The Best Lies

It’s fitting that this book will be released just days before the Summer Olympics begin, because it has more twists and flips than an elite gymnast! The story is not without flaws, but I give it a perfect 10 on that skill.

I’m not even going to attempt any real run-down of the plot, because frankly there are too many characters and it’s too intricate a plot to even begin to explain it, and honestly you’ll be so much better served going into this as blind as possible, but I’ll give you a little nibble at least. 

Do you like stories about spies, undercover agents, corporate espionage, national security, the Black Market and how someone with questionable ethics and a strong sense of loyalty behaves when push comes to shove?

Meet Leo Balanoff, an altruistic but ethically-challenged Chicago lawyer who is determined to right the wrongs he sees regardless of the personal cost. One price he’s already paid is a broken engagement to his ex, Andi (Andrea) Piotrowski, a former cop and current head of security for a medical laboratory working on a top-secret, highly lucrative breakthrough for the treatment of lung cancer. With a potential windfall at stake for the owner of this patent, foreign entities are determined to get their hands on it first. Just who’s trying to protect it and who’s trying to steal it? That’s where things get complicated!

Let’s just say it’s a big, messy stew of FBI agents, local cops, gangsters, American and Chinese operatives and people like Leo who get pulled into one of the most convoluted, twisty plots I’ve read in quite some time! I still have a bit of reader’s whiplash.

A number of my friends haven’t been too thrilled with it, and I can understand their points of view. For anyone who read Ellis’ previous book Look Closer, this is a VERY different story.  It’s kind of like when many loved Alex Finlay’s first couple books and then he switched gears and wrote What Have We Done. I loved that book, but for many friends they didn’t like how different it was in nature to his first two. Where I think this one matches Ellis’ first book is in how well he plays a twist and how deliciously complicated his characters are. As with his previous book, you just can’t trust anything you see and I love that!

This story played like a movie in my mind, and I could see it working well on the big screen for those who enjoy mystery-thrillers with suspense and political intrigue.  I didn’t love it as much as his previous book, but it truly grew on me as I went along and watching all the threads of the story cleverly come together in the end absolutely made it worth my time! 

★★★★

Thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons, NetGalley and author David Ellis for this digital ARC to honestly review. It’s due to be published July 23, 2024