Dead Lies

by Cybele Loening

Former NYPD cop Anna Valentine just landed her first homicide case—the grisly double murder of a wealthy young couple. But it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Recovering from recent personal tragedies, the young police officer just moved with her traumatized child to the suburbs where she hoped to pursue a quiet life and heal. To complicate matters, although she’s sworn off men until she and her son are happy and whole again, Anna feels the pull of attraction to the handsome twin brother of one of the victims, a man who has yet to be crossed off the suspect list. Teaming up with lead detective Jerry Kreeger, a 57 year-old veteran cop who’s lonely, broke, and close to burn out, Anna chases a crafty killer and ultimately exposes a family’s shocking secrets that will rock a town.

331 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 11, 2014

Reviews

[Jen La Duca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead Lies, by Cybele Loening, is a mystery surrounding the death of a wealthy young couple who seem to have no enemies. Web is at his parents’ house celebrating the Christmas holiday along with his younger sister Beth; they haven’t quite kicked off their evening as they’re still waiting for his twin sister Serena and her husband Bill to arrive. When Web finally receives a phone call from Serena he assumes she’s going to apologize for her and Bill running late, as usual. What he hears instead are the gruesome sounds of Serena slowly dying, sounds that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Web is panicked and doesn’t know what to do in order to help her, and then just before she dies she says something strange and cryptic to him. Web can’t make sense of it and has no idea if what she was trying to say holds a clue to who murdered his sister and brother-in-law, but he’s determined to find out.

Homicide Detective, Anna Valentine has recently moved from New York to a nice, quiet suburb with her very young, traumatized son. Her hope is that they can both begin to recover and heal from the horrific tragedy they both suffered in the last year. She’s just been assigned the murder case of the young, wealthy couple and is working alongside veteran detective, Jerry Kreeger. The two work well together and are quickly on the trail of a killer who seems to have no reason to target the young couple. Once they start digging into their lives it becomes apparent there was more going on with the couple than anyone could have possibly know. Not even her twin brother and best friend, Web, could have guessed what shocking secrets lay burry beneath his family’s seemingly perfect exterior.

I loved every moment of Dead Lies! I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect going in as I’ve never read anything by Cybele Loening, but I did know I was drawn in by the book’s cover, it’s quite beautiful and haunting. To categorize a book as a “mystery” is leaving it pretty open-ended since there are so many sub-genres in today’s book world. I typically stick to dark, gritty psychological thrillers because these are the stories I’m drawn too, I love twisty plot twists and long buried secrets :) It didn’t take long for me to realize this book was giving me everything I usually love in dark thrillers yet it maintained a clean, good old-fashioned mystery style. I loved this aspect and was honestly surprised by how well it worked here. This is a character driven mystery so we see each of these characters flaws, not just our main characters either, each character is dealt with in the same way so you end up with such a sense of knowing these people and caring about them. Our three main characters Web, Anna and Jerry seem to have the most flaws and each one is at a crossroads of sorts in their lives. Again, this isn’t typically information I want in my thrillers but it just worked so well here, what they were each going through could happen to any of us and in some ways it was this realization that really made the book for me!

What was even more amazing is that this story never slows downs and there’s quite a few surprises at the end that I wasn’t expecting! The first (don’t worry, no spoilers here) was in how the mystery itself played out, we find out pretty early on who the murderer is, I loved this twist because it then made me question what was going on and what I thought I knew. Once again, this was one I thought I’d figured out in the beginning only to discover that although I’d been looking in the right direction, I was actually way off! I swear I must be losing my touch because this has been happening to me a lot lately Lol Can’t really complain though because the reveals are so much more fun when I discover I’ve been wrong the hole time :) The second big surprise for me was the romance. We had two potential love interests for Ana throughout the novel and both had something to offer for her and would have been a good match. I liked one slightly more than the other, in the sense of having a relationship with Anna, and was convinced that she’d choose the other one in the end but nope, I was wrong here too! At least this was a pleasant surprise and one that really leaves the door open for book two.

I highly recommend Dead Lies for any type of mystery fan and with this being such a character driven story it would also make a great Book Club choice. I’m putting it in the pool for my own book club because I just really need to discuss this book with my girls!! I want to get other opinions on the twists, the big reveal at the end, which guy Anna ended up with and where this fabulous detective and author might take us next. There will be a next right? I do hope so because Anna’s story isn’t over yet ;)

A huge thank you to publishers, Balboa Press, for providing me with a review copy of Dead Lies in exchange for my honest review. And thank you to CBB Book Promotions for inviting me to be a part of this fabulous blog tour!!

[BookLoversLife · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really good. I had a hard time unplugging from it.

Character wise, I loved them all really. Each was well written and developed. Anna lost her son and decided to move to a small town. Her ex husband is an addict and her other son, is still suffering the loss of his twin. She has a lot going on but is determined to put the past behind her. I admired her spirit! She was plucky, brave and loyal. She is also smart, resourceful and determined.

Web is the twin of a woman who is murdered. He hears her being killed on the phone and races over there, but it's too late. He ends up meeting Anna, who is assigned the case, and together they have to piece exactly what happened that night and why. I initially didn't know if I liked Web or not, but he slowly grew on me. I liked his interactions with Anna and did want to see it growing.

Then we have Jerry. He is also assigned the case, along with Anna, and is suspicious of Web. He is a veteran detective and knows he hasn't a chance in hell with Anna, though he is attracted to her. He is a rock to Anna and her son and I loved his character.

The plot was well thought out and developed. It grabbed my attention right from the start and didn't let go. The mystery surrounding the murder played out at a perfect pace and kept me guessing. I thoroughly enjoyed this suspenseful read and hope to see these characters again!

Keely J. Wolter did a great job with the narration. I didn't have a problem following which character was talking and the voice was clear and concise.

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Skinny
Serena and Bill Vance are upper crust of Avondale society. They area wealthy couple and their lives show it. However, the two quickly find out money can’t buy the children they so desperately want. Despite being on medication to manage her depression, Serena was also taking fertility drugs. Suddenly the beautiful couple who lived in the beautiful house are left bruised and broken and Anna Valentine lands her first homicide case. Unfortunately, she must work with Jerry Kreeger, the lead detective in the area, and must follow his directives. Serena’s twin brother, Web, plays a pivotal role in helping unfold the events of Serena’s life as Anna and Kreeger dig deeper to uncover why a wealthy, affluent young couple was brutally murdered in their own home. As the case develops and becomes more complicated, Anna discovers she has a distinct connection to Web Vance that is tied to both of their recent losses.

The Players
Anna – a single mother; suffered her own traumatic loss; working on the Vance case; wants to be a Good Cop
Kreeger – a veteran homicide detective divorcé; ends up overseeing the Vance case working with Anna and Web
Leon/De Luca – a homicide detective under Kreeger’s direction; second-most decorated officer after Kreeger; working the Vance case
Web – twin brother to Serena; seeks answers and investigates into his sister’s death; wants justice
Serena – Web’s twin sister; managing depression with medication; also trying to get pregnant
Bill – Serena’s husband
Tim – one of Web’s best friends; known as a bachelor and hates kids
Danny – one of Web’s best friends; married to Tanya with four kids
Tanya – Danny’s wife; known as a gold digger among Danny’s friends
Casey – Danny’s oldest child; works at Anna’s favorite Starbucks

It is hard to say who the main character of this book is, given that it follows both Anna and Web primarily. I enjoyed Anna’s character as a woman working in a harsh field, especially given her first career choice and continuing to work in the field after suffering her own tragic and senseless loss.

The best supporting character award goes to Tim. Whenever Web needed him, Tim was instantly there by his side. Of course, he wanted answers to his questions, too, just like Web and the detectives. Tim’s support helps Web make it through the loss and the grief, and he also helps keep Web on a slightly even keel at times.

After the initial interviews with Web’s family, they fade into the background. I was interested to know their respective thoughts and get insight into their characters to have a myriad of emotions and reactions, but that wasn’t the focus of the book.

First Impressions
Look at that house! It’s like a mini manor! I was thinking this book would be set in England after just glancing at the cover, but after beginning reading and comparing to the cover, I kept thinking Avondale was very…suburban for such a sprawling estate as pictured on the cover.

Second Thoughts
Anna is a former NYPD cop who has moved to the suburbs to lick her wounds and allow them – and her son’s – to heal. However, her first homicide case doesn’t allow her to do that very easily. Not when she discovers the beautiful Serena Vance has a twin brother, Web. It instantly forms her connection, an unspoken bond, with Web.

There is a distinctive separation of characters in this novel: the cop side and the family side. The lines between the two become blurred after Anna reveals her tragedy and connection to Web. In that moment Web saw Anna in an entirely new light, and it allowed these two characters to come together and help one another with their own personal grief and sense of guilt.

“It’s just that I see Serena everywhere in this town, you know?” he told his friends. “She is standing on the steps of the high school and outside the Warner Quad theater. I see her playing Frisbee in the Buckleys’ yard and at every other house we visited growing up.”
Coming from New York, Anna has seen it all, but these kinds of things don’t happen in the quiet and affluent area of Avondale. It is unheard of, but raises the question to both the investigative team and the Marino family of how well you know others, even your own family members. Even your own twin.

Kreeger is a burnt-out divorcé with two grown daughters that he doesn’t spend nearly enough time with. His life is his job and he takes charge of the Vance case. Despite taking over the case from Anna, Kreeger doesn’t pull rank and territory and push her out. Instead, he allows her to join the homicide investigation. He doesn’t object to her commentary and input, and that is viewed by Anna as a positive welcoming. I really enjoyed the beginning of their working relationship. It shows a depth and greater sense of respect from Kreeger for the profession and professionalism in the police field.

The plot quickly develops as Anna and Kreeger focus in on their prime suspect, but as with all great crime novels, there are complexities to the plot that no one saw coming. As the investigation continues full-force, the finger begins to sway and point toward another prominent individual, as other interesting pieces of information pop up convoluting the investigation and casting suspicion on many.

Anna and Kreeger grow together as professionals working on the Vance case. Given the hours their positions demand, they spend plenty of time together around the clock. This allows the two of them to also open up and share insights into their respective lives. It is during one of these moments that Anna explains Good Cops and Bad Cops to Kreeger, and the importance of always knowing which one your partner is.

Kreeger later struggles with an ethical dilemma – a coworker and also a friend – and he must determine the right course of action. The legal standpoint is clear to Kreeger, but the ramifications of such legalities would swirl his longtime friendship down the toilet.

She watched him walk to the door and noticed that his movements weren’t as quick and effortless as the usual, but slow and labored, as if some unseen hand was pushing down on his head. He was clearly conflicted about the situation. He paused at teh door and turned around, looking like he wanted to say something. He put his hand on the door frame and thought for a moment before saying, “You know that theory your have about Good Cops and Bad Cops?”

She nodded.

“Which one does this make me?”

Anna fought the urge to cry. He wore his guilt like a heavy coat. “Jerry, you’re the best cop I know.”
Loening clearly and cleanly makes the point that we never know the true depths of even our most loved ones, as Web and the rest discover as the investigation into Serena and Bill’s lives deepen. There are other side issues such as ethics, grief, friendship and professionalism that crop up within the case related to the Vance murders, but of these the biggest is friendship.

Dead Lies is written so well that everything is tied up at the end neatly and cleanly. Given the position that Anna finds herself in at the end of the novel, I was very impressed with how she handled everything and the choices she makes. As the end neared, I became increasingly concerned that I would be disappointed, but Loening did not disappoint. I highly recommend this book. It makes for a perfect fall read.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

My full review also available here: https://fangirlsreaditfirst.wordpress...

First off, a big thank you to author Cybele Loening for allowing Fangirls Read It First to read an advanced copy of Dead Lies.

Web hears the unthinkable on a phone call with his sister – the sound of her murder. Police officer Anna Valentine, who moved to a small town to recover from a family tragedy, investigates the murder as her first big case in town. Older, seasoned detective Jerry Kreeger is lead on the case and takes Anna on as a partner. But solving the case will be far from easy, revealing twists and lies along the way.

Anna was a surprisingly self-conscious character, even though being a police officer usually comes with confidence. She had good instincts, but would often make mistakes in the move from NYPD procedure to the suburbs. She has baggage in the form of an addicted husband and a traumatized son. She also is still reeling from the death of her son’s identical twin. She’s self-conscious about her baggage and dating again. She also feels she not very attractive or desirable in general because of the bunions on her feet. She was very interesting and easy to relate to as the main character.

Web was a character who I didn’t initially like but as soon as his sister died he became a different person right away. He took stock in his life and those around him and began to live more for others instead of himself. It was very realistic, the grief he went through being so much deeper since he had lost a twin sister. Being a twin myself, I found that very easy to imagine. I liked how Loening added in the twin connection into his grief. He also became very charming and sweet with Anna and I found myself very torn between the love interests.

Jerry knows how old he is, and that he has no business crushing on his partner Anna. He feels old enough to be her father, but he still is attracted to her and scared to make a move. I liked the exchanges these two shared while working together on the case. A real partnership developed in this book and the two were able to lean on each other in the case and open up about their lives. I liked how, even though Anna would constantly make mistakes, Jerry would let her know she was busted but also let her recover and learn from them.

The pacing of this book was great, it was slow when it needed to be and still had fast paced moments. The mystery was excellent, full of plot twists that kept the reader second guessing everything. I liked how the author balanced insights into the mystery and character development at the same time.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

[books are love · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This was a great mystery. So many twists and turns and secrets. Secrets that destroyed lives. Secrets that hurt people.

Web I felt for the most. He lost his twin but also saw his friend’s life changed. He saw his family become lost in grief and guilt. His world was turned upside down and he began to have guilt as well. Guilt over feeling free once his twin was gone but also incredible emptiness. Emptiness because a part of him was gone.

The mystery is fascinating. The twists and all the parties involved was a tangled web. The adage what a tangled web we see when we practice to deceive is true here. There are many things happening and unveiled as the murder of Serena and her husband is investigated and solved.

The story of Anna and how she came to where she was added a new element. It allowed us to be introduced to the main character in this series as long as see her strength. Kreeger is another character we are introduced to and we see how he got to be where he was. These two will bring us some interesting murder investigations as they navigate their feelings for each other.

the writing was intricate in how it gave us this tangled web, drawing us into the twists and turns and deceit and dangling all these clues to keep us hanging while we salivate to find out what happened and why. You truly didn’t expect the ending that was there. I thought it would have been for a totally different reason so wow.

All the clues that you couldn’t decide if they were smokescreens or not that actually tied everything together and were tendrils that when looked at together gave the picture of everything and why. the strong intricate writing keeps you involved in the story as do the characters and their actions and reactions to things. I look forward to seeing what is next for Anna and Kreeger and where they go next.

[Erika Messer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed reading this book - Anna is a very likable character with flaws and bad judgment that we can all relate to. Unlucky enough too that her first homicide happens to be a rich couple that were dealt a very grisly death. She has her thoughts about the wife's twin brother possibly being the killer but somehow she is drawn to him and begins to have feelings for him (bad judgment indeed). Her partner Kreeger seems to be a pretty even character although he is not as complex and in-depth as Anna's character. I love to watch the true homicide stories on television and this fit that bill perfectly! It was like watching an episode of Dateline - finding out there were secrets and lies but you don't know who did it until you are so far involved that you are connected to the characters. And I really like the way Anna is dealing with her own demons that parallels the main storyline, it really gives the story an extra dimension :) All in all I loved it and I won't give any of the secrets away because you have to read it! Definitely a 5 star read :) I really would like to see a lot more from Cybele Loening after reading this!

I received a complimentary ebook in exchange for my honest review.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good yarn with a surprise ending. If I could have, I would have given it a 3 1/2. The story introduces a young policewoman who had just moved from NYC to small town New Jersey. I liked the cop, Anna Valentine. Believable character with real-life problems. She is assigned to investigate a murder where she was the first cop on the scene. It was a double murder in a town that hadn't had a killing in years. She is introduced to the detective who takes her under his wing. The investigation leads them to a hit man, a Russian thug, and a stereotypical rich New York real estate tycoon. She also develops an attraction to the twin brother of one of the victims, a handsome, wealthy man who was very close to his twin sister. This complicates matters as he was initially one of the suspects. These characters were one reason for a "3" rating, they did all seem "stereotypical". I also thought she used brand name merchandise too much. Not being from the upper class, I had no clue of the difference between one designer and another, or high-end car from another. I did get tired of that pretty quickly. But it was an interesting story and I suspect the author had fun writing it. (And I wanted to read it anyway, as my husband knows the author). I would probably read another Anna Valentine story.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary from Goodreads:

"Former NYPD cop Anna Valentine just landed her first homicide case. The grisly double murder of a wealthy young couple. But it couldn't have come at a worse time. Recovering from recent personal tragedies, the young police officer just moved with her traumatized child to the suburbs where she hoped to pursue a quiet life and heal. To complicate matters, although she's sworn off men until she and her son are happy and whole again, Anna feels the pull of attraction to the handsome twin brother of one of the victims, a man who has yet to be crossed off the suspect list. Teaming up with lead detective Jerry Kreeger, a 57 year-old veteran cop who's lonely, broke, and close to burn out, Anna chases a crafty killer and ultimately exposes a family's shocking secrets that will rock a town."

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to continue on with this series! One of the things that I enjoyed most about this book was that it was written like a police procedural. I love reading about the step by step process in a police investigation. Those little details really made this book come to life for me! Told from multiple viewpoints, this book really allowed for me to connect to the characters which enhanced my enjoyment of the book even more. Anna has just moved out of the city to lead a quiet life as a police officer in the suburbs while raising her son. She finds herself thrown into this murder investigation and it isn't long before she realizes that this is something she wants to do with her life. I thought that Anna and Kreeger made a really great team so I found it interesting that there was also some unresolved feelings that seemed to be developing between the two of them. Actually, Anna's backstory really added to the storyline because further along in the book we were able to see why Anna moved from the city and learned about the tragedy that caused this move. This caused me as the reader to connect to her all the more as I wanted to see something good happen to her.

This mystery portion of this book was done well and although I had my own suspects as to who the killer was.....it turned out that I was completely and totally wrong. I loved it! There were parts that I had figured out but overall the ending took me by surprise and left me wanting more. This was a book that I took my time with and didn't try to rush through. I enjoyed it all the more because of it. The ending of this book tied up everything nicely but left me more than excited to read more about these characters again.

Overall I really enjoyed this one and am excited to have found a new author/series to follow. I am especially excited as this is the author's first book (I believe) so if it was already this good, I can't wait to see what she comes up next. Mystery fans and those who enjoy police procedurals should definitely give this one a try. Recommended!

Bottom Line: A great beginning to this new mystery series that left me excited to read more!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the author as part of a CBB Blog Tour.

[FangirlsRIF Review Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the whole review here!
https://fangirlsreaditfirst.wordpress...

A review by Maria.

First off, a big thank you to author Cybele Loening for allowing Fangirls Read It First to read an advanced copy of Dead Lies.

Web hears the unthinkable on a phone call with his sister – the sound of her murder. Police officer Anna Valentine, who moved to a small town to recover from a family tragedy, investigates the murder as her first big case in town. Older, seasoned detective Jerry Kreeger is lead on the case and takes Anna on as a partner. But solving the case will be far from easy, revealing twists and lies along the way.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

In an Oyster Shell - This was an intriguing read that kept me turning page after page. I am thrilled this is going to be a series. I can't wait!

The Pearls - The drama of this read was so intense right from the beginning. The mystery set in the first chapter sets you up right away to turning pages as fast as you can to see what happens.

Full Review: Writing Pearls

[Maryann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought this book because the author is a high school friend, but I truly loved it regardless of past connections! It's a great crime thriller set around my childhood hometown - a real page-turner! I read it in about 1.5 days!

[Steve Taylor-bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathed new life into a tired genre with some superb character insights.

Full review here http://www.garbage-file.com/2015/06/b...

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!!!

This was a 5 stars book for me but it loses points in all the bunion talk. Seriously what was up with that!
Bunions aside I couldn't put this down from start to finish.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

SOOOOOOOOO good.