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Project Chameleon #1
Liars' Games
What if you had to start over and make a new life and new identity for yourself . . . ?
Dr Juliet Powell is a genius math professor, who doesn't lie, but through circumstances beyond her control, her life has suddenly changed and is ensconced in a sequence of events that forces her to lie, over and over. She tells herself she will eventually adapt, but with each new identity she’s getting further and further away from who she really is. Desperate, her life and that of her young son are in danger and depend on her hiding. Her protector tells her she needs to blend in like a chameleon, play the game and reinvent herself—and not fail this time. Her newest role places her as the principal at a gang and drug plagued high school, where she has opportunity to make a difference. But then she discovers that a stranger is watching her and her young son.
On the surface the story deals with school violence and fear, but at its heart is a woman’s struggle with societal decline, lies, deception, trust, and self-identity.
Praise for Susan Finlay’s other novels—
‘Susan Finlay is an accomplished writer who can bring a story to life. It was easy for me to get lost In The Shadows. I loved this Outsiders Mystery.’
‘Just finished reading. I enjoyed it tremendously and had a hard time putting it down when necessary. Well written with good story and side plots to keep me reading.’
‘Susan Finlay's sense of character development in IN THE SHADOWS is impeccable. I'm very fond of this author and this story.’
‘Where Secrets Reside is a great mystery that kept me thinking I knew who was committing the murders each time one happened, but unexpected twists proved me wrong more than once. I definitely will read her books in the future.’
‘My new, favorite author didn't disappoint me with her latest release. If you like mysteries you won't want to miss this one, a book you can't put down with continual suspense and surprises.’
‘This book is cleverly plotted and works as a sequel to the first Outsiders mystery. The characters have developed maturity, and there is an interesting twist stemming from more background knowledge about the history of the grandmothers. The setting is in the same fictional town in France, but the caves play a more important role.’
Dr Juliet Powell is a genius math professor, who doesn't lie, but through circumstances beyond her control, her life has suddenly changed and is ensconced in a sequence of events that forces her to lie, over and over. She tells herself she will eventually adapt, but with each new identity she’s getting further and further away from who she really is. Desperate, her life and that of her young son are in danger and depend on her hiding. Her protector tells her she needs to blend in like a chameleon, play the game and reinvent herself—and not fail this time. Her newest role places her as the principal at a gang and drug plagued high school, where she has opportunity to make a difference. But then she discovers that a stranger is watching her and her young son.
On the surface the story deals with school violence and fear, but at its heart is a woman’s struggle with societal decline, lies, deception, trust, and self-identity.
Praise for Susan Finlay’s other novels—
‘Susan Finlay is an accomplished writer who can bring a story to life. It was easy for me to get lost In The Shadows. I loved this Outsiders Mystery.’
‘Just finished reading. I enjoyed it tremendously and had a hard time putting it down when necessary. Well written with good story and side plots to keep me reading.’
‘Susan Finlay's sense of character development in IN THE SHADOWS is impeccable. I'm very fond of this author and this story.’
‘Where Secrets Reside is a great mystery that kept me thinking I knew who was committing the murders each time one happened, but unexpected twists proved me wrong more than once. I definitely will read her books in the future.’
‘My new, favorite author didn't disappoint me with her latest release. If you like mysteries you won't want to miss this one, a book you can't put down with continual suspense and surprises.’
‘This book is cleverly plotted and works as a sequel to the first Outsiders mystery. The characters have developed maturity, and there is an interesting twist stemming from more background knowledge about the history of the grandmothers. The setting is in the same fictional town in France, but the caves play a more important role.’
- GenresMystery
348 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 7, 2014
12 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 23, 2015
Not so much a mystery, nor truly a thriller, though it had some thrilling moments. Like all the best books, this one does not fit neatly into a genre. The background was a school – a school with problems of drugs, of gang violence, and teachers who had given up any attempt to fight the problems. The background drama was absorbing, and so was the human drama – Claire (once Juliet) trying to live under a Witness Protection progamme with a handler both indifferent and incompetent.
This story keeps the reader fully involved. This is a 5-star novel.
This story keeps the reader fully involved. This is a 5-star novel.
June 7, 2015
I read Susan Finlay's Project Chameleon series, Book 1 — Liars' Games, in one day in two sittings. Not because it was an easy read, but because it was a compelling adventure, full of suspense, danger, complications, and a touch of romance. As if being in the witness protection program — WITSEC — doesn't inherently contain it's own element of danger, Dr. Juliet Powell finds herself facing further danger in her work place — a high school where the last principal walked off the job, drug deals are made in the parking lot, students are engaging in sex in the washrooms, and gang members harass students and faculty alike.
Although a brilliant mathematician, Juliet has already blown her cover twice because she quite simply is a terrible liar, and her handler Brad Meyers is a little fed-up with having to "hold her hand" and move her around because she can't keep her story straight. Now settling in Edgewater, a suburb of Denver, Colorado, she has another new name, Claire Constantine, and another new background to remember. When she arrives at Human Resources for the Front Range School District, she is bewildered to be offered the principal's post at Midland High School instead of the math position at a middle school she had been promised. Unsure of what to do, Juliet (Claire) accepts the position, only to find out after the fact what an incredible challenge she faces. Not only from an indifferent student body, but a resentful staff, dangerous gang members, and a hostile School Board President, John Richmond, who felt his power diminished when he had been forced by the mayor and a senator to hire her, sight unseen. They're all just waiting for her to fail.
Trying to keep her private life just that — private — Claire doesn't mention her three-and-a- half- year-old son to anyone at school. Aidan (now Marcus), like Claire is gifted and so picks up his new identity quickly and easily. Mindful of danger from both organized crime, and her boyfriend Callum who put Claire and their son into this danger, alarm bells go off when first the babysitter, and then the vice-principal, Ron, report that there has been a stalker hanging around watching Marcus and asking questions about Claire.
Claire vacillates between wanting to succeed in turning the school into a safe and positive environment, and wanting to get out into a new and safer identity. She quickly gains the support of her superintendent, Steve, and his assistant, Frank, and slowly wins some support from several staff members, but retaliation from gang members over the changes she implements is swift and brutal. Facing danger on all sides, Claire decides to take a chance and trust Steve.
As a former school teacher, I was intrigued by the measures Claire tries to implement to make her new high school safer, and was impressed with her caring attitude for students who wanted to do well but were being bullied and threatened. I never worked at a school where students were so out of control or staff so intimidated or ambivalent, but we've all seen the movies and news reports. I felt the setting and characters were extremely well drawn, and realistic, and there was nothing predictable about the plot. I'm looking forward to reading more in this series, as well as other books by Susan Finlay.
Although a brilliant mathematician, Juliet has already blown her cover twice because she quite simply is a terrible liar, and her handler Brad Meyers is a little fed-up with having to "hold her hand" and move her around because she can't keep her story straight. Now settling in Edgewater, a suburb of Denver, Colorado, she has another new name, Claire Constantine, and another new background to remember. When she arrives at Human Resources for the Front Range School District, she is bewildered to be offered the principal's post at Midland High School instead of the math position at a middle school she had been promised. Unsure of what to do, Juliet (Claire) accepts the position, only to find out after the fact what an incredible challenge she faces. Not only from an indifferent student body, but a resentful staff, dangerous gang members, and a hostile School Board President, John Richmond, who felt his power diminished when he had been forced by the mayor and a senator to hire her, sight unseen. They're all just waiting for her to fail.
Trying to keep her private life just that — private — Claire doesn't mention her three-and-a- half- year-old son to anyone at school. Aidan (now Marcus), like Claire is gifted and so picks up his new identity quickly and easily. Mindful of danger from both organized crime, and her boyfriend Callum who put Claire and their son into this danger, alarm bells go off when first the babysitter, and then the vice-principal, Ron, report that there has been a stalker hanging around watching Marcus and asking questions about Claire.
Claire vacillates between wanting to succeed in turning the school into a safe and positive environment, and wanting to get out into a new and safer identity. She quickly gains the support of her superintendent, Steve, and his assistant, Frank, and slowly wins some support from several staff members, but retaliation from gang members over the changes she implements is swift and brutal. Facing danger on all sides, Claire decides to take a chance and trust Steve.
As a former school teacher, I was intrigued by the measures Claire tries to implement to make her new high school safer, and was impressed with her caring attitude for students who wanted to do well but were being bullied and threatened. I never worked at a school where students were so out of control or staff so intimidated or ambivalent, but we've all seen the movies and news reports. I felt the setting and characters were extremely well drawn, and realistic, and there was nothing predictable about the plot. I'm looking forward to reading more in this series, as well as other books by Susan Finlay.
September 20, 2015
A good story
I recommend this book to others because it sure gives some insight into the witness protection service as well as inside the running of a high school. I wanted to give it a 5* but I couldn't due to format issues, which was distracting and slowed the flow of the story for me several times. Good characters and concept. Well worth reading. I will be anxious to read book 2.
I recommend this book to others because it sure gives some insight into the witness protection service as well as inside the running of a high school. I wanted to give it a 5* but I couldn't due to format issues, which was distracting and slowed the flow of the story for me several times. Good characters and concept. Well worth reading. I will be anxious to read book 2.
August 16, 2025
This book was riveting and I couldn't put it down. The plot development and characters were no believable, drawing in the reader to feel like I was the one it happened to. It educated me on what life must be like in the Witness Protection programme for a mother and her young son, and was inspiring to watch the way the main character handled what was thrown at her. Highly recommend.
February 8, 2016
Susan Finlay's debut novel has a lot going for it. It's the story of a person reinventing herself after deceptions, misjudgments and mistakes. Claire, or otherwise named by one of her many aliases, is in witness relocation after a fairly disastrous first marriage. She and her son are placed in Colorado, and she is given the job as a high school principal. Technically she has the credentials, I think, but her journey to eventual effective management takes a while as she is hit and hampered by a Macchiavellian school chairman, many doubters, and her own legitimate concerns for her and her son's safety. Is the mob moving in, to ace her before the trial?
A few scenes run too long, in this reviewer's opinion, like the flight to Vegas, but overall the characters and story points are realistic and riveting enough. Four stars and recommended for ravid mystery and romance readers.
A few scenes run too long, in this reviewer's opinion, like the flight to Vegas, but overall the characters and story points are realistic and riveting enough. Four stars and recommended for ravid mystery and romance readers.
October 9, 2015
I'm a little bit on the fence about this one. I hugely admire the amount of research that must have gone into it. It's a highly intelligent, well-structured read, but I'm an emotional girl, and thus, for me, it was in parts too much focused on the intellectual aspects and too little on the emotional. The main character is perfectly developed and I couldn't help rooting for her, but next to her the other characters seemed shallow and I couldn't quite relate to the relationships between them. The ending didn't leave me satisfied, as there were too many open questions. I'm aware that it's part of a series, but I love me a series where each book comes with its own ending of its own main theme, and that was only partially the case here.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews