Tag: Ashley Elston book

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5
Genre: Thriller

Ooh this was a twisty one! Evie Porter is living an idyllic American life with her handsome successful boyfriend Ryan, or is she? We quickly come to learn that ‘Evie’ is a fake identity assumed for her job working for the mysterious Mr. Smith. Evie has completed a number of questionable jobs for her employer, but is starting to question how much she can trust him. She’s also starting to quite like her life with Ryan.

This story splits the narrative between past and present, introducing many of the different identities Evie has adopted over the years and the jobs they have been associated with. Not gonna lie, I could not keep track of them all. I think including so many was supposed to paint a clear picture of how her relationship with Mr. Smith evolved over time, but it each vignette seemed so separate that it was hard for me to tie everything together chronologically and cohesively in my mind.

I did enjoy getting to see the true relationships that Evie made throughout the years and how she was able to either get help from them in the future as her cover is threatened, or to manipulate them based on past knowledge and experience. She was smart and crafty and made for a fun protagonist.

Evie is primarily trying to figure out what Mr. Smith’s intent is throughout the book, particularly when she finds herself being set up for a crime that happened in her vicinity during a past job. While she digs into these issues, she also has to figure out what to tell Ryan and how to keep their relationship in tact. There was a lot going on, which made this book go fast.

I definitely didn’t see the ending coming, and it made me rethink much of what I’d been told throughout the book, which I love from a thriller. It was a really satisfying wrap-up to Evie’s character and made her like her even more.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy First Lie Wins at an indie bookstore near you
First Lie Wins on Goodreads