The Book:
One Perfect Lie by Lisa Scottoline
Published: 2017 by St. Martin’s Press
Torrie’s Rating:
★★
The Plot (Goodreads):
A handsome stranger moves to the small Pennsylvania town of Central Valley, and his name is Chris Brennan. He’s applying for a job as a teacher and varsity baseball coach at the local high school, and he looks perfect, on paper. But his name is an alias, his resume is false, and everything about him is a lie. And he has a secret plan – for which he needs a pawn on the baseball team.
Susan Sematov loves her younger son Raz, the quirky and free-spirited pitcher of the team. But Raz’s adored father died only a few months ago, and the family is grief-stricken. Secretly, Raz is looking to fill the Daddy-shaped hole in his heart.
Heather Larkin is a struggling single mother who’s dedicated to her only son Justin, the quiet rookie on the team. But Justin’s shy and reserved nature renders him vulnerable to attention, including that of a new father-figure.
Mindy Kostis is the wife of a busy surgeon and the queen bee of the baseball boosters, where her super-popular son Evan is the star catcher. But she doesn’t realize that Evan’s sense of entitlement is becoming a full-blown case of affluenza, and after he gets his new BMW, it’s impossible to know where he’s going – or whom he’s spending time with.
The lives of these families revolve around the baseball team – and Chris Brennan. What does he really want? How far will he go to get it? Who among them will survive the lethal jeopardy threatening them, from the shadows?
Chris, the “handsome stranger” is really an undercover ATF Agent (real name Curt). He has gone undercover to investigate a report of stolen fertilizer, which in large quantities usually indicates bomb making. It is believed that a member of the High School Baseball team was stealing the fertilizer, as they were caught on tape, and were wearing a baseball t-shirt.
Ultimately, Raz and his family are just a red herring. Ray and his brother Ryan are struggling with the death of their father poorly, and all their issues are nothing more than that. It is revealed that Ryan stole a gun and gave it to Raz soon after their father died, but that storyline dies and it is never clear what possessed Ryan to steal it in the first place.
Evan and his family aren’t the happy, rich family they appear to be. His father, while not having an affair as his wife expects, is under investigation for insurance fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering. He took money from Evan’s account to pay for an attorney. His business partner turned him into the IRS when the partner’s wife found out and made him come clean. Also his secretary is in on it, and the credit card purchase at a jewelry store (which his wife assumes is a sign of cheating) was to thank his secretary and keep her quiet.
Evan has been having an affair with his French teacher, Courtney. The nude photo that he sends his teammates is of Courtney, and ATF Agent Chris/Curt recognizes a tattoo in the photo and identifies her, at which point he connects all the pieces.
Courtney’s brothers are the ones that have decided to create a domestic terrorist plot due to the fracking on their property that has caused death and destruction. They involved Courtney and Evan by telling them they’d only be blowing up the fracking equipment (when in reality, the target was the Philadelphia Court House). The night of the planned attack, Courtney and Evan refuse to go through with the actual plan, so Courtney is left gaged and tied up at her family farm, and Evan is taken hostage.
To save Evan, ATF Agent Chris/Curt dangles from a helicopter and grabs him from a truck window. The truck (and bomb) end up in the river, and the day is saved!
Jordan and his mother Heather were Chris/Curt’s unwitting informants while he was undercover. Heather feels very hurt by Chris/Curts lies, and the romance that had started between them is ruined. The book ends with a romantic dinner between the two as Chris/Curt tries to win Heather’s heart.
Torrie’s Review:
Why did I only give this book 2 stars? Because this book would not hold up during a reread.
Instead of laying out hints throughout the book or using clever language to lead us astray, Lisa Scottoline outright lies to the readers. Once you find out the first “twist” and the main twist, many statements during the first part of the book no longer make sense. It isn’t a case of the reader misinterpreting things, the reading is purposefully mislead to give it a bigger reveal, but it actually makes the reveal fall flat.
I’m someone who reads mysteries for the challenge of trying to guess what the twist is and to solve the mystery before the main character do. Unfortunately, Lisa Scottoline’s writing style just doesn’t encourage/allow for this. I also have an issue with how some storylines were just dropped. I understand that every mystery needs red herrings, but I believe those red herrings also deserve a minor resolution or explanation.
Additionally, I felt myself skimming this book a lot. I wanted to give it up entirely during the first 120+ pages, but there was enough interest for me to want to finish it. Then the twist came, and I will say, I was much more engaged, wondering what else could throw me off in this book, but ultimately, I was disappointed. The writing felt slow and sluggish and the plot felt rushed. I don’t regret reading this book, but it isn’t one I’ll be recommending to friends.
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Awesome review and summary, Torrie! I read this one a VERY long time ago so it was fun to jog my memory with your recap.