“Lepionka is setting a high standard for crime fiction.” –Booklist (starred review) on What You Want to See The Stories You Tell is Shamus Award-winning and Anthony and Macavity Award-nominated author Kristen Lepionka’s heart-pounding third novel that will keep readers on the edge of their seats with her signature twists and mile-high stakes. A late-night phone call is never good news, … mile-high stakes.
A late-night phone call is never good news, especially when you’re Roxane Weary. This one is from her brother Andrew, whose evening was interrupted by an urgent visit from Addison, a hip young DJ and one-time fling, who turns up at his apartment scared and begging to use his phone. She leaves as quickly as she appeared, but now Andrew is worried–especially when Addison never makes it home and her friends and family demand to know where she is. As the police begin to suspect that something may have happened to her, and that Andrew is involved, Roxane tracks Addison’s digital footprint as she goes deeper and deeper into the events preceding her disappearance. Meanwhile, a cop is found dead on the opposite side of town, leading to a swirl of questions surrounding a dance club whose staff–which includes Addison–has suddenly gone AWOL. As Roxane struggles to distinguish the truth from the stories people tell about themselves online, it’s clear that the mystery of Addison’s whereabouts is just the beginning.
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Read my review on the New York Journal of Books: https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/stories-you-tell
The Stories You Tell is part of the Roxane Weary series and is my first read by the author. I wasn’t familiar with the character of Roxane, but I quickly got a feel for who she is. Roxane is not perfect, and the story only benefits from her imperfections. She drinks, is too nosy for her own good and struggles with relationships; however, she has good qualities as well. Roxane is a natural at detective work with great instincts. She loves her family and wants to protect them. She is not afraid of confrontation or its consequences. I felt both respect and sympathy for Roxane and found her relatable in many ways. Because I didn’t read the series in order, I was confused about Roxane’s relationship with Tom and about Tom’s involvement with her father, especially her father’s death. A satisfactory explanation is given but not until near the end of the story. Tom is an interesting character. He’s obviously carrying a good amount of grief and guilt, but he’s hard to read otherwise. Honestly, the entire dynamic between Roxane and Tom is difficult to pin down because it’s just not clear how they really feel about each other. My biggest complaint about the story, though, is Roxane and Catherine. They are romantically involved, but it’s an odd pairing. They are nothing alike, and by the end of the story, it’s crystal clear that Catherine is nothing but a narcissistic b***h. Now, as for the actual story, it’s a convoluted look into the lives of seemingly normal people, and I felt disgusted about the things people will do. There are plenty of lies, evil doings, dead ends and betrayal here. This story is also an excellent example of the unstoppable all encompassing power of social media. Roxane wonders at one point if any of this would have happened without social media. I think definitely not. The anonymity of it is too alluring. You can be anybody and do things you would never really do as yourself. The mystery here centers around an app called BusPass, like Tinder, and a missing girl. Roxane digs deep into this digital world, and the results are shocking. Is anyone who they appear to be? The Stories You Tell is a psychological thriller with an unforgettable heroine. I was on the edge of my seat until the end, and I highly recommend, especially if you like a strong female lead. It’s a must read for your tbr!!
I’m not normally a big series reader, but Kristen Lepionka’s Roxane Weary has won me over with her tough brilliance, quick wit, and fresh voice. This third Weary novel is every bit as strong as the previous two, filled with curious red herrings, snappy dialogue, and compelling subplots that tie together beautifully with the core whodunnit. Anything starring Roxane (or by Kristen) is an auto-preorder for me! (With gratitude to the publisher for providing an ARC.)
A terrific series about a PI based in Columbus Ohio. Flawed and confused Roxanne Weary is a terrific character and her cases are complex with gray areas. Not necessary to read them in order but I have enjoyed seeing the characters evolve.
Private Investigator Roxane Weary and her brother, Andrew, are night owls, but it’s still never good news when she gets a call from Andrew in the middle of the night. This time, Andrew tells her that he’s just had the strangest visit from Addison Stowe, a young woman who used to work with him at the hotel where he tends bar. She seemed panicked and scared, begging to used Andrew’s phone, and she disappeared almost as quickly as she arrived. At Andrew’s pleading, Roxane starts looking for Addison, but she quickly realizes this is not a straightforward case. Soon the police are on Addison’s trail–and Andrew’s too. Add a dead cop to the mix, and it looks like Andrew could be mixed up in something serious.
“Clients hired me to find lots of things, and I took them all seriously–but people, most of all.”
So, I won’t lie. I have a particular affinity for one Roxane Weary, our sarcastic, intelligent, bisexual PI. This is the third book in Roxane’s series, and I just love them all. You know how you can give your iPhone a name? Well, one of mine (I have one for work and one for personal use, okay) is named Roxane. This gritty PI has wormed her way into my heart. And I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again–it’s just so refreshing to have a bisexual character in mainstream fiction who is real. She’s not a crazy person or a murderer, she’s just a smart, complex character. The main character. And when Roxane is talking, it sounds like my own friends hanging out. It makes me happy.
“The state of straight people was troubling.”
This book finds Roxane on a slightly personal quest, as her search for Addison gets real fast, once it looks like Andrew could be in some big time trouble. Her searching leads her to a shady nightclub–including its shifty manager–and some of Addison’s suburban friends. We also, as mentioned, have a dead cop, meaning that Tom is in full force in this one. Tom is the former partner of Roxane’s late father, and Roxane’s old flame. I’m happy to report that there’s plenty happening in Roxane’s personal life–both with Catherine and Tom. Lots of sexual tension and witty banter on a variety of fronts. (And I am the only one who would be perfectly fine if Catherine just disappeared? Roxane deserves someone who treats her properly.)
Anyway, despite a cast of recurring characters, this one will standalone just fine. That being said, if you haven’t read the first two books, I highly recommend them. The conversational first-person style Lepionka uses for Roxane is amazing and draws you in from the start. I adore Roxane’s voice. (Partially because I deem her my kindred spirit–see below.)
“Apparently he was one of those people who listened to and deleted messages instead of just reading the transcription and ignoring it like I did.”
Roxane is a witty, awesome, complex main character, and she’s nearly impossible not to love. The story itself is dark and twisted, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. No gimmicks, just a good mystery. There’s lots of humor, lots of surprises, and lots of Roxane, one of the best PIs around.
I very much enjoyed Roxane Weary in this novel, third of the series but completely stand alone. I need to get number two now… Roxane and her brother Andrew (along with older brother Matt whom we see very little of) are the adult children of a deceased Colombus, Ohio policeman. Andrew does his best to keep his small upscale community in MaryJane and Roxane is a private detective, though in this novel she is working mostly to clear her brother Andrew, and for the local manufacturer of high-end women’s exercise clothing, Gail Spinnaker, who suspects there are inferior knock-offs of her product on the market, from an unknown source. Roxane sets up four separate private mailboxes and orders the SpinSpo clothing from various retailers who are selling SpinSpo performance apparel on internet markets. About all she can do until she has a clue is to check those mailboxes daily, check out the quality of the sportswear received and document the purchase, which gives her lots of time to do what she can to clear Andrew of the suspicion involving the disappearance of an old girlfriend who’s last known location, where she called her father for help and whispered to his voicemail, was from Andrew’s apartment landline. The duffle bag of marijuana the police found in his living room she can do nothing about.
This is a well-told mystery with lots of heart. The locale is well defined, the people well rounded, and the story well hidden. I enjoyed the road trips in and around Columbus – my husband is from Washington Courthouse – and the communities of Bexley and Hocking County, the shenanigans on the dating site BusPass were a hoot, and I thoroughly enjoyed Tom Heitker. I can happily recommend this series to friends and family. Kristen Lepionka is an author I will follow.
I received a free electronic copy of this mystery novel from Netgalley, Kristen Lepionka, and Minotaur Books. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.
pub date July 9, 2019
REviewed on Goodreads, Netgalley,
To read my full review, visit: https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/stories-you-tell
If you have been following this blog long enough, y’all know how much I hate reading books out of order if they are in a series. So when I realized that The Stories You Tell was the 3rd book in the Roxane Weary series, I did a facepalm. I prepared myself for being lost while reading this book. Well, I lucked out. The Stories You Tell can be read as a standalone book.
I enjoyed The Stories You Tell storyline. I thought that the storyline was well written. There was a little lag in the middle of the book. That happened right around when Andrew got arrested. But the book got back on track shortly afterward.
I liked Roxane. She committed to finding Addison after Andrew called her that night. She was also committed to finding out the truth when Andrew got arrested. I was iffy about her relationship with Catherine. I don’t know what went down in the first two books, but there was a disconnect between them the beginning. I was also confused about what was going on with Tom. The end of the book didn’t help with my confusion.
The mystery angle of the book was well written. The author did a fantastic job keeping where Addison was and what happened that night at the club under wraps. There were several other storylines (the dead ex-cop, the missing club staff, and the dating app) that were spun off from the main plotline. The author also did a fantastic job of combining all the secondary plotlines into the first one. When she started doing it, it didn’t make sense. But, after the scene with Brock, it began to make sense.
The end of The Stories You Tell was intense. It went lightning fast from the moment Roxane started putting things together. For a brief minute, I did think Jordy was in on what Elise was doing. But my mind was changed shortly after that.