From the author of Trust No One Nothing hurts like the truth. Doctor Rowan Dupont knows a serial killer is coming for her. Julian Addington has been waiting. Watching. And it’s only a matter of time before he strikes. But what Julian doesn’t know is that Rowan is ready for him. And more than anything she wants answers. How well did the depraved killer actually know her mother? And how many lies … mother? And how many lies have been spun in the years since she took her own life?
Working alongside her childhood friend Police Chief Billy Brannigan, Rowan is determined to get to the bottom of her mother’s puzzling suicide once and for all–even if it means exposing an unsettling past. It certainly seems like her family’s Victorian funeral home has borne witness to more than one dark secret, but when a recent double homicide leads to an even grislier discovery, separating the truth from the lies might be the last thing Rowan does.
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This is an intense, twisted, addictive, complex, jaw-dropping novel! Not only is it a very well-written book with wonderfully-interesting characters, but the tension builds at just the right pace as the story unfolds. It was an artful melding of twisted psychological thrills and nail-biting suspense.
*I received a complimentary ARC of this book from NetGalley & HARLEQUIN – MIRA (U.S. and Canada) in order to read and provide a voluntary and honest review, should I choose to do so.
#TheLiesWeTell #NetGalley
6 stars. Awesome book
Forensic shockers and relationship changes had me speeding through this story.
The story picks up a few months after book one and we see the community is facing some new murders and the finding of a new serial killer. The FBI is still visible as the task force to find Julian is still in effect. Along the way of solving these cases a slew of questions arise and point to Julian who still has not been found. We also find out more about Rowans parents and what Norah was up to before her death.
The writing is captivating and the whole time I wondered what else would Rowan and Billy have to face. The community development is fantastic and I love the introduction and views of other townspeople. Along with the suspense of who is watching and what will happen next, there is a new development in Rowans relationship with Billy and I am excited to see what happens next!
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book and share my opinions.
This series was a GREAT find. When I was contacted about reviewing it I noticed this was the second-in-series. The publisher graciously sent me the first so that I would be able to follow the storyline – from the opening pages of that first book, I was hooked.
There’s a gritty darkness here that you often find in these types of thrillers, but that is somehow magnified in this case. I don’t know if it’s the twin factor, the best friend who turns out to be an even scarier breed of serial killer (I didn’t know such a thing was possible, but it is!), or the atmospherics that Webb has crafted around her characters, but something makes these particular spine-tingling for me. The interplay between past and present secrets is definitely a component; Webb teases the reader with revelations buried in seemingly innocuous details, and the suspense throughout is top-notch.
I am definitely looking forward to the next book. This one ended (as did the first) with a Big Reveal, and I can’t wait to see where it takes Rowan – and us readers!
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my obligation-free review copy.
The Lies We Tell by author Debra Webb is suspenseful and intriguing. This is in the series of The Undertaker’s Daughter, Dr. Rowan DuPont, and is better understood if you have read the previous books, but it can be read as a stand-alone book. Rowan is seeking the hidden truths about her mother and her father and how involved they might have been as accomplices with a serial killer, Carlos Sanchez. I am glad that Rowan and Billy are moving toward acknowledging the possibility of a relationship. Rowan has fears for her future and does not want Chief of Police Billy Brannigan to be caught in the murderous web of Dr. Addington.
I did feel Rowan’s reluctance to disclose all the information she could with Billy about Herman and other characters in the book was a mistake and it became an aggravation. There are a lot of murders and very few answers in this book. It will be interesting to read the next book in the series.
Publication Date September 17, 2019
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
A satisfying continuation of the hunt for a serial killer as secrets of Rowan’s past keep coming to the surface. Additional murders in town have them wondering if Julian is around every corner. I wasn’t quite as on the edge of my seat with this one as I was in the first book, but I’m still intrigued and looking forward to the conclusion!
This book is absolutely amazing! I didn’t know that it was book two until I was about halfway through. It was extremely easy to keep up with the story however. Now I just want to go pick up the first book and learn more about Julian. I seriously could not put this book down. I absolutely love Ro, and I want her to have everything good in life. This book does a great job of wrapping up this particular story, but it also left it open ended enough that as soon as I read the last sentence I felt like I immediately needed the next book! Webb is a phenomenal writer, and I cannot get enough of this story!
Oh my god! Serial killers, funeral homes, dead parents and a spine tingling mystery all wrapped up in a creepy package!! My favourite and first genre I adore! I love all this kinds of stuff and cut my reading teeth on the likes of Stephen King and Dean Koontz at a young age! This story was well paced and plotted, suspenseful, twisted and captivating! I really enjoyed it and want to read more by this author! Didn’t know it was a series but now I will definitely go back and read from the beginning.
I didn’t read the first book in this series. I wish I did but that is because I’m fascinated by Julian. You can read this as a stand alone but if you’re like me you will want to read book one first. Rowan cannot catch a break. Billy is awesome and wish I knew him in real life. Rowan goes through a lot in this book but it seems that this is just the beginning for her. She does learn some more about her past but not nearly as much as she would like. I want to know what happens next.
*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*
Favorite Quotes:
That was the thing about secrets. Secrets never stayed secret forever.
She hadn’t analyzed the realization too deeply in the past. Honestly, this was the first time the thought had fully formed in her brain. Ideas and conclusions so very close to that thought had bobbed to the surface of the ocean of others flooding her life lately.
She closed the bag wondering when she had so thoroughly become her father? He had always chatted with the clients. She vividly remembered walking into the embalming room and hearing him carrying on a conversation with the person on the mortuary table. As a teenager she had thought it was completely bizarre. It was true, she supposed. You did become your parents.
She stared directly at him. Her famous eyes, one blue and one green, were as vivid as if light poured out from them.
Paranoia. It was spreading inside her like a disease she couldn’t stop.
My Review:
As impossible as it may be, I am even more fascinated by this complex and captivating tale than ever, it just keeps turning over and infinitely expanding while tickling my gray matter and provoking my curiosity. This case is as slippery as an eel and ingeniously plotted. In addition to being well entertained, I’ve also gleaned a considerable amount of knowledge concerning mortuary services, a ghastly yet necessary and interestingly evolved process.
Rowan has discovered that her mother’s secrets were much darker than anyone ever imagined and has uncovered unsettling notations in researching her parent’s journals. But that is just a pittance to the disturbing and hair-raising events that take place throughout the various active and intriguingly nuanced storylines.
I am irrevocably enthralled by and enamored with this author’s well-honed storytelling and am currently coveting all her clever words. How has she eluded my notice all this time as she has an impressive backlist of over one hundred forty novels? I am ashamed of myself but determined to make up for my slothful dereliction and have added her to my list of favorite authors.
The Lies We Tell
Debra Webb
Once again Debra Webb has you holding your breath as you go once again to Winchester, Tennessee and are immersed into the lies, secrets, and nail biting mystery that surrounds Rowan as she tries to unravel all of it and find closure. Billy believes in her and has her back. In a place where she doesn’t know whom to believe or trust, she knows he is one that she can.
Strong characters drawn together through one crisis after another keeps you riveted page after page to the end.
So looking forward to to the next book to see how Rowan and Billy work toward closure.
Rowan is still searching for answers but every time she finds one, more lies come out this book kept me on the edge of my seat. Debra does suspense masterfully I can’t wait for the next book so good!
The Lies We Tell is the second book in this series and I enjoyed it as much, if not more, than I did the first book.
Debra Webb has joined my auto-purchase list because both of these books kept me intrigued and on the edge of my seat from the beginning to the end. If you like a fast paced, tightly plotted, exciting read, this series is for you.
I can’t wait for the next in this series, but sadly, I’m sure that’s at least a year away!
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC at my request. Thoughts in this review are my own and happily given because this was a great book.
The Lies We Tell starts off well enough, and there is a mystery here, but for the life of me, I’m not quite sure exactly what that mystery was. Is Julian out to get Rowan? Did her mother have some involvement in it all? Was her father the man she thought he was? Oh, and then, we have two murders that have Rowan and Billy running around and asking questions. And exactly why is the undertaker so involved in a police investigation anyway? So, yes, there were questions, loads of questions with very few answers. I suppose this story is several mysteries in one with none of them getting the focus they need.
The thing is this is part of a series, and I’ll admit that I didn’t know that when I started reading. That said, it didn’t take me long to figure it out. I’ll just add here, that I would not recommend this book as a standalone. The author does give some backstory, but it’s not really enough to get a good feel for what’s happened so far and at the same time, it’s repetitive. Yes, that left me a little befuddled too, but it is what it is. I’m not even sure how many times we’re told that Julian is a prolific serial killer. I get it, this dude has killed a lot of people, and he’s obsessed with Rowan. I can remember that without it being repeated. So, it’s safe to say that the repetitiveness of this one annoyed me.
Quite often, I’ll grab a book in the middle of the series and like what I find enough to go back and start at the beginning – Even if I don’t understand everything that’s mentioned in said mid-series book. That is not the case with The Lies We Tell. To sum it up, the story is convoluted, and parts of it seem to almost go in circles. I was less than impressed with Billy and Rowan who spend an awful lot of time running in those previously mentioned circles. For a smart woman, she wouldn’t even remember to eat if Billy didn’t constantly provide meals for her. Basing my opinion on what I’ve found here, I won’t be bothering with earlier books in the series.
At the risk of being spoiler-ish, I’ll add that Julian isn’t the only serial killer I learned about in this book, so I can only deduce that Rowan is some kind of serial killer magnet. If that seems a little farfetched, I thought so too. On a positive note, one case is solved in this winding road of a story, but I still ended up with more questions than answers, and then it just ends. It’s more open-ended than cliffhanger, but it felt like this whole thing was just one big set up for the next book in the series. One that I won’t be bothering to check out.
This is the second book in the series about Rowan who is the daughter of an undertaker. It’s not enough that she grew up around death. Now, she has unwittingly allowed a serial killer into her life and death is all around her. There are some really violent deaths in her hometown of WInchester, TN, and Rowan blames herself for bringing the killer to their doorstep. The town sheriff is her old high school friend Billy, and Billy is determined to protect Rowan at all costs. The action is fast-paced and the suspense is never-ending in this taut thriller by the inimitable Debra Webb. Fans of suspense will not want to miss out on this fascinating series!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
Debra Webb continues the intriguing series The Undertaker’s Daughter’s with this newest book, The Lies We Tell.
Rowen knows that she is in the crosshairs of a serial killer. Julian Addington is out there watching…and waiting. She can feel his eyes on her even though there are no signs to where he might be.
She also knows that he is somehow tied closer to her and her family than she ever knew and that much of her life has been a lie. But just how much, and what part of her sister’s death and her mother’s suicide did he play? These are all questions that keep Rowen, and the reader, on edge as the mystery deepens. When more bodies are added to the toll and a mysterious stranger shows up in her funeral home with her mother’s name tattooed on his back, Rowen has to find out if there is another killer out there and if so, just how is he and the body in her morgue tied to all the mystery surrounding her. In each step of this book, the reader is pulled in deeper as the mysterious events surrounding Rowen and her life spiral down to a pinpoint focus on the evil that is waiting for her.
After finishing this book all I could say is MORE! I am so intrigued by these characters and the events surrounding them that I can’t wait for the next book in the series!
The Lies We Tell (Book 2, Undertaker’s Daughter) by Debra Webb
September 17, 2019
MIRA books
352 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0-7783-0831-7
Fiction, suspense, mystery
Rating: 4/5
8/29/19-9/16/19
Publication September 17, 2019
I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and MIRA in exchange for an unbiased review.
I finished book but have to compose my thoughts to organize my review. I hadn’t realized it was part of a series. I had started to read it as a stand alone but too many references to past events had me wanting to know the background! So, I read all the preceding books to get a complete picture of all the characters. She has book 3 coming out 4/2020 The Darkness We Hide so I am delighted I read all the previous books. I highly recommend starting at the beginning of this series because as a stand alone it would be annoying not knowing all the nuances of the referenced plots.
This is the second book in the Undertaker’s Daughter series. Dr Rowan DuPont is a forensic psychiatrist who assists with homocide investigations. In book 1, The Secrets We Bury, Dr Rowan DuPont finds bones in lake where her sister was found dead. Rowan is adjusting to taking over family funeral business after moving back to Winchester, TN from Nashville. She is still reveling in the mysterious deaths of her sister and mother and eventually her father. The biggest betrayal with which she is grappling is the discovery that her friend/confidante Dr Julian Addington is a serial killer. In book 2, the story continues with Rowan determined to track down Dr Addington who remains on the run.
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The Undertaker’s Daughter (Book 0.5 novella) 12/27/18
The Secrets We Bury (Book 1) 4/30/19
The Lies We Tell (Book 2) 9/17/19
The Darkness We Hide (Book 3) 4/2020
This is a first. In all my years of reading suspense, I’ve never read about an undertaker. It’s a brilliant role, and Ms. Webb created a wonderful character in Rowen. I really enjoyed snooping around in her head. I know so much more about the process and it didn’t entirely creep me out. What did creep me out was this story and how this book ended ( yes, a cliffhanger – it is a mystery/thriller after all) that left me wanting more ( in a good way).
Debra Webb created a captivating read putting Rowen firmly in the crosshairs of a serial killer. There’s a great buildup about the past, about Rowen’s parent’s involvement with the serial killer Julian Addington, and Rowen’s return home to run the family business. For her, death literally comes a-knocking. But things get crazy when a series of murders equal break-ins at the funeral home and stolen bodies. There to attempt to protect her is her best friend and Sheriff Billy, from whom she is keeping a few secrets. One or two may be personal, but certainly, a few are related to the cases they face. The FBI’s involvement also creates distress and disharmony as they muscle in on the multiple signs of multiple serial murders. There’s a bit of domestic drama and potential for romance too but overall there’s an atmosphere that is entirely menacing.
The Lies We Tell is the second book in this series and while I haven’t read book 1, I was able to enjoy this story as a standalone. Of course, I am really intrigued to go back to the start and learn more about Rowen so I’ve picked up The Undertakers Daughter. But I am really looking forward to the continuation of this story! 4.5 Stars and recommendation!
Another good book!!!! I love this series, while you can read it as a stand alone, I don’t suggest it because you will miss a lot of the background story.
If you love intrigue, murder, twists, turns, and I didn’t see that coming moments, than you will love this book. I love the characters, even the evil ones!!!
This is the second book in the series about Dr. Rowan DuPont, whose father was the town undertaker. She was always known as the undertaker’s daughter but with the violent death of her beloved father she returns home to take over the family business.
She grew up around death and experienced it first hand with the death of her twin sister and then her mother’s suicide. Now, she has unwittingly allowed a serial killer into her life, a man she had known for years, someone she considered a friend. Rowan is trying her best to stay out of the cross hairs of Dr. Julian Addington, a prolific serial killer who wants her more than anything. Taking over the funeral home is keeping her busy but she is anxious and on edge. Wondering when he will show up again; she feels that someone is watching her every move.
A body comes into the funeral home with a tattoo of her mother’s name on his back, Rowan knows this means something; he just isn’t sure what. Then the body disappears and the Feds are back to following her around hoping to capture Dr. Addington.
The violent deaths that have occurred cause her to believe they are the work of Addington, who has his sights set on her. Rowan also believes that he is watching and waiting to kill her. The local sheriff is a friend of hers and is determined to protect Rowan at all costs. Thankfully, Billy Brangan wants to finally end the torment bestowed by a serial killer who has had her in his sights since she was a small child. The inexplicable deaths are keeping both of them stressed and wondering when Addington will strike again.
Rowan is more determined than ever to discover the truth about her sister’s death and her mother’s suicide. Reading her mother’s journals are puzzling and full of death. Was she a serial killer or was she obsessed with them? Where did her mother disappear to for long periods of time? There is so much that she needs to find the answers to….
This book really keeps you on edge as Rowan and Billy try to find answers and keep her safe too. While this book ends with a cliffhanger, it does tie up some loose ends however, it does leave some unresolved and unanswered. I will want to know what happens next with Rowan and can’t wait to read the next installment.
I received an ARC of this book from the author and voluntarily reviewed it.