ONE LITTLE LIE

4 stars out of 5

This is the fourth book I've read by this author, and - as with the other three - I'm glad I did. It's fast-paced, engrossing and immensely readable.

Kate is a recently divorced mother of two young children, Andy and Ava. By most accounts, including hers, her super-smooth ex-husband was emotionally abusive - particularly adept at gaslighting. He's also controlling, a trait he seems to have picked up from his mother, who lives nearby. Kate is trying to build a life back for herself and her kids - holding down a temp job she really, really hopes will be temporary. On one fateful day, she's testing a drone - a freelance assignment from a friend who wants her to write a product review. 

As her bad luck would have it (and trust me, this woman has more bad luck throughout this entire book than Carter's ever had liver pills), the drone takes a header near her son's soccer field - literally; it smacks her right on the noggin. Video from the drone seems to indicate that she's got a stalker, but - worried about what the police will think of her (one hunky officer in particular) - and bolstered by her lawyer ex-husband's advice - she tells a fib that will come back to haunt her.

That ex-husband, for the record, has settled in with a former high-school sweetheart who hates Kate with all her wicked heart (a feeling that's mutual, although Kate's heart is more wishy washy than wicked). Therein comes my only complaint with the story: I'm glad it ended when it did, because I was ready to pitch Kate and her self-doubting, fence-sitting, do everything exactly the wrong way persona right in the trash can  even if it meant my Kindle went with it. Hand-wringing ladies like her who can't find a backbone do add considerable angst to a story and to a degree I even sympathize - for a while. But when they just keep on saying and doing stupid things, my tolerance takes a nosedive. 

Fortunately for my Kindle (and for Kate, whose very life may be on the line), the end comes just in time. I must admit I had two possible prime suspects who were behind all the nasty things that happened and both of them were dead wrong, which is a plus in my book. Of course, I can't reveal any details, but all in all I was satisfied with how everything turned out - and I'm sure other readers will agree. Good job!

One Little Lie by Christopher Greyson (Greyson Media, June 2021); 260 pp.