THE BEST LIES by David Ellis
ARC review • PUB DATE 07.23.24

I was super excited to receive this ARC because Look Closer is one of my top favorite books of all time! This one did not disappoint!

David Ellis knows how to write a character that I LOVE reading about. The quirky character with hilarious inner monologue… I ate it up!

Leo Balanoff is quite a character. A lawyer, recently back after a five year probation from practicing, is determined to help a woman who suffered human trafficking and lost her son years ago.

There are some tough topics discussed in this book, but it was written so well! I read over half of it in one sitting. Full of twists and absolutely gripping, and all came together so well in the end. David Ellis is an incredible author! I loved it!

4.5 ⭐️

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Putnam Books for my advanced copy!

Oh my!!! This Author turns out 5 star reads, this being no exception. Run....don't walk....to get this amazing book!!!
Thank you to Netgalley for providing this digital copy in exchange for a review.

This was a solid read! I like others had read Look Closer and this book is very different from that but still full of surprises. Leo is an attorney with a bit of a troubled past, who has gotten himself into a mess with some dangerous people. It is a crime thriller, not so much domestic like many others out there but I enjoyed it. Everything tied together in ways you wouldn’t expect. The author did a great job of building the characters and I liked the multiple POVs. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher as well as the author! I would recommend this to all thriller lovers.

This one was definitely interesting! I didn't love it like I loved his release from last year, but it was still solid and a very good thriller! I will recommend to my friends who are looking for something unique.

I'll start this review with the fact that this author's previous book, Look Closer was one of my top reads of 2023 and honestly could be up there for my top domestic thrillers of all time. I listened to the book initially then got the e-book and reread the entire thing 6 months later. I have a clear memory of listening to the book while gardening in my backyard and when the scene arrived that revealed the biggest twist of the book I had to stop what I was doing and literally jumped up and down in excitement. Not only had the protagonist fooled the villain, the author had totally fooled me. I was completely flabbergasted multiple times as the twists were revealed as the book went along.

So anyway, that is baggage I was coming to this book with. Expectations were HIGHER THAN HIGH and I was worried this book wouldn't compare. How did it shake out? I am happy to report that The Best Lies met or exceeded all expectations I had for it. Here are some of the things that were similar with his last book that I enjoyed in this one.

Multiple perspectives:
This book follows three characters -
Leo, a lawyer with a strong tendency to lie along with having a lot of secrets
Andi, a police officer turned private security officer for a biotech startup. She is also Leo's ex-fiancé.
Chris, an FBI agent trying to take down a mob boss.
(Of course if you know Ellis's books you know that all of these people have secrets that will be spectacularly revealed throughout the book. )

Great twists throughout
While this book doesn't have the level of red herrings as Look Closer, it does have some amazing and satisfying twists which he sprinkles through the book. I prefer this to books that just have one big twist at the end as it ramps up the tension and gets me reading faster. I admit to gasping, laughing and/or screaming while reading some of the top level twists. Not only was I shocked, I was also delighted.

No suspension of disbelief needed
Some thrillers go off the rails and people start making choices that either they wouldn't make or no logical person would make. All this is done to move along the plot but it is really annoying because it kind of ruins the book. The characters and twists here never go down this path. They surprised me but they all made sense.

Bottom Line: 5 easy stars for this one. It didn't bump off Look Closer but definitely was a very close second.

Thank you, Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced copy to review!

5 🌟.
This was my second book read now by this author with both being 5 star reads!! I will definitely be reading everything David Ellis puts out based on these odds!!
This book follows three main perspectives, Leo, a lawyer, proclaimed pathological liar, and someone whom now has gotten himself involved in the murder of a very high profile criminal. Chris, a special agent, and Leo's now handler. Andi, Leo's ex, and a former cop now working in private security.
This book has all the major elements of a great crime novel along with crazy twists and turns. secrets, and lies.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend. Thank you to Netgalley, G.P. Putnam Son's, Penguin Random House, and the author for the eARC of this book in return for my honest review.

HOLY COW, I loved this book!

I hadn’t read any of David Ellis’ books since he co-authored with James Patterson, years ago, but you better believe, I’ll be going back to read them.

Though not my usual genre, this crime/suspense was just what I needed after reading a couple of predictable, cliché books of similar types proving there are still original ideas out there that can be done well. And, I didn’t roll my eyes. Not even once!

The story is told from multiple POVs and time-frames and there is A LOT going on so be prepared to pay close attention if you want to fully enjoy this book. It’s a page turner and a quick read though not necessarily an easy one due to the intricate plot, number of characters and the way they are all connected.

I loved the main character of Leo Balanoff and found him to be quirky, funny and extremely intelligent. I found myself rooting for him throughout the book. The other characters in the book were also well written with their motivations easily understandable by the end.

There were surprises as early on as 20% into the book and they just kept coming. It’s a very complex story that is explained in a completely believable and unpredictable way.

Thank you to NetGalley, G.P. Putnam's Sons and David Ellis for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve only read one other book by this author….Look Closer….which I loved. This one is also very good. Lots of twists, action packed, lots of lies and secrets. Told through the eyes of 3 different people. I would definitely recommend this book and predict it will be another hit for David Ellis. Buy this book….and enjoy!

The twists and turns in this book were absolutely insane and something I never saw coming. I LOVE that David Ellis is a former lawyer because I feel like it really adds to his writing style. I will say, you do need to pay close attention when reading this book as it can get a little confusing at times. There were a couple of instances where I didn't read it for several days then picked it back up and sort of forgot what was going on but nonetheless, it's a very twisty, and quick read. Definitely one of my favorite books of 2024 so far!

Special thanks to NetGalley and G. P. Putnam's Sons for a free, electronic ARC of this novel I received in exchange for an honest review.

Expected publication date: July 23, 2024

Look Closer by David Ellis was my absolute favorite book from 2023 (out of 56), so to say that I was ecstatic to be approved for an ARC of his new book coming out later this summer is an understatement. I was a little worried that it wouldn't be able to live up to his previous masterpiece, but luckily for me, the worrying was all for nothing because he once again knocked it out of the park! The author is an appellate court judge, and it shows in the way he is able to brilliantly plot his novels. I normally don't prefer books with lots of twists because they don't tend to be as good as books with one really really good twist, but David Ellis is one of the few exceptions. I got about 69% through the book when one of the twists was revealed, and I actually stopped and went back and re-read all of the chapters that involved the character because I was certain that there had to have been a plot hole. However, I was wrong... David Ellis is a genius, and there were no plot holes.

With all of that being said, personally, I did prefer Look Closer over The Best Lies, but that is completely due to personal preference. I tend to prefer domestic thrillers like Look Closer over books involving crime syndicates. The Best Lies was about Leo who gets roped into helping the FBI try to take down a major crime boss after a series of unfortunate events. So if that is the type of book you prefer, then you will absolutely love it! But even if it's not typically your favorite type of story, I still highly recommend this book because it's so well done and brilliantly plotted.

This was my second book by this author, and I can't recommend him enough. I will be adding his entire backlog to my TBR, and he is now an auto-buy author for me. 5 stars!

What a story! My mind is still spinning after reading The Best Lies. There are more twists and turns here than a reader can imagine before diving in. Somehow Ellis keeps everything moving forward without losing the story. Sure, the novel has a way of keeping a reader off-balance, but that is part of its brilliance. It is a fast-past novel with engaging characters, each one well-developed withing the pages. It is difficult to separate the protagonists from the antagonists, and we are kept guessing until the end.

Mystery and thriller lovers will want to check out The Best Lies. This one is complex and compelling. To say this is a page-turner is an understatement.

I really struggled with this book. I LOVED Look Closer by this same author, so I was super excited to get an advanced copy of The Best Lies. It was slow to get into. I felt like the first half of the book was setting up the plot, and that nothing was really happening. I also felt like there were a lot of characters, and it was difficult to keep track of all of them and their connections. I wasn’t entertained by the characters or the build-up. It took me almost a month to get through this book, just because I struggled to stay engaged. I just think it wasn’t the book for me. However, Look Closer (by the same author) was a 5-star read for me, that I always recommend to friends! I would definitely read future books by this author, however, this just wasn’t the book for me.

The Best Lies by David Ellis was my first book by this author and it was full of twisty conspiracies from all angles and I was on my toes for the entire read. Every character was holding back secrets and I never knew who was good or bad but kept rooting for the protagonists anyway even though their motives and decisions seemed murky at best. But that was the fun of this book, toeing the line between keeping them likeable enough to read about but laying the groundwork for an incredibly fun ride. Definitely one of the most fun thrillers I've read this year.

Pros:
The second half of the book was fast paced and kept me engaged, and I did like the ending where everything was nicely tied up. This was a plot I have not seen recently, so it was great reading a new thriller that didn’t focus on gaslighting!

Cons:
The first half was a bit slow, and there were a lot of characters and character relationships that took awhile to establish.

B-/3.5 stars

After a rough start in life, Leo Balanoff grew to be a compulsive liar and an attorney who re-enters the profession after a five year suspension for…..lying. He soon finds himself the prime suspect in the murder of a renowned Chicago criminal Cyrus Balik, a human trafficker, rapist and drug dealer but what lengths will Leo go to in order to save himself and will his lies become his downfall?

This psychological/crime drama fiction hooked me in from the start but as the plot developed and characters were introduced, it became more of a slow burn. Told in alternating points of view through various timelines, I had difficulty following the story and connecting to the characters. Additionally, I found Leo’s obsessive fascination with prime numbers to be a reading distraction. I really wanted David Ellis’ new thriller to knock my socks off but unfortunately, it left this reader underwhelmed.

Many thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam/ G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was drawn to this after reading “Look Closer” and was excited for another exciting thriller from David Ellis. Unfortunately, this one fell a little flat for me and I found myself struggling to get through it. The lengthy list of characters left me more confused than connected and the plot felt complicated as opposed to creative. I love a thriller that gradually unfolds as it builds in intensity but this one just seemed to plod along instead.

Grateful to the publisher for the advance read and I look forward to reviewing this one on Goodreads as well as my socials. Will definitely recommend that everyone give it a shot since I’m sure there are many who will love it.

Look Closer is one of my favorite books so when I saw that David Ellis had a new thriller coming out this year, I was thrilled. When I saw that I was approved to receive an advanced copy, I was elated and moved it to the top of my TBR.

David Ellis does it again with another complex, well plotted thriller. I really enjoyed the nonlinear timeline and multiple POVs. As a diagnosed pathological liar, Leo makes for a great unreliable narrator. You can trust anything he says. Despite this, he is a likable character. There are a lot of pieces to this puzzle, and I enjoyed uncovering the mystery. Much like Look Closer, the story has multiple layers where there is no way you are going to guess what is going on. There were multiple twists that I did not see coming, and I really enjoyed the way the story wrapped up. I highly recommend adding this one to your TBR, and I look forward to seeing what David Ellis writes next.

Read if you enjoy:
✔️Nonlinear timeline
✔️Multiple POVs
✔️Police procedural
✔️Unreliable narrator

This book started out a little slow and convoluted, but if you can hang on past the first third, there are about 15 plot twists and it will hook you. Overall, well-written second two thirds and really enjoyed the conclusion to the story.

Great book, really enjoyed the twists and turns that this took me on and I would definitely recommend to a friend.

I enjoyed it! At first, I felt a little confused-the multiple characters & just figuring out what was going on. Once I was able to get in the story more, it really started to come together. The backstory on Leo & Trace was really interesting. I’m glad Leo & Andi ended up together too.