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Lethal Lies
Chelsea Logan never gets the chance to file the storythat would have shocked the blue-collar town ofSerenity, Maine, to its core. Her death is ruled asuicide, but her cousin Faith Pelletier knows Chelseabetter than that. Faith returns to their hometown andbegins to ask questions-questions that no one wantsto answer. And it’s not long before she uncovers somenasty little truths about life in this fading mill town.As Faith closes in on a web of drugs and violence,she is forced to turn to police chief Ty Savage forinformation. After all these years he still gets underher skin, but should she trust him? As the circle ofdeceit draws ever tighter, Faith must outwit a facelessenemy who will stop at nothing to have her silenced.
407 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
66 people are currently reading
189 people want to read
About the author
Laurie Breton
27 books204 followersLaurie Breton is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic suspense and women's fiction. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her two grown children and with her two grandchildren, who are the light of her life. If you went looking, you might find her at the beach, or attending a sidewalk art festival, or walking the streets of Boston. Laurie lives in a small town in Maine with her husband and two adorable dogs named River and Jasmine.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 22, 2026
Enjoyable read
October 11, 2021
Anytime a author wants to put in a mystery into a novel, they have to account for the reader trying to figure out the answer before the novel reveals it. While I think this is part of the fun of reading a book, I can understand a author wanting to make it difficult. Unfortunately, most authors just put in a lot of material to confuse or distract the reader. I am not opposed to having a few "red herrings" or flashy distractions, I do think they should be used sparingly. This book goes over that line but only by a couple of steps in my opinion. The only other flaw of the novel is how quickly the attitude of the main character changes. In the beginning of the book she is a New Yorker, and by the end of the book, she predictably is ready to go back to her humble small town roots. While I could predict that this change was going to come early in the story, I didn't like how it just seemed to switch in the character like a switch (it wasn't quite that quick but it was close enough).
March 27, 2019
This book was disappointing. It was a romance novel disguised as a mystery thriller. I'm fine with romance, but I want to know that's what i'm getting into. The ending also fell a little flat. I wanted to know how the relationship with Jessie, and with Buck, was going to end up and got no answers. Once the romance between Ty and Faith was rolling, the other relationships fell by the wayside. I may have enjoyed it more if it had been accurately portrayed, but the ending would have still been frustrating.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2024
Wonderful surprise!
I am an avid reader that’s always looking to be swept away by any book I can find. This book didn’t disappoint! By the end of the first page I was hooked. The surprising twists and turns were so exciting, I couldn’t put the book down! I know this book was written many moons ago but it was done so well that it honestly didn’t matter. I am off to read the next one in this series!
I am an avid reader that’s always looking to be swept away by any book I can find. This book didn’t disappoint! By the end of the first page I was hooked. The surprising twists and turns were so exciting, I couldn’t put the book down! I know this book was written many moons ago but it was done so well that it honestly didn’t matter. I am off to read the next one in this series!
October 31, 2020
Hurjan jännittävä kirja, onneks oli onnellinen loppu!!
March 11, 2025
Det er klart en mine favoritbøger. Den er mystisk og spændende og så har den alle de komplicerede romatiske led. Nu har jeg læst den 2 gange - og det bliver den ikke dårligere af;)
March 27, 2025
3.5 rounded up.
This book started out strong for me! The writing style was engaging and painted a nice picture of what was going on. It could have been better though, so let's dig into why.
For starters, this wasn't much of a "romantic" suspense. It's also one of my least favorite tropes; a 2nd chance romance, and it took a long time for anything to happen with Faith and Ty. But my biggest gripe has to be that I wasn't expecting our heroine to be a grieving widow. That put a huge damper on any prospective romance for me.
Regarding the mystery, based on the synopsis, I was expecting Faith to come in right from the get-go and start investigating her cousin Chelsea's death. Instead, there's this weird "someone has to talk her into it" bit that seems to fly in the face of her suspicions. Why does this happen if she already feels that her cousin's death was suspicious? Why does she need to be talked into anything? It still doesn't make much sense to me.
Another gripe is that the romance takes a back burner to all the other goings on in the sleepy little town. We are thrown so many possibilities for why Chelsea was killed that it feels like overkill. All those issues overtake what we are really interested in; Ty and Faith's re-discovering of their feelings for each other.
Since we focus so long on all the possibilities of who had a motive, it takes half the book before anything happens with Ty and Faith. And when it did, it was disappointing. Faith goes from zero to sixty in a matter of seconds, then slams on the breaks and throws a fit, leaving Ty reeling, as well as me the reader LOL. It is another instance that doesn't make much sense to me and feels more like drama for the sake of relationship tension.
Let's talk about the pacing. It was dragged down by all the "dark underbelly of a small town" bits that we were shown, most of which weren't relevant, as it turns out, to the plot of the mystery or the romance. What was most distracting to me was the racial tension. It twisted the dial for enjoyment way down for me as it made me very uncomfortable.
Another thing that I felt slowed down the pacing was the multiple POVs. I do want to get our hero and heroin POVs, but I don't often enjoy bouncing around to a half dozen other people. We don't get that many here, but we do have the POVs of Jessie (Chelsea's daughter) and Buck (Ty's grouchy dad) both of which I didn't look forward to reading.
The first half of the slow pacing could have been made better if one of the plots had been more interesting for that half. If the author wanted to build up the mystery slowly, I would have loved to see Ty and Faith's relationship get started a lot faster. And if that was what the author wanted to have a slow pace, then the mystery should have started stronger.
Instead, the strong start quickly slows to a crawl with Faith dealing with coming home and finding out her hometown isn't what it used to be. And that is the least interesting thing about this book.
Faith, as a heroine, was...ok. Her widowhood was a distraction, with her grief over losing her husband taking up too much space in a book that is supposed to be a romance between her and Ty. All the focus on her memories of Ben leaves me as a reader wondering how she's supposed to feel strongly for Ty when she still isn't over her dead spouse. It would have been easier to get past her previous relationship if it had been a break-up or divorce, and not a death.
This book started out strong for me! The writing style was engaging and painted a nice picture of what was going on. It could have been better though, so let's dig into why.
For starters, this wasn't much of a "romantic" suspense. It's also one of my least favorite tropes; a 2nd chance romance, and it took a long time for anything to happen with Faith and Ty. But my biggest gripe has to be that I wasn't expecting our heroine to be a grieving widow. That put a huge damper on any prospective romance for me.
Regarding the mystery, based on the synopsis, I was expecting Faith to come in right from the get-go and start investigating her cousin Chelsea's death. Instead, there's this weird "someone has to talk her into it" bit that seems to fly in the face of her suspicions. Why does this happen if she already feels that her cousin's death was suspicious? Why does she need to be talked into anything? It still doesn't make much sense to me.
Another gripe is that the romance takes a back burner to all the other goings on in the sleepy little town. We are thrown so many possibilities for why Chelsea was killed that it feels like overkill. All those issues overtake what we are really interested in; Ty and Faith's re-discovering of their feelings for each other.
Since we focus so long on all the possibilities of who had a motive, it takes half the book before anything happens with Ty and Faith. And when it did, it was disappointing. Faith goes from zero to sixty in a matter of seconds, then slams on the breaks and throws a fit, leaving Ty reeling, as well as me the reader LOL. It is another instance that doesn't make much sense to me and feels more like drama for the sake of relationship tension.
Let's talk about the pacing. It was dragged down by all the "dark underbelly of a small town" bits that we were shown, most of which weren't relevant, as it turns out, to the plot of the mystery or the romance. What was most distracting to me was the racial tension. It twisted the dial for enjoyment way down for me as it made me very uncomfortable.
Another thing that I felt slowed down the pacing was the multiple POVs. I do want to get our hero and heroin POVs, but I don't often enjoy bouncing around to a half dozen other people. We don't get that many here, but we do have the POVs of Jessie (Chelsea's daughter) and Buck (Ty's grouchy dad) both of which I didn't look forward to reading.
The first half of the slow pacing could have been made better if one of the plots had been more interesting for that half. If the author wanted to build up the mystery slowly, I would have loved to see Ty and Faith's relationship get started a lot faster. And if that was what the author wanted to have a slow pace, then the mystery should have started stronger.
Instead, the strong start quickly slows to a crawl with Faith dealing with coming home and finding out her hometown isn't what it used to be. And that is the least interesting thing about this book.
Faith, as a heroine, was...ok. Her widowhood was a distraction, with her grief over losing her husband taking up too much space in a book that is supposed to be a romance between her and Ty. All the focus on her memories of Ben leaves me as a reader wondering how she's supposed to feel strongly for Ty when she still isn't over her dead spouse. It would have been easier to get past her previous relationship if it had been a break-up or divorce, and not a death.
November 6, 2012
I love books where I don't have to wait for chapter after chapter to get to a good part, and LETHAL LIES definitely delivers to my tastes. Chapter one starts off with a bang, and the action, adventure, suspense, mystery, and passion never slow down after that.
Investigative reporter Chelsea Logan is finally ready to file the story of a lifetime. Life in Serenity, Maine, has always seemed quiet and calm to outsiders, the kind of small town where anyone and everyone would love to raise their family. Hadn't she moved back to accept a job at the local paper, living in the house she'd grown up in, believing that she'd finally found the right place for herself and her fifteen-year-old daughter, Jessie? Chelsea soon learns, though, that all is not what it seems in Serenity, and she's finally ready to go to the Chief of Police, Ty Savage, with her allegations before her story hits the paper.
Her middle-of-the-night trip never reaches fulfillment, however, when Chelsea plunges off of a deserted road and into the river below. All too quickly, Chelsea Logan and her unfiled story are history-just the way that a certain someone has planned it. Since she never got to Ty, never had her story on the front page of the River City Gazette, person or persons unknown in Serenity are now breathing easier.
Easier, that is, until Faith Pelletier returns to town. Chelsea's cousin and best friend, Faith uses the need to take care of Jessie as her reason to return to the hometown that she swore never to step foot in again. But she knows the truth-she doesn't believe that Chelsea's death was a suicide, and there are too many unanswered questions surrounding not only her friend and cousin's death, but the circumstances surrounding it. What exactly was Chelsea doing driving down a dark and deserted road after midnight? Who was she going to see, and why?
As the placid calm of Serenity, Maine, is shattered by a world of violence, drugs, and scrupulous men and women, Faith knows that she's on to something-something, some reason, that contributed to her cousin's death.
With Ty Savage, a man that she's always secretly been a little in love with, the only one to turn to with her suspicions, Faith realizes that she might be in danger, not to mention Chelsea's daughter, Jessie. As secrets are revealed, as passions build, as the danger in this once-peaceful small town comes to a head, LETHAL LIES will have you on the edge of your seat.
Ms. Breton has written a winning romantic suspense story with a twisting, turning story line and truly remarkable characters. With LETHAL LIES, you'll have a hard time guessing what will happen next, and that is one sign of a great mystery story.
Investigative reporter Chelsea Logan is finally ready to file the story of a lifetime. Life in Serenity, Maine, has always seemed quiet and calm to outsiders, the kind of small town where anyone and everyone would love to raise their family. Hadn't she moved back to accept a job at the local paper, living in the house she'd grown up in, believing that she'd finally found the right place for herself and her fifteen-year-old daughter, Jessie? Chelsea soon learns, though, that all is not what it seems in Serenity, and she's finally ready to go to the Chief of Police, Ty Savage, with her allegations before her story hits the paper.
Her middle-of-the-night trip never reaches fulfillment, however, when Chelsea plunges off of a deserted road and into the river below. All too quickly, Chelsea Logan and her unfiled story are history-just the way that a certain someone has planned it. Since she never got to Ty, never had her story on the front page of the River City Gazette, person or persons unknown in Serenity are now breathing easier.
Easier, that is, until Faith Pelletier returns to town. Chelsea's cousin and best friend, Faith uses the need to take care of Jessie as her reason to return to the hometown that she swore never to step foot in again. But she knows the truth-she doesn't believe that Chelsea's death was a suicide, and there are too many unanswered questions surrounding not only her friend and cousin's death, but the circumstances surrounding it. What exactly was Chelsea doing driving down a dark and deserted road after midnight? Who was she going to see, and why?
As the placid calm of Serenity, Maine, is shattered by a world of violence, drugs, and scrupulous men and women, Faith knows that she's on to something-something, some reason, that contributed to her cousin's death.
With Ty Savage, a man that she's always secretly been a little in love with, the only one to turn to with her suspicions, Faith realizes that she might be in danger, not to mention Chelsea's daughter, Jessie. As secrets are revealed, as passions build, as the danger in this once-peaceful small town comes to a head, LETHAL LIES will have you on the edge of your seat.
Ms. Breton has written a winning romantic suspense story with a twisting, turning story line and truly remarkable characters. With LETHAL LIES, you'll have a hard time guessing what will happen next, and that is one sign of a great mystery story.
March 24, 2011
I didn't exactly have high hopes for this book, but the first pages seemed to prove me wrong. The writing was good and the text flowed just right. Still, not the likes of Christie. Although the author managed to mislead and keep me guessing until the final reveal, the unveiling moment itself between the heroine and the culprit reduced all that good buildup to cinders.
Can you get more clichéd than that? I think not.
So, what I was hoping to be three star book, turned out to be two star book.
If you don't mind a silly nonsensical crime novel with few redundant passages, this is a good afternoons read. Don't you dare to spend more time on this.
Can you get more clichéd than that? I think not.
So, what I was hoping to be three star book, turned out to be two star book.
If you don't mind a silly nonsensical crime novel with few redundant passages, this is a good afternoons read. Don't you dare to spend more time on this.
February 21, 2015
Lethal Lies
I absolutely loved this book! The only complaint that I have is that the end of the book left you hanging with Jessie..... I would have loved to know how she started to adjust to life with Faith and Ty, especially given the circumstances that she was given.....her and Ahmed. Also, how did it work out with the Somalis regarding the "letter" that was distributed? This was a phenomenal book....it was the first I've read of Laurie Breton and I will definitely be reading all of her books!! I definitely recommend her books!!! I just wish some of the other questions were answered.
I absolutely loved this book! The only complaint that I have is that the end of the book left you hanging with Jessie..... I would have loved to know how she started to adjust to life with Faith and Ty, especially given the circumstances that she was given.....her and Ahmed. Also, how did it work out with the Somalis regarding the "letter" that was distributed? This was a phenomenal book....it was the first I've read of Laurie Breton and I will definitely be reading all of her books!! I definitely recommend her books!!! I just wish some of the other questions were answered.
October 8, 2009
Though I found it fairly engaging, the book can be cloying maudlin. I lost patience with main characters and their constant badgering for sympathy votes. The nice surprise were the secondary characters (jessie logan & buck savage) who came off far more interesting and less whiny.
July 14, 2016
Good story.
If you enjoy romantic thrillers, this is one of the best I've ever read. The main characters are interesting and the plot nice and twisty. I can't wait to read her next one!
If you enjoy romantic thrillers, this is one of the best I've ever read. The main characters are interesting and the plot nice and twisty. I can't wait to read her next one!
January 4, 2008
Great ending!
June 29, 2009
This was an OK read. It's like a lot of romantic suspense books, this is no different. The beginning had me confused, but it was alright. 2.5/5 stars.
August 29, 2009
Ah. A standalone novel, not part of a series. Fairly formulaic but had enough surprises and twists to be interesting.
April 25, 2010
Characters too black and white, gratuitous scene at the end....again
January 21, 2015
Love these characters,
As usual, Laurie delivers a great story and characters you can no longer do without! I hope there's more to come!
As usual, Laurie delivers a great story and characters you can no longer do without! I hope there's more to come!
April 30, 2016
Ho registrato un libro su BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13991467
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13991467
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews