*Audiobook narrated by Saskia Maarleveld.

FIRST LIE WINS is Ashley Elston’s first foray into adult Mystery/Thrillers, and what a foray it was! When Evie Porter meets her next mark, she has no idea how high the stakes will become. Or how personal. Evie learned at a young age the only person you can depend on is yourself. She’s best of the best when it comes to scam artists, but when her boss tries messing with her by introducing a ‘colleague’ with Evie’s real name into her life, all bets are off. Evie’s long-term plans of retiring under her real identity are off the table, and there is nowhere to go but forward. Otherwise, she may not make it out alive.

“Evie” was a likable character. The author did such a fantastic job building her backstory and endearing her to the reader, that all the while she was scamming, you found yourself rooting for her. I also liked Ryan’s character. You know immediately (because Evie does,) that there is more to him than meets the eye, and you can’t help but wonder if Evie has finally met her match. With the flashbacks of our main character on previous jobs with other identities, it’s impossible not to stay interested and want to know what happens next, making the pacing of this book spectacular. It’s clear she takes her job, such as it is, very seriously. But when she starts falling for Ryan, she wonders if she’s in too deep this time.

The secondary cast was a lot of fun. Evie had used her time wisely, surrounding herself with allies who could help her when push came to shove. She had a habit of gathering information on people and holding it close to her chest until the time was right. But you can’t help but wonder if she can trust any of them.

This was an edge-of-your-seat read. Not in the traditional breathless way, but definitely in an ‘Is Evie going to be safe?” way. Because you wanted so badly for something in Evie’s life to turn out right. I would recommend anyone who enjoys a gripping Mystery/Thriller add FIRST LIE WINS to their To Be Read list! 

Narration: Saskia Maarleveld is a narrator I’m familiar with, and as with all of her performances, this one was amazing. She gets the characters in the story, and she is great with having her voice convey the emotions. If you have the opportunity to read this book via audio, she definitely adds something to the story.