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The First Lie by AJ Park
Published by Orion Publishing
Publication Date 25th June 2020
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
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A freak accident. An impossible choice. But what was...
THE FIRST LIE
When Paul Reeve comes home to find his wife in the bathroom, bloodied and shaking, his survival instinct kicks in.
Alice never meant to kill the intruder. She was at home, alone, and terrified. She doesn't deserve to be blamed for it. Covering up the murder is their only option.
But the crime eats away at the couple and soon they can't trust anyone - even one another...
My Thoughts:
The First Lie. An interesting title. Paul Reeve, well-respected barrister and husband to Alice. He arrives home to find his house in darkness and half a dozen missed calls on his mobile from Alice. Both of those things set the alarm bells ringing. His front door is open and his gut instinct is that something bad has happened. That instinct is proven right as he finds Alice upstairs, covered in blood and a dead man in his bathroom. For some totally bizarre reason Paul decides not to call the police but to dispose of the body and cover up any sign that the man was ever in the house: the first lie. Or is it?
This is a twisted psychological tale, portrayed from 3 points of view: the Reeves themselves and the detectives, Wright and Hillier, who are called in to investigate an apparent serial killer who it transpires graduated from the same law school as Reeve. Paul starts to sweat more than a little when the detectives come knocking at his door but is relieved to hear that they are not there for the reason he initially thought.
The pressures of what Paul and Alice did that night slowly eat away at both of them, with Alice appearing to suffer some kind of breakdown while Paul loses himself in a prestigious new job as the youngest ever Circuit Judge. They each begin to question how much they can trust one another and cracks start to show in their relationship - unsurprisingly given what a huge secret they are hiding.
I found some aspects of the story towards the end of the book a little far-fetched but as long as you keep in mind that this is not real life and just go with the flow, this is a nerve jangler of a psychological thriller.
The final chapters kept me turning the pages well past my bedtime and I found the whole book quite reminiscent of 'Gone Girl' - whether this is a good thing or not will depend entirely on your personal view. I myself enjoyed it but wanted to strangle both of the Reeves at various points and for different reasons. I thought there could have been more character development with the detectives, however I don't know whether there is a follow up book planned which could explain why this is the case and if there is I would certainly sign up to read it.
About the Author:
A.J. Park is the author of The First Lie, published by Orion Fiction. The paperback was released on June 25th 2020. A second psychological thriller will arrive in July 2021. The translation rights to The First Lie have been sold to publishers in Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
A.J. Park's real name is Karl Vadaszffy. Karl Vadaszffy is the author of three novels: The Missing, which was twice a Kindle top ten bestseller in the UK, peaking at number 6, as well as a number one bestseller in Australia, Sins of the Father and Full of Sin. He is also a freelance journalist and the Head of English at a secondary school in Hertfordshire.
Social Media Links:
Website: www.karlvad.com
Follow him on Twitter: @AJParkauthor and @KarlVadFacebook: KarlVadaszffy
Instagram: AJPark_author
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