A review by strawberrymivvy
First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book got me hooked from the outset, and ultimately I really wanted to give it a higher mark, but I felt the ending fell a little flat and the last few chapters were somewhat confusing at times.

Evie is fairly new in town, settling into a house with her boyfriend and meeting his friends.  Except she doesn't exist.  Every so often her mysterious boss sends her a new identity, a location and mark - and then the mission.  Recovering something that is missing, setting up a big name for a mighty fall...

Through a series of flashbacks and different identities we learn that Evie failed at her last job, and can't afford to fail at this one - despite her thinking this time around that a better life may be open to her.

About half way through, I had no idea which way the narrative was going to go, but once it became apparent then the ending seemed wrong.  Whilst we don't see a lot of character development in any of the characters, Evie's choices somehow didn't feel right to me.

An author I would try future adult work from but I'm not a YA reader so likely not her back catalogue