Simply Lies: A Psychological Thriller

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The dialog is downright cringey. Things like “relax your shrimpy ass” and “Don’t you go anywhere or bang-bang and *Name Redacted* is dead. Because I don’t follow rules anymore, I make them.” 🙄 younger than he was, lived there until 1998. She was a hundred when she passed away. And the place had fallen into disrepair. Must have cost a fortune to keep up.” I expected so much more from this author. Perhaps my expectations were too high. The description of the book made the novel much more than it actually was. And a glowing review from the marketing gal at Grand Central Publishing got me sold.

Baldacci expertly keeps the tension high and weaves a twisty suspenseful tale starring two intriguing women leads. Both women are interesting, and I enjoyed the suspense and cat-and-mouse game. There are also parts of cryptocurrency and NFTs that are fascinating. Not only does the arms dealer not exist but the murder victim turns out to be Harry Lancaster, a man with mob ties who used to be in Witness Protection. What’s more, no one named Arlene Robinson works at ProEye. While Baldacci is usually an excellent storyteller, this story is convoluted, long-winded, and frankly a bit boring. The characters are quite well developed, but they are not exciting, and there were several times that it got mundane to the point of putting the book down for good. There are several sub-plots that aren’t really necessary. Baldacci fans are used to his ability to tie the sub-plots together; that doesn’t happen in this novel. In fact, after the dénouement, the book seems to be like an Energizer bunny and keeps on going, and going, and going ad nauseum with a sappy conclusion. Gibson walked over to one section of shelves to look at a large vase placed there when she felt something on her ankles.

David Baldacci has been writing since childhood, when his mother gave him a lined notebook in which to write down his stories. (Much later, when David thanked her for being the spark that ignited his writing career, she revealed that she’d given him the notebook to keep him quiet, "because every mom needs a break now and then.”)

mudslingers. And there were so many of these monied deadbeats that ProEye and thus Gibson were flooded with work. Gibson was thinking that doing a little field work would be a welcome change from staring at a computer screen for the next few hours. And bonuses were always nice. She would have to call her parents and hope they could come over. She had their calendar and she brought it up on her screen. Okay, they have no doctor appointments today. That’s a miracle. Thanks. I don’t believe we’ve spoken before,” said Gibson as she bit into her cookie and took another sip of her tea.Gibson hefted her three-year-old son, Tommy, who had been doing his best to use his mom as a jungle gym, and placed him on her thrust-out right hip. It was only eleven in the morning and she was already exhausted. This is the 48th book by this author that I've read. I've read more of his books than those of any other author. I am a huge fan. BUT...of late, he has been a solid 3 stars. She snagged a flashlight from her van, because, as large as the house was, it would be dark in some places, regardless of the light outside.

First I want to say that there is so much to like when it comes to reading his stories. He does so many things well. Things I love. He can create suspicion, tension, strong MCs and story lines to match. He puts in some great twists and I am always pulled in. This is an author I usually enjoy, but this was a miss for me. The plot didn’t completely make sense - a single mom risking everything because… she’s bored? I just didn’t buy it. She figured when it turned dark it would be difficult to see anything. And then she decided to hurry because it had just occurred to her that the place might not have electricity. Vanished, or so the file says. He owes so much his creditors are trying to grab everything they can. This mansion is one of them. That’s why they want you to go there. The firm wants to make amends for what happened last time.”Well, I’ve got three under the age of five at home, so I can definitely relate. And I knew you weren’t going to be painting anything red unless it’s a room in your house.” He also informed me that he told you to paint the town red tonight or something to that effect, on the company dime, of course.” She’d gone to Temple University in Philly and been coached by the legendary Dawn Staley. Gibson had also been a theater major, and had been cast as the lead in a number of student productions at Temple. People thought she might make it to Broadway one day. Sixth, the writing just isn’t very good. Some sentences are mere fragments. Others are awkwardly phrased and/or rely on cliché to get their point across. Gibson watched the vomit spiral down the front of her only clean outfit at the moment, with chunks of it landing on her bare feet. As a final touch, the slop soaked into the rug, to join all the previous stains there.