First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
Three out of Five Magical Coffee Cups:
I saw a few TikTok videos about ‘First Date Questions’ that are not the usual, “What do you do for a living?”. One of those questions was something like, “Do you think you have the ability to go undercover for a long time?” I don’t think I do. I would break so fast.
Our main Character in this book does have what it takes to go undercover. She is so good that she is moving in with her mark! Not only don’t I have the confidence to do this, but I don’t have the memory for this either. I couldn’t remember a whole new life or all the information about the mark and what I would need to do for the job. There is too much!
It sounds kind of confusing, but Evie has been doing this job for some time, taking on all these different personas while keeping her real identity safe. Suddenly, she shows up! As in, a woman with her (Evie’s) real name and history comes to town. This woman even looks just like her. Who is this woman? How is this possible? Did someone send her? Is this a coincidence or something worse? Evie needs to get to know this woman and find out what is happening; the sooner, the better.
I need to explain this better, but it makes sense as you read. I was trying to figure things out in the book but just ended up getting my guesses confused with what was actually happening, so I decided just to sit back and read this one. But there were still crazy thoughts in the back of my mind. This is a test! This is her long-lost twin who just happens to have the same name! She is having a mental breakdown from all of these jobs! I was throwing out some of these genuinely wild ideas. I really liked this one, but I was also thrown by all of the flashbacks from her different jobs and other characters thrown in throughout. I think I was just in the mood for a straight forward thriller and didn’t want to try and keep her whole life organized in my mind as I was reading. It could also be a book you need to read in fewer sittings. Stepping away from this one for too long might make it hard to remember all the information from before. I’m not sure; I did like it. I would read more by this author. But it wasn’t my favorite. If this were a yes, no, maybe type of thing, this book would get a solid ‘maybe.’
I suggest you read this without trying to guess the twists! Just enjoy this one!
I did see that she also wrote many YA novels, including 10 Blind Dates. I might try out her YA novels soon!
Literary Coffee 