First Lie Wins
by Ashley Elston
Summary
The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she’s given a name and location by her mysterious boss Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job.
Evie isn’t privy to Mr. Smith’s real identity, but she knows this job will be different. Ryan has gotten under her skin, and she’s starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can’t make any mistakes–especially after what happened last time.
Because the one thing she’s worked her entire life to keep clean, the one identity she could always go back to—her real identity—just walked right into this town. Evie Porter must stay one step ahead of her past while making sure there’s still a future in front of her. The stakes couldn’t be higher–but then, Evie has always liked a challenge…
My Review
I really enjoyed this book. I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator did an excellent job. This is the author’s adult novel debut. I haven’t read any of her YA books, but I never would’ve guessed this is her first adult book. It’s very well-written. I went into it almost blind, so I was pleasantly surprised that it’s as good as it is.
This is my first con-woman book, and it was such a fun game of cat-and-mouse while we try to figure out this mystery. I would say it leans more toward mystery than thriller. Though there are some thriller/action sequences that were a lot of fun as well.
Because Evie’s boss is just a mysterious voice that she receives assignments from via her phone, it gave me Charlie’s Angels vibes, but a lot more sinister. This story was very intriguing and kept me guessing the whole time. It’s very bingeable, and I had to know what was going to happen next the entire time. It’s not super twisty, but it did have some nice twists and turns throughout the story. At times, I didn’t know who to trust or what to believe. It weaved in clues seamlessly and had nice pacing. I also appreciate that the reveals were spread out and didn’t feel like one big dump at the end.
There is some language, but it’s not too bad. There is also a romance subplot with just a tiny bit of spice, but it was very tolerable for me.
Evie is a likable character. I was rooting for her the entire time. She had a rough past that we learn about through past timelines. She’s a survivor and a strong female lead. She’s also intelligent, smart, clever, resourceful, and independent. We also see how bold and guarded she is, but also wants to let someone in. She holds her own like a pro, even when the mysterious Mr. Smith plays mind games with her.
What kept me from giving five stars is that it didn’t quite pull me in and resonate with me like some other mystery thrillers that I read in the same month. It didn’t blow my mind, but I still really, really enjoyed it.
I would absolutely read more adult books from this author. Highly recommend!!