First Lie Wins: Reese's Book Club Pick (A Novel)

by Ashley Elston

REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK | #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“This fast-paced read has everything you could want in a thriller: secret identities, a mysterious boss and a cat & mouse game that kept me guessing the whole way through.” —Reese Witherspoon

Evie Porter has everything a nice Southern girl could want: a doting boyfriend, a house with a white picket fence, a tight group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn’t exist.

The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she’s given a name and location by her mysterious boss, Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job.

Evie isn’t privy to Mr. Smith’s real identity, but she knows this job isn't like the others. Ryan has gotten under her skin, and she’s starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can’t make any mistakes—especially after what happened last time.

Evie Porter must stay one step ahead of her past while making sure there's still a future in front of her. The stakes couldn't be higher—but then, Evie has always liked a challenge. . . .

• ISBN10: 0593492919
• ISBN13: 9780593492918
• Publish Date: 2 January 2024
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Pamela Dorman Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780593492918

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Book Summary:

Evie Porter is a perfect Southern girl, and she’s pretty much in the process of getting everything she wants. Alone in the world, but for her kind (and rich) boyfriend, she’s lucky enough to be moving into his lovely new home.

Of course, nothing is as it appears. For one thing, Evie Porter isn’t her real name. And her romance is hardly based on love. It’s a job, though she doesn’t know the man behind the orders. That’s on a need-to-know basis. To survive this game of cat and mouse, she’ll have to uncover the truth for herself.

My Review:

First Lie Wins is one of many thrillers I’ve binged over the last few weeks. Despite reading several all at once (basically), this book still stands out a bit in my mind. I feel like that is always a good sign for thrillers.

If you love a good thriller with layers and surprises, you’ll get all that and more with First Lie Wins. Some of the twists you’ll see coming, others will make you gasp in shock. And yet others may make you question what the main character is doing. Which is actually pretty on point for a thriller, so I guess there’s that.

This is a solid thriller. It’s fun and has plenty of stakes that will keep you invested. That said, I did walk away feeling like there is (or should be) more to Evie’s story. Maybe a sequel is on the way?

Highlights:
Mystery Thriller
Layers of Secrets
Cons and Con Artists

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[Kim Deister]

First Lie Wins is a deliciously twisty thriller, with so many threads that interweave throughout the story. There were so many twists and turns, and a lot of surprises that I didn’t anticipate.

One of the things I loved most about this book was that the reveals, rather than being saved for the end, were spaced throughout the book. That gives the reader lots of WOW moments along the way, which I adored.

I also loved that the lead was a morally gray heroine. There’s just something fun about that, and the author did an excellent job with creating that character. Morally gray is a hard balance. Too moral and there’s no gray. Too gray, and there is little room to empathise with the character. That balance was perfectly achieved here.