Deadly Lies

The Jill Shannon Murder #1

by Chris Patchell

As a teenager, Jill Shannon fell victim to her stepfather's cruel abuse. Now as an adult, Jill's made it - she has a successful career and a solid, if not static, marriage to Detective Alex Shannon. Together they live out what seems to be a perfect life in Seattle.

The vow she made as a teenager to never again be a victim lies dormant - until one day a reporter lures her to his hotel room under the pretense of an interview - and suddenly all of it comes rushing back. Jill seeks revenge on the reporter, triggering a series of events that leads Jill down a wormhole of retribution, forcing her to spin an ever-widening web of lies.

Meanwhile, Alex is pulled into a case of a series of murders that began as cyber relationships. There seems to be a familiar fingerprint on these crimes, but Alex refuses to believe the murderer could be so close to him.

For those who couldn't put down The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo comes a thrilling ride a la Mr. and Mrs. Smith, where husband and wife stand on opposite sides of a divide created by lies and rooted in a dark and deadly past.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Ebooks, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Amazon

348 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 15, 2013

About the author

Chris Patchell is an award-winning USA Today Bestselling Author who started writing to curb the homicidal urges she experienced during her Seattle commute. She writes gripping suspense thrillers set in the Pacific Northwest, including bestsellers Deadly Lies, In the Dark, and her most recent collection of small-town crime thrillers, the Lacey James Series. Her writing has won several awards, including a Next Generation Indie Book Award, several Readers’ Favorite Awards, a BookFest Award, an IndieReader Discovery Award, and a Pacific Northwest Literary Award.

When she’s not writing, you can find Chris reading, hanging out with her family, watching football, and struggling to keep up with her workout regime, all while shushing her incessantly yapping Yorkies. She lives in Oregon with her husband and two kids.

Connect with Chris through her author newsletter: https://www.chrispatchell.com/newslet...

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jill Shannon is no stranger to trauma. She's had her fair share of in her life and is really a victim of not only outside circumstance but those of her own wrong or bad decisions. Despite her many flaws, I couldn't help but feel some degree of sorry for her. Alex Shannon is a good man, at least he tries to be. He desperately wants to do the right thing for the people he cares about while balancing his job as a police officer. In spite of all his good intentions his marriage is on the rocks, and he knows that Jill is hiding more than just one secret. Alex is on the case of a serial killer who is using the internet to lure his victims into meeting him. There is almost too much going on in this book. It does a great job of keeping you guessing, and you'll change your mind at least a dozen times before the final reveal, which you'll probably get wrong:) I have never read this author before, but this will not be my last read by her by any means. Overall, it was a really a well written, action-packed thriller with interesting and believable characters.

[Su Srikanth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected something out of this book and I got something else. The suspense that was created in Prologue about the character Jill was not given enough justice throughout the book. No doubt it was a fast read but there was something that went missing in the middle. And if you watch a lot of Hollywood or your regional movies, you will know the ending (completely expected).
Looking at many good reviews about this book, I bought it and sad that it didn't turn out as expected.

[Tulay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deadly secrets.

Jill character will be hated by everyone, written and developed so good. Interesting subject, after reading the reviews knew the ending, but wanted to know how. Great suspenseful story.

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got to 22% in this and packed it in. It's a rare thing (and I suppose quite clever to be able to provoke such feelings) to find a character I despised so much in Jill that I really couldn't care less what happened to her !! The part of the story featuring Alex, her husband, was really interesting but we spent too much time on her, unfortunately.
She lies and lies like it's second nature, she acts like a cheap tart all the time and clearly thinks she's god's gift to the male species !! Her rudeness was pretty jawdropping as well. Just an awful person altogether. Drives under the influence too like she's untouchable.
I got to page 82, she yelled at Molly the dog for no reason aside from the fact she's a hateful bitch and that hit a nerve for me and I'd seen enough of her.
Plus there were too many mistakes. I was irritated on page 1 when she wrote hallow instead of hollow as that didn't bode well, she kept putting apostrophes in the wrong places-Watson's more than once as an example, she spells Rachel this way and then Rachael as the mood takes her which is just sloppy, strait-laced she spelt as straight.....then it was time to spot the deliberate mistake-"...as he closed the door behind him. Releasing a ragged breath, she stared at the open office door..." Shocking that nobody picked these up !!
I'm still pretty surprised that I hated Jill so much but I couldn't stand another minute in her presence, I'm afraid.

[Hillary · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's literally every bad TV crime drama trope in a book with a bonus deus ex machina ending.

[Diamond Drake · Rating 2 out of 5]

Deadly Lies didn't pan out to be the great read I originally thought it would be. It started strong but less than halfway through it dragged on and became more unbelievable. I just didn't buy that Jill was able to do all that she did undetected. There was never any witnesses that saw or heard anything. And I get that she was married to a cop and had heard a lot about criminals and their actions but most of the time people get caught for the things they CAN'T anticipate . . . like other people being present!

I imagine that the abuse Jill suffered at the hands of her stepfather was supposed to help the reader understand her more but I just didn't find that as a good enough excuse to condone or accept her behavior. And I was thoroughly disappointed by the ending which let her get away with it.

Deadly Lies had great potential but got weighed down with a lot of repetitive, mundane details that led me to skim through some of it just to get to the end. As always, these are just my opinions.

[Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this for free off the giveaways page and the author sent a thank you card urging me to write a review. So the summary above doesn't start happening until about half way through the book. The first half is about Jill's drama with her lover and Alex is working on a missings person case for his ex-fiance. Now normally I am totally against cheating but in Jill's case I kind of feel for her because Alex doesn't really notice her. Then with Alex you want to scream at him to stay away from his ex. The book was fantastic! I could barely put it down. The only thing that bothered me was Jill would play with her victims and I wanted her to just kill them and I know she couldn't just pull out the gun and BAM but I still wish she could have. Then the ending was... the only was to describe it is to say it was different. So overall I loved the book.

[Darcia Helle · Rating 5 out of 5]

With Deadly Lies, Chris Patchell manages to create a mostly unlikable main character that kept me interested and made me care what happened. Jill is outwardly nice to most people, but her internal dialogue and her private actions show an entirely different side of her personality. When she gets into trouble, it's difficult to feel empathy for her situation. Yet, learning about the childhood events that shaped her evokes unexpected sympathy. I found myself in this ongoing loop with her character, seeing aspects to like and even admire, and then cringing at some of her choices and actions.

The pace starts as a slow burn, gradually escalating until we get to an explosive ending. Some unexpected twists caught me totally off guard.

The content takes on secrets, lies, and deceit. Throughout this story are the underlying questions of how well we know the people we love, and how far we're willing to go to protect them and ourselves.

This is a provocative start to the series. I'm looking forward to finding out where Jill takes us next.

[Una Tiers · Rating 3 out of 5]

The agenda of the author was disturbing. Still others may enjoy the writing.
The ending was a surprise.

[Jeannie Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

DEADLY LIES is a gripping suspense novel, very fast-paced with accelerating action. It would appear
that it was written with possible additional sequels in mind which is a good thing. With a very
strong protagonist, the story can certainly sustain several more books. I found Jill to be a rather
unsympathetic heroine at times and that would be my only real criticism. As her character develops, I
would like to see some growth in her outlook. Over all though, this is a good piece of fiction and I
should think the author will enjoy much success in the future.

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jill Shannon is a thirty-something dot-com executive heavily involved in cyber security and married to a Seattle Police Homicide officer, Alex Shannon. Both are deeply committed to their careers, finding little time to spend together, but they enjoy the life they share. Neither of them would change their public life, and they are more or less content with their private one. Of course that could change if true disclosure were included in their daily routines. Alex is pretty frank about his world, but Jill learned early in her catastrophe-littered youth that life is much more complicated than most people understand.

This was one of 13 serial killer novels in a compilation I have had for a while, titled 'Dead and Gone: A Collection of 13 Serial Killer Mysteries and Thrillers'. Having gotten hooked on Chris Patchell's Lacey James police procedural series, and unable to find the whereabouts of volume 5 in that series, I have pushed on to this Patchell series, and I have to tell you I am already heavily involved in the Shannon household. There is a little more graphic adulting in this Seattle-based series, but a quite involved and compelling tale told very well.
REVIEWED on October 6, 2024, at Goodreads, AmazonSmile, Barnes&Noble and BookBub. Not available for review on Kobo.

[gwen graves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really unusual

I found this to be one of the most unusual stories I have ever read. I really liked the characters. I was totally amazed by the ending.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad thriller, if you can suspend your disbelief for some parts of it, the ending was not what I predicted either, worth reading just for that.

[Scott Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This debut novel by Chris Patchell is a fast-paced, first-rate thriller. Meet Alex and Jill Shannon, detective and computer management guru, married but drifting apart. There are two story lines in this novel which seem unrelated but ultimately converge in a shattering conclusion.

When the novel begins Jill is commuting to Silicon Valley where she spends the week returning home on the weekends. Alex is immersed in his police detective work. Jill who is portrayed as a very strong-willed character is having a passionate affair with her boss until he dumps her for another female employee. Jill is about to be fired for challenging this two-timer so she visits his cabin in the mountains in an attempt to make amends. But as they argue her lover is killed in a fatal fall. Jill hightails it back to the city and the death is categorized as accidental.

Meanwhile Alex has become immersed in the search for the younger sister of Abby, the woman he left to marry Jill. It is obviously a kidnapping. Alex identifies a suspect through a photo taken by the kidnapped girl at a coffee shop just before she is abducted. The suspect has a long criminal record and is connected to a biker gang in San Francisco. Alex calls in a favour with Jackson a detective friend there and goes to the city to try and track down the suspect. They find him but he escapes and Alex is sent home for having violated a direct order from the local commander not to interfere with their investigation of this motorcycle gang for drugs and other offence.

Jill's star is rising at the company where she works. She gets to make the command presentation at a convention. As she is making the way back to her room, she encounters a journalist who wants to do a profile on her. She accompanies him to his room where he offers her a drink, which he has spiked with a roofie. Jill is raped while unconscious. She then discovers that the journalist has videotaped the encounter to post on a website where other men with his twisted tastes do the same. After killing the rapist Jill checks out this website and decides to exact revenge on these predators. She becomes a one-woman vigilante who uses internet dating to troll for the men involved in this sick game.

Ultimately Alex's investigation intersects with his colleague's murder investigation. This leads to a dramatic confrontation which ends tragically.

[Susan Swiderski · Rating 5 out of 5]

How well do we really know the people we love? Police detective Alex Shannon thought he knew his wife Jill very well, but now he's not so sure. Something's changed. As a sexually abused teenager, Jill vowed to never be a victim again, so when abuse rears its ugly head again and threatens to destroy everything she holds dear, she has to do something to take control of her life again. The problem is, that "something" is far from legal. When the detective's investigation uncovers clues leading right to his bride, what will he do about it? Uphold the law, let his wife go... or something else?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and give it a very strong 4 1/2 stars. Terrific story, great character development, terrific writing, and a few satisfying surprises in the plot. Who could ask for anything more? This is an excellent book, all the way around, especially for a debut. The ONLY drawback is it could have stood a wee bit more editing. For example, the word "forty" is misspelled as "fourty" in ten chapter headings. Once, it could be dismissed as a mere typo. Stuff happens. But ten times? It should have been caught and corrected. There are also other minor editing misses. Nothing earth-shattering, but when a book is written this well, and tells a story this interesting, has a cover this good, and is sooo close to achieving perfection, it's a shame the author and/or editors didn't give it another read-through or two. Then, I would have given it a very enthusiastic five stars.

All in all, I highly recommend this book.

UPDATE: The author has done some additional editing, so I'm gonna do some editing here, too. No more 4 or 4 1/2 stars. No sirree. Make it a full-blown five.

[Patricia Ibarra · Rating 2 out of 5]

We all know that fiction is something that did not happen, only in the mind of an author who puts it into words. However, the best novels for me are those when you feel what you are reading is real, that the characters are somebody you can find in real life. In this novel, Jill is married to detective Alex Shannon. When she was a teenager, she was the victim of sexual abuse and was determined never to be a victim again. A reporter tried to abuse her and she took revenge. This fact triggers some other deadly actions. To cover herself, her life becomes one lie after another, and her marriage will certainly suffer. Several murders have happened and Alex is responsible for investigating them. How did he suspect his wife? He has no bases for that. He could as well have suspected his neighbor. Very flimsy foundations and her actions are totally unbelievable. This book is fiction but to the fifth.

[RedRedtheycallmeRed · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the blurb of this book gives too much away ("until one day a reporter lures her to his hotel room under the pretense of an interview"), because that doesn't happen for quite a while in the book. It's almost like I was reading two different books, one about Jill and the web of lies that she's weaving, the other about Alex and the case he's working on. Jill's storyline was much more interesting, watching her try to cover her tracks and seek some revenge was entertaining, even if she wasn't a likable person. Alex was just kind of dull, and his case didn't really have me anxiously turning pages.

With less than 20% of the book left, Alex and Jill's stories intersected a lot more. I didn't find it very believable that Alex suddenly has a lightbulb moment about what had been happening. The ending has a twist (of course) and it was interesting enough for me to want to read the next book and see what happens next.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. It kept me interested until the last page. Jill Shannon has a successful career in computer programming and is married to a detective in cyber crimes, Alex. Unfortunately, she is having an affair with her boss. When he unceremoniously dumps her and threatens her career, reminders of her sexual and physical abuse by her step-father resurface. Jill had vowed never to be a victim again. She goes to confront her boss and accidentally pushes him down the stairs at his cottage and he hits his head and dies. Jill finds herself in a position where she receives a promotion. When at a conference she is a victim of a date rape drug by a reporter. She again takes matters into her own hands. What happens next spirals out of control. I was gripped by the story and loved the ending. A great read.

[Rita Sheppard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has all the components of a mystery that will capture your attention and keep you reading -- office politics, adultery, kidnapping, date rape, and murder.

What makes a person turn evil? Background, past experiences, events that happen? Alex and Jill's marriage seems to be good but circumstances intercede that make it go so wrong.
How can someone start cold bloodedly killing people and justify it it? Is there a good reason or do they get caught up in the thrill of it?

I had a hard time putting this book down because I wanted to see where it was going. I thought I knew how it would end but the ending was totally unexpected. The author knows
how to keep you on edge and wanting to read more.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Jill was young, her stepfather abused her, and Jill vowed to never be a victim again. Now she is married to a policeman and having an affair with her boss. When her boss ends the affair, Jill accidently causes his death which does not really bother Jill. I really enjoyed reading Deadly Lies. Jill becomes set on revenge against men who have wronged her and others. Fast paced and a thrill a minute!

[Carol Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It kept me interested throughout. There were two different stories going on and I was interested in both and trying to figure out how they would be joined. This is what you want out of a good book. One that keeps you wanting to read the next page.

[Alice Neilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm afraid I can't give the 5 stars like so many of the other reviewers did. The characters made such bad choices, and did such things I can't even imagine. But it was entertaining and kept you with it.

[Jeanette Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most Unsatisfactory Ending

Ok book thus 2 stars. Poor ending no justice too many loose ends and unanswered quesions not recommended. Read it if you wish taking into consideration my review. However everyone is different you may love it, I just didn't

[Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

gave up on it

[Scott Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unlikeable main character, and farfetched plot. Quick read.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have so many mixed emotions on this story. I am torn between who should be left together and the outcome when the end comes. The ending is great but shocking, I still can’t help but think things could have been different if she could have gotten the help she needed. It is truly a shocking story of a young girl who was abused by the one who should have loved and taken care of her. The outcome of that story is very shocking, sad but you can’t feel remorse for the abuser. As that little girl grows up she puts the past behind her moving on to a better life with a wonderful husband who spends more time with his job then he does her. This leads to events that puts a tail spin on so many lives. As things get out of control Jill goes down a path of killing that she can’t get out of. Just when she plans to stop she makes a choice that will change her life forever.

I thought the two narrators did an outstanding job with Mr. Stillwell being Alex when the story was from his point of view and Ms. Cauldwell being Jill’s voice when it was from her point of view. There isn’t a mixture between the two narrators each take the chapter that pertains to their character doing the voices for all the characters in that chapter. I thought their many different character voices were wonderful. You always knew who was talking and what each was feeling. Their normal voices are very pleasant and I had no trouble listening to their narration. There are no background noises, no volume changes, not even when they changed over to let the other do the narration. I could not tell when they took a break it sounded like they were side be side with one taking over when the other left off with no breaks. There are no repeating of words just a very clear, and clean audio that I very much enjoyed. Their male and female character voices are very clean and clear, very pleasant and sounded like I pictures the character to be. The emotions they give them is outstanding I knew what each were feeling and who was talking with no problem. I know how hard it is for two different narrators to work together getting it all right from the tones, emotions, and volume. I have to give them a five plus for the outstanding job they did. I really can’t wait to hear more of their work.

The plot is wonderful, the author has no trouble keeping you hooked with many twists and turns you do not see coming. There are a few heartbreaking moments, a few shocking ones as well as a few smiles. This isn’t the type of story that makes you laugh it is serious and the author did a great job portraying the emotions of each character. My heart really went out to Jill and all she had to go through but it went out to her husband as well for all he had to deal with. I just have one question how can she be sure. Once you read the story you will understand that question. It is a very emotional read be prepare for your emotions to be all over the place.

The author said it is like Mr. and Ms Smith I do not see this, it does keep you on the edge of your seat waiting to see the outcome but I wouldn’t call it an action adventure, exciting or even very dangerous. What I would call this story is sad, horrible for so many people. The author goes a great job showing how man have to have control and will do anything to get the upper hand but the same can be said for some women. The one I feel the sorriest for his Alex, in the end he was the biggest loser and my heart broke for him. It is a very interesting story that keeps you invested. I really enjoyed it and would recommend you give it a try. There is one place I had a question and many other place I wish the outcome was different.

[Michael Kobylarz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in just over a day during a couple of flights and a layover. It definitely kept me in suspense. There's things I liked but things I didn't care for:

The Good:
-The characters are definitely flushed out in ways where you see that even the good characters have their bad sides and vice versa. Too often characters are written very one-dimensionally, and while some of the secondary characters can come across that way, the main characters were written pretty well.
-It really moved along quite well. It didn't drag.
-It definitely surprises you from the beginning to the end. A few times I had to go back and read again as I thought, "Wait, did that really just happen?"

The Bad:
-The story unfolded in various different cities, many times hundreds of miles away. It always 'just so happened' that any character that needed to be somewhere at a particular time was already planning on being there anyway.
-Kind of almost the same thing with the characters jobs. Their skill sets or job descriptions are pretty much non-existent in the real world, but were instead contrived simply to move the plot forward.
-Some things that happened were told in great detail, while other things that were pretty important or would have been interesting to the reader were glossed over.
-The ending - I get it that in this day in age every book has to have a 'twist' at the end, and that's the new rage. But I also think some of the most satisfying stories end with the 'bad character' having to atone for their wrongdoings. The way this book ended, the main character walked away not only avoiding having to answer for what happened, but feeling zero remorse about any of it. Sorry, that's not 'worth' the twisty ending, and I hope the author can mature in her writing and realize that a satisfying ending might not make a reader gasp in shock and still be the better option.

Really, not a bad book at all but just couldn't consider this for more than 3 stars for what I think were examples of lazy writing.

[Gwen Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Unexpected Surprise — An Excellent Read

Alex and Jill Shannon are the perfect couple … right down their yellow Labrador Molly … but trouble is lurking under the surface. Alex is a detective, a good one, and the job means a little less attention focused where it should be—on his wife. When Alex’s ex-girlfriend enlists his help in finding her missing sister, it strains an already strained marriage. But there’s more going on than the obvious. Jill is hiding a troubled past. She was sexually abused and she made a solemn promise for it to never happen again. All these elements become combustible when something triggers Jill into doing the unthinkable. Her biggest problem? Not letting her husband know.

DEADLY LIES by Chris Patchell is a darn good read. It started out a little wonky for me, but it doesn’t take long to get into the heart of the story, and when it does, it never lets up.

The story is told tandem style, and weaves what’s going on in Alex and Shannon’s lives by allowing them to take center stage and tell what’s going on through their POV. While I loved Alex from the get go, Jill … not so much. But when the ticking time bomb Jill carries inside goes off, both sections of the story mesh beautifully, and I became as vested in Jill as I was Alex. What can I say? I was fixated on this story.

Chris Patchell is a really good writer. Her skill is evident in the way the story flows, the fast pacing, and the way we get caught up in drama. The suspense is always present, urging us to read more than we planned, and the surprises that occur keep it that way. As for the ending? Definitely, did not anticipate it! It’s a big shockaroo and I loved it. It finished off the tale in style and left me happy that I spent the time reading this taut mystery/thriller.

I definitely recommend DEADLY LIES to all you mystery buffs. I’m sure after reading it, you’ll want more of Chris Patchell. Put her and it on your list of summer reads and enjoy!

[Lori Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deadly Lies by Chris Patchell is an unusual crime/thriller novel. It is told in two voices - Jill's and Alex's. Jill is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse by her stepfather. Alex is a detective in Seattle. Although they are a married couple of five years, the two have been living separate lives as their jobs keep them both busy. While Jill has an affair with her boss, Alex works to find the killer of his ex-girlfriend's sister who has also threatened everyone Alex loves. Jill's life begins to spiral out of control when her boss abruptly ends their affair and threatens to end Jill's career. This leads Jill down a road of unfortunate events which further threatens her marriage to Alex and her personal freedom. Alex successfully tracks down the killer only to have the killer slip through his fingers a couple of times. Once Alex finally gets the killer in custody, he learns the dangerous, deadly game Jill has been playing. Then the killer is released and everyone's lives are again in danger. Meanwhile, Alex has to decide what to do about Jill and as the two are in the middle of that confrontation, the killer shows up in an exciting, yet sad conclusion.

Patchell creates intriguing, solid characters. Jill is vulnerable, yet hardened from hatred of her stepfather. Alex is steady, loyal and honorable. Although I was shocked by some of Jill's actions, I could understand why she did some of the things she did. Jill's character, while not completely likable, actually became my favorite. Alex's character seemed a bit naive at times, but Patchell set him up as such a good detective, I wasn't at all surprised at how easily he discovered what Jill had been up to. The scene building was also well done, as were the characterizations, descriptions and settings. All in all, this was a complete package. If you want a great thriller that gives you some shocking, exciting moments, this is definitely the novel for you.

[Joyce · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this book and I hated the character of Jill. I really can’t remember the last time I read a book and felt so strongly about a character. You’d think this was due to superb writing, but in reality, Patchell did a poor job developing Jill’s character. From the blurb on the back of the book, it seems that the author is trying to write another thriller a la Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Unfortunately, this character - and her writing - fell way short. Lisbeth Salander’s character was well drawn, carefully crafted, and had lots of background that helped you relate to her even though you may have disapproved of her actions. Jill Shannon, on the other hand, was not well developed and garnered no sympathy from me whatsoever. She was just hateful, deceitful, and desperate to cover her tracks. The moment she lost me completely was when her husband discovered a connection between Jill’s travel dates and the dates of the murders. Without any hesitation, he immediately suspected her without any denial or disbelief whatsoever. Wouldn’t a loving husband who had no inkling his wife was even cheating on him at least try to resist believing she might be a serial murderer?! Just bad writing. And the ending???!!! Puh-leeze!!! I’m afraid Patchell’s writing style did nothing to convince me to read more any of her books in the future.