“The First Lie Wins” is a thrilling mystery. Evie Porter seems to be a typical Southern woman living the dream in Louisiana. She and her boyfriend, Ryan, have an idyllic home with a white picket fence, friends and money. Except, Evie does not exist. She is a con artist and Ryan is her next “mark.”
Evie starts her life of crime because her mother needs money to pay for her cancer treatments. She plans elaborate schemes to steal jewelry from the wealthy. She uses various ploys to get into their homes – sometimes as an employee for a catering company, part of a cleaning crew or as a party guest.
After her mother dies, she continues her theft to support herself. But she is caught using a fake credit card machine at a local country club art auction. After the police arrive, one of the officers is escorting her to the police car when a man greets the officer saying he is supposed to drive her to the police station. But actually he is there to rescue her from the arrest. This is how Evie starts working with Mr. Smith and his assistant, Matt. She only knows Mr. Smith by a mechanically altered voice on the phone. She wonders if he might have ties to organized crime, be a government agent or an assassin.
She receives her instructions from her box at a mailbox store – under an alias, of course. She becomes a master of disguise. Over the years, she has a variety of different aliases and works in different parts of the country. Mr. Smith’s scenarios are extremely complex methods to either blackmail victims, sometimes to take over their businesses or steal vital data. The majority of the time her missions are a complete success. But the previous case did not go as planned. Evie is afraid Mr. Smith might retaliate against her. She begins to wonder if she might be the “mark” in this case.
This novel is truly a cat and mouse escapade. I have read countless mystery novels. Many times I can figure out the ending. But neither I, nor any of my book club members, could solve this mystery. The ending surprised us all. I highly recommend this novel.
“The First Lie Wins” was published in January 2024. It was Reese Witherspoon’s book club pick for January.
“Ashley Elston is the author of #1 New York Times bestseller and Reese’s Book Club pick, First Lie Wins. First Lie Wins has been optioned for television by ABC Signature with Octavia Spencer and Krista Vernoff attached to the project. She is also the author of six YA books. Ashley lives in Louisiana with her husband and three sons.” (ashleyelston.com)
Cathy Lay Mayor grew up in Cullman and graduated from Cullman High School in 1976. She says when she writes book reviews, she tries to remember what Mrs. Gilbert taught her in 11th-grade English. She lived in Dothan for more than 30 years and is married with three adult children and six grandchildren. She retired to Panama City, but still calls Alabama home.
