I might be one of very few avid readers of crime and suspense novels that have up to now never read a book by James Patterson. Granted, I mostly read this genre in Afrikaans, which could explain it. Having confessed to this fact, I can thus state that the very first words I read, penned by this author, was: “THIS IS HOW I lost David.” (p. 5)
An extremely effective hook, open to wide speculation. Which is exactly what I did over the first couple of intense pages. The depth of the statement becomes even more apparent as the story unfolds with many unexpected turns in the plot. The small-town life of the Bowers family is turned upside down after David rescues a man from a river. Marcie is a family lawyer, and David the owner of the local pub.
The reader is led to question the reason behind strange things happening to the parents and their two children. Does it relate to Marcie’s former job defending high profile criminals, or is the implied money laundering by David the source of the escalating problems? The author manages to keep the reader guessing and surprised right up the conclusion of this riveting novel.
I loved the large print, which is soft on the eyes and allowed me to read effortless for rather lengthy stretches, managing to cover the book in good time. I also appreciated the fact that very little foul language was used. I will no doubt read this author again in future.
Lies he told me was published by Century, part of the Penguin Random House group. It is distributed in South African by Penguin Random House SA.