Reviews with content warning for Murder - First Lie Wins

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Reviews tagging 'Murder'

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

59 reviews

cassidy_rain's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“She learned the only person you could trust, the only person you could truly rely on, was yourself.”

I heard mixed things about this but I absolutely loved it, I thought it was super fun and exciting! Fans of the tv shows Imposters and The Blacklist should definitely check this out.

First Lie Wins follows “Evie” who works in the con-artist industry performing different kinds of jobs under different aliases. It’s a medium-fast paced thriller with mysterious elements that unfold. The story is told from Evie’s perspective and has timeline jumps, but I found it easy to follow. I thought the timeline jumps really added to the story and piqued my interest as each flashback unlocked another clue to the puzzle.

I was hooked from the beginning. I really enjoyed all the different characters. “Evie” is so cunning and such a badass. I love the way she worked hard (although untraditional methods) to overcome the challenges she was faced with in her life from a young age. I think the plot was well developed; it has just the right amount of foreshadowing. I didn’t catch any annoying plot holes and all of the twists were planned out in a way that made sense to me. There were a few twists that I was able to guess/predict, however it didn’t ruin any enjoyment for me and the main reveal was a bit different than I was anticipating! It was definitely a page turner to uncover the mystery and the ending left me completely satisfied.

“Mama always said to be successful in life you need to do three things: learn everything you can, try your hardest, and be the best at what you do.”

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mj_86's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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ofarkas's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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michellegrl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

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danaburrreads's review against another edition

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mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

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kimberleyw12's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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jla's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I really enjoyed this book. I didn't expect a suspense book to also be a fast, easy, lighthearted read with some romance.

I'm so happy with the ending. I loved Evie and Ryan together. I thought Ryan would turn out to be Mr. Smith and was hoping he had set her up to retire with him with everything she ever dreamed of.

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thecriticalreader's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

Review:

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston serves as an adequately diverting thriller that holds up as long as one doesn’t think too hard about it. Which, to be fair, is more than can be said about a lot of entries in the thriller genre. This book delivers twists and turns that make logical sense in context of the narrative, even if their mechanics are a bit fuzzy. The story avoids gaping plot holes, although it frequently leans on some dubious plot conveniences.

Elston’s clear, straightforward writing style works in this thriller’s favor. She demonstrates an instinct for balancing technical details with an entertaining storyline, letting the reader indulge in the fun of the main character’s espionage. The main character (who goes by multiple aliases throughout the novel), is not nearly as intelligent, sympathetic, or competent as her partner-in-crime, Devon. Devon gets little character development beyond being the token Black person who helps the main character, which is a shame because one gets the sense he would be a much more interesting protagonist.

The falling action of First Lie Wins hinges on the assumption that

the reader is rooting for the main character. While she’s not an awful human being—her actions demonstrate that she has a moral compass—her motivations for crime aren’t particularly altruistic. More eyebrow-raising is the apparent happily-ever-after ending between her and Ryan, a bland and doting boyfriend who also uses violence to keep people in line at his smuggling operation. It’s supposed to be a cute ending because they’re both “morally gray,” but it ends up feeling more distasteful. If one wanted to take a more critical lens to this ending, perhaps they would question the decision to celebrate two white, financially well-off people’s choice to continue a life of crime without consequences when in reality, innocent Black and brown people are regularly murdered by law enforcement on the street in the United States.

But that is more a critique aimed at the spy/thriller genre more generally, and not necessarily a reason to condemn First Lie Wins in particular.

TL;DR:

First Lie Wins manages to avoid some of the worst pitfalls of its genre and provide a somewhat entertaining story in the process. That said, the narrative and characters fail to be particularly memorable or believable.

The Run-Down:

You will might like First Lie Wins if . . .

· You enjoy cat-and-mouse spy thrillers

· You’re looking for a break from domestic thrillers

· You want a story with a splash of romance

· You like stories that take place in the American South

You might not like First Lie Wins if . . .

· You don’t typically enjoy thrillers

· You hate convenient plot points

· You don’t like stories with frequent flashback sequences

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