Lie After Lie: The True Story of A Master of Deception, Betrayal, and Murder Original edition by Bricker, Lara (2010) Mass Market Paperback

by Lara Bricker

A seemingly perfect world held an even more unlikely killer...Julie Keown had a great job, financial security, and a perfect husband who was attending Harvard Business School. But after Julie suddenly died, and doctors discovered she's been poisoned with the main ingredient in antifreeze, her parents began to suspect that her husband, James, was not so perfect. This blow-by-blow account shows how investigators and state police unraveled James Keown's chilling web of deceit.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Audiobook

Mass Market Paperback

First published November 2, 2010

About the author

Lara Bricker is the author of the true crime book Lie After Lie: The True Story of a Master of Deception, Betrayal and Murder (Berkley November 2010).
Lara is a freelance writer in Exeter, New Hampshire with over a decade of experience writing and reporting on crime and justice issues. Her work has appeared in the Portsmouth Herald, the Exeter News-Letter, the Hampton Union, Woman’s World magazine, and The Boston Globe. In 2008, she covered the first death penalty case to go to trial in New Hampshire in almost fifty years for the Associated Press.
As a news reporter, she has received numerous awards from both the New Hampshire Press Association and the New England Newspaper & Press Association for her crime and investigative reporting. Bricker is currently a private detective in New Hampshire where she works as a criminal defense investigator. She also writes a parenting blog for the Seacoast Media Group called Mom’s the Word at http://blogs.seacoastonline.com/seaco...

Reviews

[Leanne Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scary account of a seemingly "normal" sociopath who had no qualms about killing to gain financially and not be exposed.

[Amy Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well done overall, but the motive is not fully explored. I would have appreciated some discussion of James Keown's (apparent) narcissistic personality as it related to his relationships, both with people and with money. And what was he actually doing with the funds he embezzled from his employers? To blithely conclude the man committed this horrific murder out of pure evil is overly simplistic. The author evidently interviewed everyone remotely involved with this case - except the defendant.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read and watched quite a bit about antifreeze poisoning this past year. Yet I had not heard about this particular case. James was just plain evil. How do you watch your wife slowly erode away and be in constant pain? It was great to hear he spends his time in solitary confinement so he can’t choose to share more lies with anyone who’d listen. There’s a special place in hell for this guy. I’m still shocked by how much he pulled the wool over so many people’s eyes. He managed to get jobs he didn’t deserve, wheedle huge sums of money out of people and steal/pilfer whatever he felt he needed. I wonder where all that money went? I’m curious if they ever found out but know it doesn’t really matter. He’ll never get to spend any of it. He’ll day in that little place on Harvard Avenue.

[deborah eden perfidio · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars it's a good book and well written; just kind of "bland" in the annals of true crime. It is absolutely disgusting that this James Keown murdered his wife Julie with antifreeze ; my god it bloggers the mind that people really feel like they're going to get away with it and I'm sure some do but for the ones caught I think they genuinely believe their own lies. I would have given it 5 stars for the writing; just the story could have been told in the few pages of a magazine but ok , the author chose to write a book and hey, Lara Bricker can write; this was her only true crime novel - I'd like to see her tackle a real doozy of a crime- that would garnish 5 stars I'm sure

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty average true crime novel. It was interesting to me because part of the book was set in my area. It was interesting to read about familiar places and companies but other than that it was not overly interesting. The perpetrator wasn't that hard to catch because he wasn't really that smart about his crimes. I'm sad for the family and glad he got caught but it wasn't very exciting to read about.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A true crime story that focuses on the murderer and not the victim. The story made me wonder how so many people could believe so many lies. Even his employers believed him which really is surprising. The background checks were apparently done by a person with little experience. Still as most true crime this story has a satisfying ending in that he is convicted of murder.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

No spoilers here; the crime and suspect are introduced in the first couple pages of the book. But this was still an interesting read as to how the investigation proceeded and what a despicable psychopath the suspect ended up being. Probably not a great endorsement (of myself!) to say this was a good book to breeze through on vacation, but there you have it...

[Nicola (Nikki) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was very good book was very intresting was a fab read

[Catherine Peel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found myself asking why am I reading this? There didn’t seem to be a point to really telling this story. It was story for Julie but I didn’t find it very interesting.

[Paula Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Kind of creepy!

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it bc it was a local case where I live. Always enjoy a true story of places where I live.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, my first true crime book, and this was such an easy read it's made me curious to try more of the genre. I physically couldn't put it down. The writing wasn't all that great, hence the lack of stars, but I found the storyline so incredible and jaw-dropping that I would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a fast read. Or, to anyone who's ever known a chronic liar!! Granted, my interest may be heavily influenced by the fact that I personally knew the main character(s) from my hometown, along with a handful of the rest of the supporting roles. Not sure if it would pack the same punch if the characters were totally unknown to me.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very well written -- the sketches of the various people involved in the story were compelling and the narrative moved along much like a novel. I haven't read a ton of true-crime, but I have read a ton (probably literally) of mystery novels and this was a similar reading experience. Great job Lara!

[Ramona]

No really honest to mark this book as read, but I was three chapters in when I realized I had already read this one. Worth a look for a quick weekend read. The author was not graphic in the nature of the crimes, which I prefer. The book is more a study of anti-social personality disorder (sociopathic behavior, or psychopathic behavior) take your pick. Anyway, I've moved on.

[Eva Whitley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Story of a guy who is a compulsive liar who murders his wife with anti-freeze for the insurance money. I always wonder about why people lie. One of my favorite authors is Ann Rule and Lara Bricker is a lot less melodramatic and smoother than Ann Rule.

[Beverley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read...devastating case

I am a huge fan of Lara Bricker and her podcasts. This is a great book about a devastating case. This is a quick read and Lara does a wonderful job of showing how one man’s action devastated many.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read about a tragic crime. It was a little slow at times but it picked up as the story unfolded.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it a lot, but wish I had learned more about the whys.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, true story, I would prefer it to be fiction

[Billie Atkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read. Book about James Keown murdering his wife with antifreeze.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story of murder of Julie Keown by ethylene glycol. Husband, James Keown was suspect.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book with attention to detail. There wasn't alot of pages about
the trial which was nice and told us information about the victim and her family.
Intriguing.

[S Miller]

Used - Good (Light spine creases; Front cover worn)

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent true crime story. This is a very sad story of a senseless killing but extremely well written.

[Shelia Dolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad Read

Julie seemed like a truly nice person and didn't deserve what happened to her. James is a disgusting person and is where he deserves to be.

[Kindra Zepeda Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple read. Very to the point and wow James Keown is a loser.