A review by sian_reads_books
First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

First Lie Wins is extremely captivating from the very first page, and so I can see why there's been a lot of hype around this book, why it caught the eye of Reese's Book Club and why it has been optioned for a TV series.

There are multiple timelines throughout the novel, all told from the POV of the main character, who (at the time of meeting her) goes by the name Evie Porter. But having been a con-woman working for the mysterious "Mr. Smith" for the past 8 years, our main character is known by many different aliases... Evie is just one of them.

"Evie's" story is told through her pervious cons, flashbacks to her teenage years before she started working for Mr. Smith, and her current con, all culminating into a captivatingly twisty finale.

Evie is a brilliant main character. She's extremely gritty, brave, and ballsy, but she's also shown to have a much softer side - a side which has led her into danger in her cons in the past and almost resulted in her cover being blown.

A lot goes on in this book, it's extremely busy with Evie's previous jobs and aliases, her current job, and the romantic and platonic side-plots. The way Elston has written Evie's story makes what could easily have become a confusing mess, into something that is easy to follow but still manages to have hidden surprises and twists.

It's not clear until the very end who is who. Who is leading who on. And who is really the one in charge. When all is revealed, it is done very well - it isn't rushed and completely out of left field. It is told over the last 30ish% of the book, and the way Evie's detailed plans are told to the reader make it easy to understand who the players are, and why things happened as they did.

It is difficult to discuss this book without giving away spoilers, as everything is a well woven web that all leads towards the finale! All I can say is, join the hype and pick yourself up a copy of First Lie Wins - you won't regret it!