An award-winning, gripping psychological thriller. All Becca wanted was a fresh start. That wasn’t what she got.Becca was sure the move from New York to Redemption, Wisconsin was exactly what her troubled family needed. A way to get her crumbling marriage back on track, and to bond with her difficult 16-year-old stepdaughter.But instead of a new beginning, Becca is thrust into a mysterious past … thrust into a mysterious past she barely remembers. A past that includes the complications of interacting with her old teenage crush, Daniel, as well as living in her aunt’s old house.
A house with a violent past. A house the locals swear is haunted.
But there’s no such thing as ghosts. Right?
So, could there be something even more sinister out to destroy them?
And can Becca discover the truth before it’s too late?
2020 Voice Award–January LaVoy, who narrated the Secrets of Redemption series, won a 2020 Voice Arts Awards Best Mystery Audiobook Narration for her work on “It Began With a Lie.”
2018 PRG Reviewers’ Choice Award First Place Winner for Best Book
2018 PRG Reviewers’ Choice Award Second Place Winner for Best Book Series
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Enjoyed
the main female character was so whiny and lacked so much self confidence that I almost gave up after several chapters but I am glad I kept reading. I enjoyed the book.
This is fun/scary. Good characters.
Couldn’t put this down until I knew what happened!
I loved it.
Enjoyed it. Will read this author again
liked the characters. Ready to read the next in line
This was a thriller that kept my interest to the end. It is a real page turner.
I really enjoyed this book especially right around Halloween time. It has a perfect setting. Haunted house, ghosts, lots of unexplained things happening… You’ll have to read it to find out what’s really true.
Michele Pariza Wacek does a superb job with paranormal suspense in this novel, and I was hooked from the first chapter. Written from the main character’s point of view, you immediately learn Becca has just unexpectedly inherited her grandmother’s home, a house she hasn’t visited since her summer vacation when she was sixteen and had a nervous breakdown, losing her memory of events that occurred the night one of her best friends simply disappeared. Trying to combat her fear and giving in to her fairly new “second” husband’s request to move there to help their extremely strained finances and hopefully revitalize their marriage, Becca is anything but elated to be returning to Redemption, Wisconsin.
After reading the sneak preview of this novel on Amazon, I ordered the entire series, and I’m so glad I did! I absolutely loved this novel and was pleased with the way things turned out, but there were so many questions I had at the conclusion. Now I can just go to the second book in the series, This Happened to Jessica! And maybe I’ll find out about Chrissy, too!!!
I devoured this book! It had me hooked from the very start. I love nothing more than good psychological thriller and this one ticked all the boxes for me.
Set in Redemption, Wisconsin Rebecca finds herself moving into her late Aunt Charlies house, after she inherited it. It would appear that it came not a moment too soon as her husband is having trouble with his Lawyer Firm and also some financial difficulties it would appear and the hope is to turn around the house and sell it so they can back to New York.
The last time Rebecca was in Redemption 16 years prior, that tragic summer saw her almost lose her mind – well she did, and now she is back the memories are slowly coming back, along with a sinister secret. Living in a house that is said to be haunted doesn’st help her and when she starts dreaming of her Aunt Charlie who is trying to warn her of the evil that was coming Becca begins to wonder if she is losing her mind yet again! With only her sixteen year old stepdaughter to help her most of the time as her husband Stefan was back in New York sorting out the mess there, I did begin to wonder just what was going on. Was the house really haunted? Was Becca losing her mind? Was the past repeating?
I disliked the husband from the get go – he basically left her in Redemption alone with Chrissie (stepdaughter) to get on with things, and when he did visit he was acting strange and seemed very very close to his daughter – my mind did wander down that sinister route I have to admit, and actually I think the author planted that seed to throw you off scent.
This story had me hooked and certainly the twists that keep coming and thrown me a curve ball keep me on my toes guessing right to the end! The characters were intriguing, well developed and the story had you sucked in, in such a way you had a hard time telling what was real and what was dreams! The mystery surround why Rebecca blocked out her memories of the summer that Jessica went missing will also have you on your toes – you know something bad happened and you just want to shake the heck of her to remember, but you are left waiting for it to happen – and I don’t mean that in a bad way – the suspense was killing me!
The great plot was well written and the characters were so well developed that as I turned each page the chemistry between the characters kept me totally hooked until the very last page!
Favorite Quotes:
Am I okay? I considered the question. I had a knife in my purse. I was afraid my stepdaughter, and maybe myself, were being possessed by ghosts. And I had just been momentarily convinced that a harmless homeless woman would have all the answers.
Was she really a monster? Or was she right— that I didn’t know who to trust? After all, my first husband cheated on me, and my second husband was trying to get me committed. Clearly, I wasn’t such a great judge of character.
My Review:
I make no excuses for being mesmerized by this annoying addictive tale. Despite being aggravated and exasperated with the main character, I couldn’t put my Kindle down. I was sucked in during the first few pages and essentially at this wily author’s mercy until the very end. It was most vexing. I couldn’t decide whether it was ghostly possessions, mental illness, ruthless conniving, drugging, or the effects of insomnia; whatever the cause, the main character of Rebecca was unraveling. I waffled in my feelings for her between empathy and irritation as she had no backbone and was prone to avoidance, denial, and mistruths. I have a hard time with liars she was in deep. She was also the type of woman I tend to despise, as she didn’t want to work and wanted a man to take care of her. Rebecca rationalized, minimized, lied, and allowed everyone to influence and/or push her around, relatives, weird husband, obnoxious stepdaughter, old friends, and ghosts. I was extremely frustrated with her, yet I could not stop reading. I had to know what had really happened in the past, what was actually happening, and what the outcome would be. Curses, this shrewd and cunning author had me on the hook and kept reeling me in with her crafty word voodoo. Sigh, more, please!
**Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.**
This book was not what I expected, even as I was reading it! About 25% into it, I was annoyed and had wrote a three paragraph review because I was so annoyed with Rebecca but I kept thinking there was something more ahead, and WHOA, there was.
I was annoyed because Rebecca was spineless and weak when it came to her husband and step-daughter. And I just didn’t understand why she went along with his crazy plan. They live in NY but due to financial issues at her husband’s law firm they lose their apartment and he’s about to lose his business. He decides the family is going to move to Wisconsin and live in a home Rebecca inherited from her aunt. They would get it ready to put on the market and live there to save money. A home tied to some dark secrets that Rebecca doesn’t even remember. Doesn’t sound too crazy, right? Except he’s going to continue to work in NY and he’ll come to Wisconsin every now and then. Um, hello? How is this cost savings? How does this make sense? And Rebecca just goes along with it to try and save her marriage. Listen lady, if after 10 months of marriage this horsesh*t is happening, you may want to reconsider working to save your marriage!
Seriously, I was done with Rebecca at this point. Not even her family could talk to her about the craziness of this decision. Her mom expressed my feelings exactly regarding this nonsense! Living in a home that holds secrets, and living with a step-daughter that hates her is difficult. Also, she’s getting memories and flashbacks from the summer that had remained a blank to her, other than knowing she almost lost her life. She’s getting reacquainted with her friends from that time and they’re sharing information to help her remember that time in her life. Other than those friends, nothing else is going well and she continues to spiral down.
I went from hating this book to loving it! The parts of the storyline that made no sense to me all had a purpose and once it all came together, it was a slap to my forehead. Brilliantly done on the author’s part! There are twists and turns in this story and many different mysteries, only you won’t be sure they’re actually mysteries or not. I had a lot of suspicions and then there’s a moment in the book that I KNEW exactly what was happening. I had suspected some of it, but I thought I knew it. And then, I found out I only knew some of it, boy was there more!
If you enjoy psychological thrillers, romantic suspense or paranormal elements you NEED to read this book. Actually, if you think you don’t enjoy those tropes, you still need to read this book. I am not a fan and do not typically read paranormal books. And, it’s not that I didn’t roll my eyes or think it was ridiculous in this book when it happened, because that’s just me but, it absolutely added to this book and it wouldn’t be the same with those parts taken out. There’s a second book coming out in November and I can’t wait to read it! It looks like that book will be dealing with the mystery that still remains at the end of this book. I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next! But, grab this book now!
Rating: 5 stars!!
“It Begin With A Lie” is the first book in a new series, Secrets of Redemption, by Michele Pariza Wacek (Michele PW). This book had me hooked from the first moment that I read the description. Why? I really can’t answer that because I don’t know. I don’t watch movies, or read books for that matter, with ghosts, scary dolls, ridiculous clowns, or mask wearing men. The whole paranormal thing, even though I live in “Mystic Falls”, is not my thing. I’ve tried and often lose interest because I’m yelling at the characters that have no common sense not to mention I’m wetting my pants because something unexpectedly jumped out. Give me break. I’m over 40 and…these things happen. Move on.
Rebecca, Becca to her childhood friends, has been left alone at, what locals call, the
witch house” which she inherited from her Aunt Charlie in Redemption, Wisconsin by her husband Stefan. Technically, she’s not alone. She has Chrissy, her 16 year old step-daughter, Mad Martha, Nellie, Aunt Charlie, and the ever present black cat. The purpose of the move is for Becca and Stefan to re-connect and for Becca to find a way to connect with Chrissy. Did I mention that they lost their New York apartment and Stefan will be commuting to New York in order to work out an embezzling problem at his law firm? Yes, there is more to that story but I won’t spoil it for you. You should also know that Becca hasn’t been to Redemption since the night that her friend Jessica disappeared and Becca ended up in the hospital, a night which Becca doesn’t remember. Her mantra becomes: “It’s just a house. A house can’t hurt anyone.”
Rebecca is one of the most complex characters that I’ve encountered in a long time. It was interesting to watch her character develop from a weak, scared wife to a strong woman escaping the mental ward and confronting her husband. Stefan is a gorgeous, successful lawyer whom I hated from the first “sorry babe, gotta take this.” I have a love-hate relationship with the 16 year-old Chrissy and really hope to see more of her in the next book. I would not call this book a romance but there sparks between Rebecca and Daniel, a teenage crush and local police officer. The book does not end in a cliff-hanger per se but it does leave you with enough unanswered questions that you will definitely want to read the next book which I hear is expected to release in November. You better believe that I will be reading it.
What is my rating? 5 out of 5 propellers!!!
Excellent characters. It’s like you’re right there with them. I will be reading more books in this series.
ending surprising….great character building…..great plot. authors style surprisingly “grabbing” clear…..looking for more books by Michelle!
Overall not bad, but I felt the plot needed to be tightened up a bit for it to be really good. Felt a little like some parts were being taken from other books I’ve read.
I have read a lot of books and have gotten to the point if it doesn’t hold my interest I don’t finish them. This book was a well-worth read and I would recommend it.
Fantastic!!