Simply Lies

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Something

Summary

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The 6:20 Man comes a twisting new psychological thriller in which two women—one a former detective, the other a dangerous con artist—go head-to-head in an electrifying game of cat and mouse. Mickey Gibson, single mother and former detective, leads a hectic life similar to that of many moms: juggling the demands of her two small children with the tasks of her job working remotely for ProEye, a global investigation company that hunts down wealthy tax and credit cheats.   When Mickey gets a call from a colleague named Arlene Robinson, she thinks nothing of Arlene’s unusual request for her to go inventory the vacant home of an arms dealer who cheated ProEye’s clients and fled. That is, until she arrives at the mansion to discover a dead body in a secret room—and that nothing is as it seems.    Not only does the arms dealer not exist but the murder victim turns out to be Harry Langhorne, a man with mob ties who used to be in Witness Protection. What’s more, no one named Arlene Robinson works at ProEye.   In the blink of an eye, Gibson has become a prime suspect in a murder investigation—and now her job is also on the line until she proves that she was set up. Before long, Gibson is locked in a battle of wits with a brilliant woman with no name, a hidden past, and unknown motives—whose end game is as mysterious as it is deadly.  

Published Reviews

Booklist Review: "Mickey Gibson, formerly a police detective, now works for ProEye, a private company that looks for the financial assets squirreled away by rich folks who cheat on their taxes. When she gets a call from another ProEye investigator, asking her to conduct an inventory of the home of an arms dealer who skipped town, she thinks nothing of it--until she's on the property, where she finds a murdered man. Soon Mickey discovers the victim wasn't an arms dealer, ProEye has no record of anyone asking Mickey to inventory the property, and she's the number one suspect in a homicide. She's been set up, but by whom and why? Baldacci's latest stand-alone is a bit clunkier than some of his recent efforts (2022's The 6:20 Man, for example); in particular some of the supporting characters feel insubstantial, as though the author hadn't gotten around to fleshing them out. On the other hand, the setup is definitely intriguing, and the main characters, especially the villain, hold our interest. Baldacci's readers will find plenty to enjoy here, even if it doesn't represent his very best work.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Baldacci doesn't need his A game to attract his devoted and enormous fan base."
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "Baldacci (The 6:20 Man) is at his best in this standalone thriller about an ex-cop and single mother who's drawn into a murder investigation. Mickey Gibson has found some stability after her husband divorced her while she was pregnant with their second child, having moved to Williamsburg, Va., to be near family and joined investigative firm ProEye. Her new normal is rocked, though, when she's called by a woman named Arlene Robinson, who says she's working with Mickey's boss and assigns her to inventory the contents of a recently foreclosed mansion. When Mickey arrives at the house, she discovers the decomposing corpse of an elderly man and immediately becomes a person of interest in his death--especially after police learn that ProEye has never heard of anyone named Arlene Robinson. As Mickey tries desperately to clear her name, she's drawn further into a shadowy plot orchestrated by the woman calling herself Arlene. Baldacci keeps the twists coming fast and furious in this tense page-turner, never losing credibility even as it takes bigger and bigger swings. Readers will fall in love with Mickey and hold their breath for her through to the very end. Agent: Aaron Priest, Aaron M. Priest Literary. (Apr.)"
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Additional Information

Subjects	Thriller Mystery Suspense Fiction
Publisher	Grand Central Publishing2023
Language	English
ISBN	9781538750599