We all have our reasons for being who we are―but what if being someone else could get you what you want?After a devastating betrayal, a young woman sets off on an obsessive path to justice, no matter what dark family secrets are revealed. What she doesn’t know―she isn’t the only one plotting revenge.An affluent daughter of privilege. A glamorous manipulative wannabe. A determined reporter, in too … determined reporter, in too deep. A grieving widow who has to choose her new reality. Who will be the first to lie? And when the stakes are life and death, do a few lies really matter?
Bestselling and award-winning author and investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan delivers another twisty, thrilling cat and mouse novel of suspense that will have you guessing, and second-guessing, and then gasping with surprise.
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I received an ARC from the author.
I absolutely loved this story. I found I was debating/arguing with myself about what was happening. I was blown away with each twist, and was still shocked by the ending. I cannot recommend this novel enough.
“Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides.” Andre Malraux
Hank Phillippi Ryan captured my attention right away as I read the prologue of this book. There are some very interesting questions to ask yourself in these few short paragraphs. Fascinating things to think about and “what ifs” that might happen if you could “start over” and become a different person. It sounds like an easy or good thing to do but is it really? You might be able to change your outer appearance but the inner you is always there. But “When the stakes are life and death, did a few lives matter?” With this intriguing scenario and “All you have to do is lie.” as the motivation, Ms. Ryan weaves a thrilling story that took me on a wild ride.
The story revolves around three main characters. Ellie, Nora and Meg. Each one with an agenda that involves the Big Pharma company Pharminex, the Vanderwald empire, and the miracle drug Monifan. Just who are each of these characters and what are they after? How are they connected to each other and why? Ms. Ryan then adds characters and twists that had my head spinning. She weaves and unravels and weaves some more and kept me guessing as each page was turned. The schemeing, the lies, the deceitfully revenge driven characters had me all twisted up in a thrilling chesslike plot. What I really liked was not knowing how this would all play out and kept me reading to the surprising end.
I liked this passage from Alice in Wonderland Ms. Ryan used in the story. For me it sums up the characters and the mystery surrounding them:
“I know who I was when I got up this morning, Alice had told the Caterpillar in her most favorite book, but I think I must have been changed several times since then. I can’t explain myself, I’m afraid, because I’m not myself, you see.”
This was a great read for me. I love Ms. Ryan’s writing style and her ability to put me into the “minds” of her characters. I could feel her “investigative inquisitiveness” througout the book and kept thinking about how some of the scenario might have come from the Front Pages of real life events. Taking those situations and creating a thrilling, psychological mystery in “The First To Lie”.
I want to thank Netgalley and especially Ms. Ryan for the honor and privilege of reading her page turning novel. All opinions and thoughts in this review are my sincere own. This is a great read!
The First to Lie is a mind-blowing, twisty thriller that will capture you on the first page and have you speed reading to get to the last page!! It will keep you guessing until the end.
This is the first time reading a book by this author, but it won’t be my last!! I was not disappointed and I am an avid reader of mystery and thrillers.
Every time I thought I had everything figured out, I would realize I was wrong. That is my bar set for a great thriller!
Thank you Netgalley and MacmillanTor/Forge for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.I
#thefirsttolie #netgalley
So many twists and turns keep you so totally enthralled in this book.
I couldn’t put it down.
Family secrets, lies, betrayals, money, power. It’s all there and so much more.
It will keep you on the edge of your seat to find out what happens.
The First to Lie, Hank Phillippi Ryan’s latest mystery novel is
terrific. This is the story of women with reasons of their own for their
interest in Pharminex, a pharmaceutical company making a “miracle” drug.
Each woman is working in her own way to take Pharminex down. But why? No
one – let me repeat no one – can juggle so many stories and motives at
once like Ms. Ryan. And, when she gets to the reveal, it comes as an “of
course!” rather than a “huh?”.
First, we are introduced to Nora, who has been hired as a pharmaceutical
representative for Pharminex. Her job is to get doctors to prescribe the
new drug no matter what she has to do to get them onboard. Then we meet
Ellie, an investigative reporter for a new tv station, and Meg, Ellie’s
new, nosy, and ever-present producer. What these women have in common is a
secret and a thirst for justice.
This is a tough plot to discuss without giving too much away and I am
trying to be very careful not to ruin it for anyone by including spoilers.
Suffice it to say that if you can put this down to go to sleep, you’re a
stronger person than I am. My suggestion is to start it early in a day.
Luckily, it’s summer and maybe you have some time off? In my opinion,
there’s no better way to spend it.
By the way, because Ms. Ryan is such a good writer, I found it easy to keep
the characters and the various points of view straight. Do yourself a
favor – read The First to Lie. I think you’ll enjoy it.
You will love every tension-filled moment of this thriller. Nobody and nothing is what it appears to be and you’ll be guessing until the very last page. A great way to take your mind off the pandemic!
Never a spoiler in my reviews, here’s what you need to know: This book is just plain unputdownable! I LOVED this book! Well written and amazing just don’t do it justice. Ryan does an excellent job with a story about bringing down big Pharm, an investigative reporter, and women who just need to make their lives whole, completely developing characters that each come with their own demons. The story is told from several points of view which makes you wonder if there even is a good guy here! The character interactions are rich and realistic, cell phones and phone calls all seem to get in the way of interactions as they do in real life, which makes much of the story relatable; there is a mix of love to love and love to hate characters that are a must in any well-written mystery/intrigue story. Twists and turns will keep you flipping the pages way into the night because you just want to keep going in order to find out what could possibly happen next! A fast-paced thriller that is nothing less than gripping and satisfying…if you haven’t read any other of this author’s books, you are completely missing out! Start here then go back…Ms. Ryan is nothing less than brilliant. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Net Galley and all opinions are my own.
The First to Lie by Hank Phillippi Ryan is a mystery rooted so deep that it takes to the very end to unwind all the strands, both for the reader and the participants. Ryan takes on big pharma in this newest tome, not only with corporate greed and conspiracy but with personal as well. It is an extremely complicated story of avarice at its worst and of ambition that got out of hand. In a carefully plotted mystery, Ryan took characters who were little more than children and allowed them to be manipulated until they were no longer themselves and rushed forward to try to control a world out of control. No one was who or what he or she seemed, some several times over. People died, both then and now, and the one doing the killing felt justified.
The hurt was bleeding out of The First to Lie. The hurt was caused by medication, by lies, and my control. Some people had it; others wanted it. It was fascinating to watch, and so very well done. Ryan has it down. The characters were complex, some of them having alter egos and disguises until the major players didn’t recognize one another. Even the police helped in the deception until no one knew whom the other players were and what motivated them. It is a masterful telling of a very sad story. I recommend it.
I was invited to read a free ARC of The First Lie by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #thefirstolie
There is a lot of duplicity among the characters in this novel. The individual personalities are well established and it isn’t hard to keep them straight even though they move back and forth from “before” to present. There was one surprise at the end but other than that, it was fairly easy to see where it was going early on in the story.
This is the third of Ryan’s standalones that I have read, and for which I had high expectations based on the first two (“Trust Me” and “The Murder List”). It did not disappoint. Tightly plotted, plenty of twists and turns, and well written, it delivered the diversion I needed in these crazy times. I particularly enjoy Ryan’s easy writing style and her ability to make Boston as much a character in the story as any of the people – but seamlessly, without disrupting the narrative. I will admit I wasn’t totally crazy about the ending, but I forgive that because the rest of the book was so good. Can’t wait for her next offering!
An intricate tale, full of complex characters, beautifully detailed. Words woven with such skill. Wow, just wow!
This was a perfect example of a book that tried to do too much.
A revenge plot book going against a rich family and big pharma that had a good character twist but then continued doing the same character twist for two other characters and then again for two characters that had already had one?!?!
Does that sound confusing? It was, but also borderline ridiculous. There were many POV’s (mostly because people were pretending to be other people) and the dialogue was clunky. I can’t tell you how many times a character had to take a call on their cell phone or check a text. Almost anytime Ellie had interaction with anyone, that person would need to take a call, which drove me batty!! The character Meg was one of the most annoying characters I have ever read. Her dialogue was bad, and honestly if anyone had acted the way she did around me I would have ran the opposite way because she acted psycho (or maybe just really poorly written?)
The bones to an interesting story were there but were complicated and completely over-ran by the author trying to be too deceiving with her characters. I did not like this book. I do not plan to read this author again. I would have DNF’d this book but it was a Netgalley read.
Very good, twisty story. You just never know who’s who in this newest book from Hank Ryan Phillippe.
A pharmaceutical empire, the family behind it, the clientele, doctors….oh, don’t forget reporters! Murder!
Grab your copy to discover the truth!
Enjoy!
#HankRyanPhillippe
#netgalley
Again Hank Phillippi Ryan gives us a twisted story that kept me up far into the night unable to put it down. First to Lie is a unique storyline and if you’re a woman that has struggled with infertility, such as myself, you’re going to see yourself a bit in this story. I definitely related to some of the characters and the storyline seems so plausible. There is a drug used to treat breast cancer (Femara) that I was prescribed to help get pregnant with. It worked for me and I have an 11 year old. Perhaps today it is used to aid in infertility as well, at the time it wasn’t. Anyways what I’m saying very wordy and in a roundabout way is Ryan gives us a story that is more than plausible. She just puts her own spin on it… and it’s so good!! Her writing and the way she draws out the cat-and-mouse thrills and messes with the mind is my favorite!!
WOW! What a powerful story! Lots of family secrets and revenge. A controversial subject of pharmaceutical companies underhanded business, handled with finesse! The author keeps you turning the pages and guessing to the very last page! Loved this book and I love this author! A Must Read!
Hank Phillippi Ryan does it again. The First to Lie has so many twists and turns that it will keep you guessing till the end. There are so many duplicitous characters. At first it is hard to keep them straight but the more you read, the easier this becomes. Several characters are leading double lives. To complicate matters further, the story jumps between different time settings as well. Need a chart to keep it all straight? You just might. Once the story gets going and you figure out who everyone is, the book moves along quickly and is hard to put down. Your mind is always working trying to figure out who is lying, who are the good guys, who aren’t? You think you have it figured out or at least some of it figured out and BAM, another twist throws that theory out. Classic Hank Phillippi Ryan!! Towards the end there was a reveal that took a little stretch of the imagination as to how that person could have kept secret who they were from every other player in this dance of lies but, overall, it is a very satisfying read which has you turning the pages and not wanting to stop until the very end.
I received an advanced reader copy in exchange for my unbiased review. Thank you NetGalley.
I am a fan of Hank Phillippi Ryan and I did enjoy her new whodunit mystery. I think this could be subtitled ‘Is she who she says she is?’ This book, like Hank’s others, keeps you guessing. Each character is a mystery and it is a challenge to keep them straight. Just when you think you know who someone is, they act in a way that makes you question what you know about them. You keep asking yourself ‘who is this person and what game are they playing?’
The main character, Ellie, is an investigative reporter who is undercover in order to get a major story about a coverup at a major pharmaceutical company. The problem is, she is not the only one. There are several stories interwoven and it is not till much later in the book that the reader can see how their lives are interconnected. Hank skillfully weaves each character’s story so we slowly learn how they are interrelated. It was fascinating to see all the work and skill that goes into an undercover role.
It was a relief when the police got involved but the phony credentials, the accidents, and the repeated twists and coverups kept the police guessing.
The plot makes this a book you cannot put down. Kudos to Hank for another excellent read.
***I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my independent review.
I did not want this book to end! I was savoring EVERY page – especially as I got to the end. And isn’t that what you want in a thriller? Especially if you’ve read a lot of them??? That’s The First to Lie by Hank Phillippi Ryan!
Twists and more twists (all unexpected!), mystery, duplicity, deceit, revenge, family secrets, wealth and murder – the ingredients of a perfect mystery and thriller tied up in one! Hank Phillippi Ryan is a master storyteller who has woven all of the elements of an amazing page-turner mystery into one book. Who doesn’t love a book with a cast of characters from a young woman obsessed with finding justice to a wealthy daughter with major secrets to a wealthy wife with her own hidden pain (to name just a few) and big pharma. How are they all connected? What secrets do they hide – spanning 20 years?
YOU MUST READ THIS! When, as a reader, you work hard to drag out the last three chapters to make it last, you know it’s good. What else can I say – it’s a five-star read. It checks all of the boxes. It’s so well-written! Even if you’ve read a thousand thrillers – this will not disappoint!
I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The First to Lie is a fast paced read, that also manages to be a delicious slow burn as the truth behind the story is slowly revealed. As you no doubt understood from the title, The First to Lie, there are a lot of lies to expose and truth to unearth.
This is a book that’s definitely best to go in with as little information about as possible in order to avoid spoiling the twists.
Content Warnings (below):
Infertility; medical malpractice.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own. #suspense #mystery #thriller #TheFirstToLie
The First to Lie was a book with so many twists and turns, most of the book I didn’t know if I was coming or going. This book contained a little bit of everything, hatred, betrayal, deceit, revenge, search for justice. This book focuses of big Pharma and how they seem to have no moral compass. Suspense thrillers are one of my favorite genres and although I thought this was a good book, my personal opinion it didn’t compare with previous books by this author. I always advise others to read a book for themself because not all people enjoy the same thing.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher an am under no obligation to leave a favorable review, all opinions expressed here are my own.