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Fall headfirst into July’s hottest stories—danger, desire, and happily-ever-afters await.

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The Lie Maker

The Lie Maker, May 2023
by Linwood Barclay

William Morrow
Featuring: Jack Givins
368 pages
ISBN: 0063276240
EAN: 9780063276246
Kindle: B0B9SLVYXB
Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook
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"An engrossing and unpredictable story"

Fresh Fiction Review

The Lie Maker
Linwood Barclay

Reviewed by Evie Harris
Posted June 23, 2023

Thriller

Jack Givens is barely getting by financially. When a job offer comes up unexpectedly that pays $1000 a day to write fictitious biographies for people in the Witness Protection Program he can hardly turn it down. What his new employer doesn't seem to know is that Jack is very familiar with the program. Years ago his father was placed in it. When Jack asked if his contact could get information about his father's whereabouts, Jack's life takes a trajectory he never saw coming.

Filled with twists and turns, THE LIE MAKER by Linwood Barclay is a fast-paced story.  There is a large cast of characters, some of which are seriously flawed and dangerous. Jack is a likable enough protagonist, but his fractured relationship with his father casts a shadow over his life. Being separated from his father at a young age has affected him. As the story progresses the tension and danger grow and lives are threatened. Just when all the pieces seem to fall into place, Barclay skillfully throws in a curve and nothing is as it seems.

THE LIE MAKER by Linwood Barclay is a propulsive, unpredictable, and exciting story.  Highly recommended.

Learn more about The Lie Maker

SUMMARY

In this twisty, fast-paced thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Find You First and Take Your Breath Away, a man desperately tries to track down his father—who was taken into witness protection years ago—before his enemies can get to him.

Your dad’s not a good person. Your dad killed people, son.

These are some of the last words Jack Givins’ father spoke to him before he was whisked away by witness protection, leaving Jack and his mother to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives as best they could.

Years later, Jack is a grown man with problems of his own. He’s a talented but struggling author, barely scraping by on the royalties from his moderately successful first book. So when the U.S. Marshals approach him with a lucrative opportunity, he’s in no position to turn them down. They’re recruiting writers like Jack to create false histories for people in witness protection—people like Jack’s father.

The coincidence is astonishing to Jack at first, but he soon realizes this may be a chance to find his dad. Only there’s one problem—Jack’s father hasn’t made contact with his handlers recently, and they have no idea where he is. He could be in serious danger, and Jack may be the only one who can find him.

But how will he find a man he’s never truly known? A man who has done terrible things in his lifetime and made some deadly enemies in the process—enemies who wouldn’t think twice about using his own son against him.


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Comments

1 comment posted.

Re: An engrossing and unpredictable story

thank
(Alan Cubero 3:17am June 26, 2023)

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