Reviews with content warning for Violence - First Lie Wins

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

17 reviews

kshertz's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a great mystery book! I love an unreliable narrator and everyone is very unreliable. I’m not really sure who to root for. I don’t know who will come out on top. There are twists! It was really enjoyable to follow along with them.

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kyrstin_p1989's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

While I think this book was a little overhyped on TikTok, I still found the premise and the story arc interesting. It was a little different than most thriller/murder mysteries I’ve read in the past. The narrator is unreliable yet likeable. There were a lot of twists and turns, some expected and others unexpected. The ending is a little bit of a cliffhanger which is fun and leaves the reader wanting more.

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ofarkas's review

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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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oxfordcommas91's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book had me absolutely gripped! I’d been seeing this book all over instagram and booktok so I was suspicious about whether it would live up to the hype, and boy did it! I love a page-turner thriller that isn’t super dark or scary, so this really fit the bill. The twists and turns throughout were absolutely delicious - I was truly on the edge of my seat the whole time and found it difficult to put this book down to go to work or function in real life! Fabulously written and highly compelling, I recommend this to anyone who wants a book that will get them out of a slump, because it certainly did that for me.

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lindaahogannxo's review

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dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

Really enjoyed this book, was fast paced was a quick read and it kept me guessing until the end.

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daydaybookbay's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

I rated this book a 7 out of 10. I was pulled into this thriller, and I love the idea of undercover work. Evie shows her cleverness over the years and pulls ahead in work. Some sections felt repetitive, but I liked how everything was revealed for a reason. I wish there had been some character development; the characters themselves were a bit flat.

This story is a quick read, but slow paced (if that makes any sense) game of cat-and-mouse. We watch the back and forth of Evie's work and personal life while she tries to keep it from crumbling.

The major plot of the story is introduced in chapters 1 and 2. We follow Evie in her undercover scheme for the first half of the book. In the second half, we have an altered plot and follow Evie in her con artist scheme. It is a bit basic at times, but the plot keeps pushing forward.

The flashbacks to Evie's previous jobs threw me through a loop a few times. It wasn't always clear why any of those moments were important. Eventually, it all comes full circle, and we understand, but I think they were more randomly distributed rather than strategically placed.

I'1l say it again here: there is next to zero character development. Here's a character at face value, and there is nothing added. I wish there would have been more there (maybe in the flashbacks) where we could understand more about the characters.

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