Book notes: First Lie Wins

By Ashley Elston.

This got an honorable mention by me as a Most Enticing Book (MEB) in a recent NYTimes Sunday Book Review section.

Scoring:

• Axe for the frozen sea: 9/10.
• Page count: 348. Felt like: 250.

A fun mystery thriller. Not much else to say. This was a very quick and enjoyable read for me.

I’m going to search for places to use the “first lie wins” in conversations.

One nagging doubt about the book (includes spoiler)… The “first lie wins” was never turned back on the protagonist. I feel like she should have the tables turned on her in one final twist at the end. I think there was an option to have Ryan be Mr Smith and still have a happy ending.