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nixieknox's review against another edition
3.0
Best one yet in this series. Less of Coben, got Reed's backstory, plenty of viable suspects, a twist I didn't see coming at all, ended on a hopeful note.
kaleenazagrzebski's review against another edition
4.0
ALL THE BEST LIES is the third book in the Ellery Hathaway series by Joanna Schaffhausen. The book follows Reed Markham and Ellery Hathaway as Reed begins to search for the person who brutally murdered his mother over forty years ago and left baby Reed alive.
I could not put this book down! I loved the characters of Reed and Ellery and reading about how their relationship changes during their trip to Vegas to learn more about Reed’s mom. Ellery had some terrible experiences as a child and Reed is the son of a politician who puts his career first.
The ending was a bit predictable for me, but I would still highly recommend this one!
I read the first book, THE VANISHING SEASON, shortly after it’s release in 2017. I haven’t had a chance to read the second book, but it didn’t impact my understanding of book three. ALL THE BEST LIES can definitely be read as a stand alone, but I would recommend picking up at least the first book to understand some of the characters and their relationship! This is a series I will definitely continue to read and I’m hoping the author writes a fourth book as well!
I could not put this book down! I loved the characters of Reed and Ellery and reading about how their relationship changes during their trip to Vegas to learn more about Reed’s mom. Ellery had some terrible experiences as a child and Reed is the son of a politician who puts his career first.
The ending was a bit predictable for me, but I would still highly recommend this one!
I read the first book, THE VANISHING SEASON, shortly after it’s release in 2017. I haven’t had a chance to read the second book, but it didn’t impact my understanding of book three. ALL THE BEST LIES can definitely be read as a stand alone, but I would recommend picking up at least the first book to understand some of the characters and their relationship! This is a series I will definitely continue to read and I’m hoping the author writes a fourth book as well!
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
4.0
"Someone in this family has to tell the truth."
This was a very good, easy, quick read. I hadn't read the first 2 in the series so I was a little worried when I picked it up that I'd be lost but the characters were easy to slide right into the story with (although there was mention of previous cases so I'm sure it's better to have read one and two first).
I found the two main characters completely enchanting. I loved Reed's more composed and organized thinking. I liked Ellery's messy techniques that brought results. The due is wonderful to read together and I was completely pulled into the drama. The mystery was good enough I didn't even worry about solving it, just rode the story to the final outcome.
If there's more to this series, I'll definitely be reading it! (and I've already bought book 1!)
This was a very good, easy, quick read. I hadn't read the first 2 in the series so I was a little worried when I picked it up that I'd be lost but the characters were easy to slide right into the story with (although there was mention of previous cases so I'm sure it's better to have read one and two first).
I found the two main characters completely enchanting. I loved Reed's more composed and organized thinking. I liked Ellery's messy techniques that brought results. The due is wonderful to read together and I was completely pulled into the drama. The mystery was good enough I didn't even worry about solving it, just rode the story to the final outcome.
If there's more to this series, I'll definitely be reading it! (and I've already bought book 1!)
melgado's review against another edition
4.0
My biggest takeaway from reading this book was that I should have definitely started from the beginning. As in a series, there are a few nods to the first books as there were clearly events that took place prior to this story. In some series, this sort of thing flows well and sometimes the reader does not need to start from the beginning. With this book, I felt the absence of the past events I was unaware of.
Despite this, the book was a very easy read! Very slow in the beginning, but as Reed and Ellery get more and more enveloped into the crime they are trying to solve, it got me wanting to read more and more to find out what happens. I really liked their dynamic as characters, and will definitely go back to the beginning and start again properly with the series!
Despite this, the book was a very easy read! Very slow in the beginning, but as Reed and Ellery get more and more enveloped into the crime they are trying to solve, it got me wanting to read more and more to find out what happens. I really liked their dynamic as characters, and will definitely go back to the beginning and start again properly with the series!
adenise47's review against another edition
5.0
This was such a good book! I would recommend it! It kept me on the edge of my seat. Didn’t want to put it down!!!
novelesque_life's review against another edition
4.0
RATING: 4 STARS
2020; Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Press/Blackstone Audio
Narrator: Lauren Fortgang
Ahhhh, here we go again...this is the Ellery and Reed I missed. In All the Best Lies, we turn to Reed and his past. Reed's birth mother was murdered in Vegas, but her murder was never solved. The case seemed to have gone cold. When he uncovers a family secret it leads him to look over his mother's case. He's not sure who to trust so turns to Ellery for help.
I enjoy Ellery and Reed working together and the intimacy they share from Ellery's kidnapping. The first two novels were more Ellery related, so I was excited to see this one be more of Reed's story. Like the first novel, the writing was powerful. I'm excited for the next book.
***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***
2020; Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Press/Blackstone Audio
Narrator: Lauren Fortgang
Ahhhh, here we go again...this is the Ellery and Reed I missed. In All the Best Lies, we turn to Reed and his past. Reed's birth mother was murdered in Vegas, but her murder was never solved. The case seemed to have gone cold. When he uncovers a family secret it leads him to look over his mother's case. He's not sure who to trust so turns to Ellery for help.
I enjoy Ellery and Reed working together and the intimacy they share from Ellery's kidnapping. The first two novels were more Ellery related, so I was excited to see this one be more of Reed's story. Like the first novel, the writing was powerful. I'm excited for the next book.
***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***
sanjana_ponmani's review against another edition
4.0
The highly anticipated third novel in the award-winning Ellery Hathaway mystery series.
FBI agent Reed Markham is haunted by one painful unsolved mystery: who murdered his mother? Camilla was brutally stabbed to death more than forty years ago while baby Reed lay in his crib mere steps away. The trail went so cold that the Las Vegas Police Department has given up hope of solving the case. But then a shattering family secret changes everything Reed knows about his origins, his murdered mother, and his powerful adoptive father, state senator Angus Markham. Now Reed has to wonder if his mother's killer is uncomfortably close to home.
Unable to trust his family with the details of his personal investigation, Reed enlists his friend, suspended cop Ellery Hathaway, to join his quest in Vegas. Ellery has experience with both troubled families and diabolical murderers, having narrowly escaped from each of them. She's eager to skip town, too, because her own father, who abandoned her years ago, is suddenly desperate to get back in contact. He also has a secret that could change her life forever, if Ellery will let him close enough to hear it.
Far from home and relying only on each other, Reed and Ellery discover young Camilla had snared the attention of dangerous men, any of whom might have wanted to shut her up for good. They start tracing his twisted family history, knowing the path leads back to a vicious killer―one who has been hiding in plain sight for forty years and isn't about to give up now.
my opinion - really great mystery it keep me to edge till last chapter thou i have to say last twist i
didnt saw that coming great crime thriller
reed and ellery relation developed lot better but i missed speed bump thou
easy to understand , great mystrey series
FBI agent Reed Markham is haunted by one painful unsolved mystery: who murdered his mother? Camilla was brutally stabbed to death more than forty years ago while baby Reed lay in his crib mere steps away. The trail went so cold that the Las Vegas Police Department has given up hope of solving the case. But then a shattering family secret changes everything Reed knows about his origins, his murdered mother, and his powerful adoptive father, state senator Angus Markham. Now Reed has to wonder if his mother's killer is uncomfortably close to home.
Unable to trust his family with the details of his personal investigation, Reed enlists his friend, suspended cop Ellery Hathaway, to join his quest in Vegas. Ellery has experience with both troubled families and diabolical murderers, having narrowly escaped from each of them. She's eager to skip town, too, because her own father, who abandoned her years ago, is suddenly desperate to get back in contact. He also has a secret that could change her life forever, if Ellery will let him close enough to hear it.
Far from home and relying only on each other, Reed and Ellery discover young Camilla had snared the attention of dangerous men, any of whom might have wanted to shut her up for good. They start tracing his twisted family history, knowing the path leads back to a vicious killer―one who has been hiding in plain sight for forty years and isn't about to give up now.
my opinion - really great mystery it keep me to edge till last chapter thou i have to say last twist i
didnt saw that coming great crime thriller
reed and ellery relation developed lot better but i missed speed bump thou
easy to understand , great mystrey series
the_coycaterpillar_reads's review against another edition
4.0
All The Best Lies really injects truth into that old saying – Las Vegas is the city that never sleeps! Its seeped in sin, a place where we can forget our old selves, our realities are locked in the back of our minds and we can invent a new identity, a new truth. Well, eventually that truth will rear its ugly head and bite you on your behind. The characters are complex and brought to life in multi-dimensional 4k reality. A crime novel should unseat you, leave you questioning the fragility of the human existence but also be blasted with the fear of how easily psyches can break and commit the most atrocious crimes known to man.
What would you do if you were given the opportunity to reopen a cold case that had such a personal connection? What if it was your mother? This case was truly baffling. Reed Markham is tasked with this exact scenario. He has an outstanding reputation of getting the bad guy and he is determined this is will be like every other case he handles. He doesn’t anticipate the scene of the crime photos showing his mother carved up like a Christmas turkey, however. The further he digs, the more he’s conflicted by family loyalty and unmasking the killer.
Joanna Schaffhausen epitomises the inner turmoil that Reed Markham feels. He’s desperate to find out the who and the why. He needs to feel a sense of closure and putting that chapter in his life to rest but are external forces going to allow him that? The pace of All The Best Lies is akin to rocket force. You feel that countdown and with that your heart, your stomach and your brain begin to go into meltdown. You know when it finally takes off – you will have to hold on for dear life. The descriptions allow us to placed straight into Reeds shoes – we feel every part of his desperation, his pain but also dogged determination to unearth the truth.
With every great detective you need an equally awesome sidekick and there is literally no better than, Ellery Hathaway. A suspended cop that he has known since she was an abused and frightened teen. They are inextricably linked to each other and each has the others back through thick and thin. She’s happy to go along for the tumultuous ride to Las Vegas and is prepared to unearth trouble. I loved these two together – the electricity between them was palpable. The sexual tension in All The Best Lies threatened to burn a hole through me.
Plenty of potential suspects with not one of them being pearly white. We all have a history, and everyone goes through the wringer with Hathaway and Markham. No stone is left unturned. I loved the direction the author took us on. It was unexpected and so very thrilling. As they dig deeper and deeper they find that they could potentially be in danger, do they back off or do they continue with renewed vigour? Everyone is a suspect.
All The Best Lies catapults you into an evocative setting with a sinister undertone simmering about power, politics and family. A plot so tautly constructed you feel the need to hold on for dear life.
What would you do if you were given the opportunity to reopen a cold case that had such a personal connection? What if it was your mother? This case was truly baffling. Reed Markham is tasked with this exact scenario. He has an outstanding reputation of getting the bad guy and he is determined this is will be like every other case he handles. He doesn’t anticipate the scene of the crime photos showing his mother carved up like a Christmas turkey, however. The further he digs, the more he’s conflicted by family loyalty and unmasking the killer.
Joanna Schaffhausen epitomises the inner turmoil that Reed Markham feels. He’s desperate to find out the who and the why. He needs to feel a sense of closure and putting that chapter in his life to rest but are external forces going to allow him that? The pace of All The Best Lies is akin to rocket force. You feel that countdown and with that your heart, your stomach and your brain begin to go into meltdown. You know when it finally takes off – you will have to hold on for dear life. The descriptions allow us to placed straight into Reeds shoes – we feel every part of his desperation, his pain but also dogged determination to unearth the truth.
With every great detective you need an equally awesome sidekick and there is literally no better than, Ellery Hathaway. A suspended cop that he has known since she was an abused and frightened teen. They are inextricably linked to each other and each has the others back through thick and thin. She’s happy to go along for the tumultuous ride to Las Vegas and is prepared to unearth trouble. I loved these two together – the electricity between them was palpable. The sexual tension in All The Best Lies threatened to burn a hole through me.
Plenty of potential suspects with not one of them being pearly white. We all have a history, and everyone goes through the wringer with Hathaway and Markham. No stone is left unturned. I loved the direction the author took us on. It was unexpected and so very thrilling. As they dig deeper and deeper they find that they could potentially be in danger, do they back off or do they continue with renewed vigour? Everyone is a suspect.
All The Best Lies catapults you into an evocative setting with a sinister undertone simmering about power, politics and family. A plot so tautly constructed you feel the need to hold on for dear life.
alisonb's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 ⭐️’s
Ellery and Reed are an amazing pair! The writing is phenomenal and took me on a journey of clever investigative work, family secrets, gritty crimes, and a budding love.
This series is on par with my love of the “In Death” series by JD Robb.
Highly recommend if you are interested in a police procedural that goes beyond the case and delves into the lives and inner workings of the main protagonists as they confront their demons and evolve amidst their innate propensity to solve crimes.
Ellery and Reed are an amazing pair! The writing is phenomenal and took me on a journey of clever investigative work, family secrets, gritty crimes, and a budding love.
This series is on par with my love of the “In Death” series by JD Robb.
Highly recommend if you are interested in a police procedural that goes beyond the case and delves into the lives and inner workings of the main protagonists as they confront their demons and evolve amidst their innate propensity to solve crimes.
kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
The third installment in the brilliant Ellery Hathaway series, All the Best Lies by Joanna Schaffhausen is a perplexing cold case mystery.
Troubled by recent revelations, FBI Agent Reed Markham is finally in a position to investigate the long unsolved murder of his mother, Camilla Flores. Since he was only four months old at the time of Cammie's death, Reed has no memories of her. Adopted by Senator Angus Markham and his wife Marianne, Reed grew up alongside his three sisters. But his mother's murder has long troubled him so he enlists the aid of his friend (and suspended cop) Ellery Hathaway to travel to Las Vegas with him to in hopes of uncovering the killer's identity.
Reed and Ellery share an unusual connection and despite their history, they work well together. Ellery is the only person he can count on to understand his desire for the truth about his mother's death. Trying his best to distance himself from his personal connection to the victim, Reed is mostly successful as he looks through the evidence as objectively as possible. With local Sheriff Brad Ramsey's reluctant assistance, Reed and Ellery comb through the old reports, question witnesses and assess the scant evidence from the crime.
The investigation into Camilla's death moves in fits and starts as they pore over old evidence and search for the remaining witnesses to a murder that took place over forty years earlier. The previous detectives formed a theory early in their investigation as to the killer's identity. With complete tunnel vision that plagued each new look at the case, there was little speculation about other possible motives or suspects for Camilla's murder. After so many years, will Ellery and Reed uncover new information that will solve the case?
As they work together, Reed and Ellery's personal relationship continues to grow and evolve. Their unlikely friendship is underscored by a simmering attraction, but Ellery's traumatic past makes it difficult for her to experience intimacy. She is quick to retreat both emotionally and physically, but she also honestly assesses her reactions and emotions. Once she has processed her thoughts, Ellery makes a genuine attempt to explain what she is experiencing. Reed is quite patient as Ellery continues her healing journey that is rooted in a horrifying experience as a teenager.
All the Best Lies is an engrossing mystery with a clever storyline and interesting characters. Reed and Ellery are engaging, likable characters with fascinating back stories that make them easy to like. The investigation into Camilla's murder is a little heartbreaking as Reed learns new information about his birth mother. With chilling turns, Joanna Schaffhausen brings this riveting mystery to a twist-filled, stunning conclusion. Old and new fans are going to love this latest addition to the marvelous Ellery Hathaway series.
The third installment in the brilliant Ellery Hathaway series, All the Best Lies by Joanna Schaffhausen is a perplexing cold case mystery.
Troubled by recent revelations, FBI Agent Reed Markham is finally in a position to investigate the long unsolved murder of his mother, Camilla Flores. Since he was only four months old at the time of Cammie's death, Reed has no memories of her. Adopted by Senator Angus Markham and his wife Marianne, Reed grew up alongside his three sisters. But his mother's murder has long troubled him so he enlists the aid of his friend (and suspended cop) Ellery Hathaway to travel to Las Vegas with him to in hopes of uncovering the killer's identity.
Reed and Ellery share an unusual connection and despite their history, they work well together. Ellery is the only person he can count on to understand his desire for the truth about his mother's death. Trying his best to distance himself from his personal connection to the victim, Reed is mostly successful as he looks through the evidence as objectively as possible. With local Sheriff Brad Ramsey's reluctant assistance, Reed and Ellery comb through the old reports, question witnesses and assess the scant evidence from the crime.
The investigation into Camilla's death moves in fits and starts as they pore over old evidence and search for the remaining witnesses to a murder that took place over forty years earlier. The previous detectives formed a theory early in their investigation as to the killer's identity. With complete tunnel vision that plagued each new look at the case, there was little speculation about other possible motives or suspects for Camilla's murder. After so many years, will Ellery and Reed uncover new information that will solve the case?
As they work together, Reed and Ellery's personal relationship continues to grow and evolve. Their unlikely friendship is underscored by a simmering attraction, but Ellery's traumatic past makes it difficult for her to experience intimacy. She is quick to retreat both emotionally and physically, but she also honestly assesses her reactions and emotions. Once she has processed her thoughts, Ellery makes a genuine attempt to explain what she is experiencing. Reed is quite patient as Ellery continues her healing journey that is rooted in a horrifying experience as a teenager.
All the Best Lies is an engrossing mystery with a clever storyline and interesting characters. Reed and Ellery are engaging, likable characters with fascinating back stories that make them easy to like. The investigation into Camilla's murder is a little heartbreaking as Reed learns new information about his birth mother. With chilling turns, Joanna Schaffhausen brings this riveting mystery to a twist-filled, stunning conclusion. Old and new fans are going to love this latest addition to the marvelous Ellery Hathaway series.