. There's a detailed bio for each of the prime characters at the beginning of the book. I had to refer to it at first, but I came to 'know' them all as the book progressed. There's a wide variety of personalities. Some will rub you the wrong way, others are know-it-all, some are secretive and more....

Murder in the Family was a treat to read. Addictive, clever and unique. Loved it. See for yourself - read an excerpt of Murder in the Family. 

With A Kiss We Die - L.R. Dorn

With A Kiss We Die is L.R. Dorn's new novel. 

L.R. Dorn is the pseudonym for two award winning film and television writers. That skill set bring much to the writing of With A Kiss We Die.

The novel is told in an epistolary style, which is one of my absolute favorites. The entire book is told as a podcast! It totally rang true and I felt like I was reading the transcript of an actual case.

And it is about a case - the viscous murder of the parents of college student Jordan. The police seem to be leaning towards him and his girlfriend Victoria as the lead suspects. In an unexpected development, the pair make a preemptive move, calling on The Raines Report podcast to tell their story on air.

Dorn keeps the reader guessing right down to the last pages. Ryanna Raines spends a lot of time with them and slowly but surely the pair provide details that seem to prove their innocence. But are they telling the truth? I'll that answer for you to discover. (And there's a nice gotcha waiting for you in the last few pages.) 

It's just so well plotted! I couldn't put the book down. See for yourself - read an excerpt of With A Kiss We Die. (And I bet the audio version would be just as good. I see that a full cast was used.) 

Gentle readers there are some triggers in this tale. 

The Appeal - Janice Hallett

Oh my gosh! Janice Hallett's new novel, The Appeal, is absolutely brilliant!

From Simon and Schuster: "Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and Lisa Jewell, this “dazzlingly clever” (The Sunday Times, London) murder mystery follows a community rallying around a sick child—but when escalating lies lead to a dead body, everyone is a suspect.

Okay, so that descriptor alone had me hooked. But! What really had me excited was that book is an epistolary novel, told only through emails, messages, memos, newspaper stories, letters and more. I adore this style of story telling.

What else? Well there's a large (but manageable) set of characters (suspects), all with a connection to the Fairway Players, an amateur theater group. One of the troupe has been incarcerated after the death of one of their fellow thespians. Two young law students have been tasked with going through the correspondence in an effort to launch an appeal and clear that conviction.

The clues are slowly revealed from differing viewpoints. I felt like I was in an Agatha Christie novel, trying to ferret out the damning piece of evidence, ready to point my finger with a satisfied ah ha! Well, point I did, but at almost every character along the way. Hallett's plotting is deliciously devious. It's all so very, very clever. The Appeal is easily one of my favorites for the year!

I chose to listen to The Appeal. I wondered if the epistolary element would translated to the audio version well. For this listener it was even better. The readers were Aysha Kala, Daniel Philpott, Rachel Adedeji and Sid Sagar. They all did a spectacular job. There are two female characters that 'speak' more than others. The voices for these two were perfect - Sarah Jane is no nonsense and forceful. Izzy is not as sure of herself and a little clueless and her voice reflects that. The male characters' voices were also perfect for the mental images I was creating - smooth and cultured - and yes, a little bit smarmy. The British accents are very easy to understand. The speed of speaking was just right and was easy to understand. All of the readers captured the tone of the book and interpreted it well, doing justice to Hallett's book. As much as I know I would have enjoyed reading The Appeal, I found the audio version to be even better. Soooooo good!! Hear for yourself - listen to an excerpt of The Appeal.

The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83 1/4 Years Old - Hendrick Groen

The Divorce Papers - Susan Rieger

The Divorce Papers is Susan Rieger's debut novel.

I quite liked the cover (it seemed to promise a fun read) and was excited about the epistolary style Rieger chose for her novel. I really like this format - it makes the reader feel like they are much more involved with the story, almost as if you're reading the documents, letters and notes at your own desk. This style also makes it easy to see the story from many viewpoints, with having to depend on one narrator.

Sophie Diehl is a criminal lawyer at a firm in New England. When the partners who would normally handle a divorce for a wealthy client's daughter are unavailable, Sophie is asked to conduct the intial interview with Mia. Just the one. Until Mia decides that Sophie is the only lawyer she wants.

Through the aforementioned notes, letters, documents etc., we come to know Sophie and her life very intimately - her best friend, her lover, her own family, and her boss and peers at the law firm. I was truly drawn to Sophie - she was wonderfully engaging and I became invested in her story. I also liked Mia - her missives are a little more heated. Who I did feel sorry for was Jane, the eleven year old daughter of the divorcing couple - it was heartbreaking to read the letters she pens. The rivalry amongst the lawyers was amusing as well. Rieger has done a great job with the personal correspondence.

Rieger is a lawyer, so she's writing what she knows. But for this reader, I became bogged down in some of the 'lawyerese'. Initially I read every document, but soon start glossing over case law excerpts and financial charts. It was too much information that seemed like an actual case. I was more interested in the people, and not so much with the dollar values and legal jargon. Rieger has set her book in 1999. I wonder if that's the time frame she's most familiar with legally? I think the book would be more relevant if it was set in present day.

Rieger is a talented writer and I enjoyed The Divorce Papers and this format, but not quite as much as I was hoping to. Read an excerpt of The Divorce Papers.