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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Hank Phillippi Ryan has done it again! She’s written another story full of twists and turns and suspense and surprises that will have you changing your best guess over and over. Full of characters who aren’t always who you think they are, who have strong motives to get back at Big Pharma. And as the title of this book is “The First to Lie” then you know that all of these people are going to have secrets and stories they won’t want you to know and won’t hesitate to lie when they think it’s justified.
Be prepared for a thrill ride. Be prepared to meet a whole cast of characters who will make you like them, then mistrust them, then fear them. Non-stop action and intrigue start to finish. Once you start you won’t be able to put it down – I couldn’t.
Thanks to author Hank Phillippi Ryan, publisher Forge Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of The First to Lie for my reading pleasure and honest opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it. Another great addition to your library of this author’s work.
WOW! What did I just read? Totally blown away!
This story is about an investigative reporter who is focused on brining down a big pharma – Pharminex. Along the way you meet more characters that are connected with the company – sales rep as well as women that took Pharminex’s famous drug Monifan.
This book is fast paced and you have to pay attention right from the beginning or you will be lost. I almost had to re-read couple of first chapters because I was losing track of all the characters. But don’t give up…keep reading and everything will start to come together or will it? There are twists, flashes to the past and as much as you try to figure out who is who you just don’t know what’s coming next.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes fast paced mysteries with unexpected twists at the end.
Publication date is August 4th 2020. Make sure to get yourself a copy to try to figure out what is a truth and what is a lie.
Thank you to Net Galley and Hank Phillippi Ryan for an ARC of this book in exchange of my honest review.
The lies! What a twisty surreal story! Who to believe, who to trust? Questions that have you on the edge till the thrilling end! Trust me, make this your next thrilling read!!!
“First to Lie,” Hank Phillippi Ryan’s latest mystery/thriller is her best yet. A twisting page-turner that will keep you reading well into the wee hours of the morning, it follows an investigative reporter’s desperate search for the truth behind the death of a fertility clinic patient ready to blow whistle on a dangerous drug.
Hank Phillippi Ryan never disappoints! Her newest novel may well be her best yet!
My Review of
THE FIRST TO LIE
By Hank Philip Ryan
Published by Forge
On Sale: August 4th
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When you finish a book and then call it a night, just to wake up realizing you’ve dreamt about the entirety of the novel played out on the big screen (yes I ate the big bucket with extra butter). Now that’s your body’s way of crying out it wants more and is also telling you the book was a stellar 5 star read and deserves to be made into the blockbuster on screen as it is.
Hank continually upends me with her wit and intricate mind that can tell a tale that is so complex that makes you think; how did she ever come up with so much depth and detail; not only to the rich storyline but to the ever evolving characters that you grow to know so well. I will forever be surprised by each of her thought provoking and thrilling books. Each book has the power to make you succumb to lose yourself into the brilliant plot and end up with a heart racing end to the finish.
Do yourself a favor and make Hank and Auto-Buy Author and don’t wait a day past the release date to read; otherwise you’re doing yourself a huge injustice.
Would you put everything at risk, including who you are to go against a corporate conglomerate that you know as a Pharmaceutical Company has cared more about their bottom line than their patients safety? When you find that some victims who may have suffered at their hands so much, they may have threatened a lawsuit or to go to the media; only to end up dead.
And when you find out that your secret investigations are not so secret and unearth others that are wanting to bring this Pharmaceutical Giant down at all costs, you go with what you know. But you never know who you should trust and who is really on your side or if they are out to get you. Some secrets should remain secrets and you never can tell if you’re the first to lie.
Multiple POVs. Twists on twists. Gripping storyline. This book really kept me engaged.
I don’t want to say much more as it’s more fun to go into this one blind. I will say I read it in one evening and while there were a couple plot holes and things I guessed, overall this was a thriller that kept surprising me, was very well written, and I’d definitely recommend.
This was my first book from Ryan but definitely won’t be my last.
I was gifted an advanced copy in exchange for my review.
This was my most anticipated summer read this year, and let me tell you my head is spinning. Hank has done it again. My advice to you is this, if you are taking this book to the beach for your summer “beach read,” make sure you bring another book. You are about to tear through another amazing psychological thriller by Hank P. Ryan in record time, and I don’t want you to not have something to read for the rest of your vacation. (Might I suggest one of Hank’s previous books).
Told from multiple POV, THE FIRST TO LIE is a fast paced psychological thriller that centers around Big Pharma and the road to the truth. You are about to be introduced to a trove of people all with different hidden agendas. About to read a plot line that takes every detour possible to make sure you are good and lost and can never find your way back. You are going to find yourself fighting sleep to fit in “just one more chapter” as you continue to be stunned by the continuous twists and turns that never stop on this Hank P. Ryan roller coaster. Get your dramamine ready people, your head is going to be spinning. This one is the epitome of mind-boggling, and I know you’ve heard it before, but I promise you, Hank’s latest doesn’t just blow it all out of the water, she causes a typhoon.
Early praise is already calling it a ‘must read for thriller lovers’, ‘a plot that is masterclass,’ ‘impossible to put down’ and ‘the book that may win Ryan her 6th Agatha Award’. I’m not sure where she comes up with this stuff, but I sure hope her mind is chock-full of plenty more. Hank is a master at her game and she never disappoints. There is no doubt in my mind this book deserves 5 stars, I guarantee you will feel the same too.
I just would like to thank Hank P. Ryan Suzanne Leopold of Suzy Approved Book Tours and Forge Books for the copy of this book for my unbiased and honest opinion for review.
Wow this book is one freaking wild ride! It’s just a web of deception after deception after lies and maybe back to a bit more of deception. And the best part of it all is that it was so good because you could tell that Ryan in an expert in the craft. A mystery/thriller/suspense book can easily fall apart if it isn’t written well, and The First to Lie decidedly does not fall into that category.
There are a lot of twists and turns in this book, so keep your thinking caps on! There are a lot of characters and they each have their own set of secrets and twists to divulge. And while the plot can sometimes feel a little convoluted, that’s what makes the story so interesting.
After this book I definitely need to check out the other books from the author. And that’s how I know it was a really good read, when it makes me want to find out what I’ve been missing from Hank Phillippi Ryan. But for anyone who likes a good suspense/thriller/mystery, this one is definitely worth the read!
The First to Lie by Hank Phillipppi Ryan is the first of her books I have read. This book had well-developed characters with an interesting plot involving a family owned pharmaceutical company “Pharminex” that finds itself in the midst of deaths due to a drug used “off label” . There were many twists and turns as it bounces back and forth between Pharminex and many caught up working to expose the cover up. Between the pages there was heartbreak, betrayal, deception, and revenge. While I enjoyed the well written characters I found the multiple identities were overdone. This book scores 4 stars for me since I felt that the back story wasn’t full in that I wanted the author to delve deeper into the pharmaceutical scandal to drive the plot.
A special thanks to Hank Phillipi Ryan, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely LOVED this book! I was drawn in from the very start and couldn’t put it down. All the characters were interesting and the plot kept me guessing until the very end. DEFINITELY a great read!!
The First to Lie by Hank Phillippi Ryan is another winner. This fast paced sit on the edge of your seat book kept me reading well past my bedtime. So many twists and turns to keep you guessing and if you thought you had it figured out guess again. Ms. Ryan wrote a wonderful story which drew me right in, making me forget everything else and did not let me go until I turned the last page. I could not put this book down. The story was very well written, the characters were well developed and believable. I’m excited to see what she has in store for us next!
Great book! I loved The Murder List and wasn’t expecting to like this one as much but now it’s difficult to decide which I like better. Great plot! Timely as the Pharmaceutical industry is coming under more scrutiny. Great characters lots of plot twists and turns! Recommend highly! EH
A real roller coaster of a mystery. Well written with well developed characters. A real page turner with an original plot. A fun read.
“When the stakes are life and death, did a few low matter?”
Woahhhh what did I just read! The First To Lie is a fast paced, page turner!! A few time times I went back and was like noooo that’s not what I read but yep it was. So many lies and deceit! I was slowly putting it all together but I hadn’t guessed it all correctly! The characters were fantastic, I felt like they could be people you could know. I loved that the story was thick uncertainty!!! The ending was explosive with tying up all the twists!!!
Thank you Hank Ryan, Forge Books and Netgalley
For my copy for honest review!
Thank you Netgalley and Forge books for the ARC of this book. The comments and review are my honest opinion 4.5 stars
Are secrets lies? In this book they are.
A family owned pharmaceutical company has a miracle drug that can help with fertility issues until they don’t..
The company has lied and hid their disastrous failures.
Tragedy, deceit, characters who are not whom they seem and obsessive, twisted revenge comes to a climatic end in this another excellent book by Hank Phillippi Ryan not to be missed .
A fabulous read, from beginning to totally unpredictable end! Hank Phillippi Ryan has done it again – she never fails to deliver! First to Lie is a thoroughly suspenseful, well- written, and entertaining mystery novel that delights with every twist and turn. I was torn between not wanting to put it down and the desire to read it, enjoy it, and savor it slowly. I can’t wait for publication so I can read it again in print format. Thank you Hank for the best read of the summer!
Having enjoyed several other books by Hank Phillippi Ryan, I was looking forward to reading The First to Lie. I was not disappointed as it is a riveting story of deceit and thrilling action. Noone is who they seem to be. Everyone has secrets to keep and lies to tell. The many twists to the plot kept me guessing from the beginning to the very end who characters really are and what their motives were. A page turner, for sure and readers who love stories of revenge, intrigue, and betrayal will not want to miss this powerful new suspense story from the master of suspense, Ms. Ryan.
I was given a complimentary copy of the book, and was not required to write a review. The opinions are my own.
Thanks to Net Galley for the promotional ebook. I’m not a fan of the back and forth from past to present as it can be confusing, but once you get into the story, Ryan does a great job with her characters and her experience as a reporter shines through as her protagonist goes undercover to take down an unscrupulous pharmaceutical company. Lots of twists throughout. Nobody will guess the ending on this one. Great job!
THRILLER!
Hank Phillippi Ryan is a Master at creating duplicitous characters! Her latest release, THE FIRST TO LIE, is a perfect example. Ryan wastes no time introducing you to three main characters: Ellie Berensen, Meg Weest and Gabe Hoyt. It becomes quickly apparent that each of them is living a lie. What if becoming someone else enables you to enact justice on the people/family/product that betrayed you? Would you do it? Would you risk everything to take a chance at getting revenge? Would it matter if a few lives were lost along the way like collateral damage? Or is that just a means to the end? Get ready for a thriller! Ryan takes readers on a roller coaster ride of intense intrigue that will keep you guessing until the very end. And Oh MY, what an ENDING!
I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by FORGE and NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are completely my own and without influence.