One Perfect Lie by Lisa Scottoline is a literary mystery about a stranger new to the town of Central Valley, Pennsylvania, masquerading as a coach and teacher. Unbeknownst to the students, parents, and faculty, Curt Abbot, known as Chris Brennan, has a plan that will soon leave this small southern town reeling or does he?

This story is very intriguing in that the protagonist's motives are not made clear until about halfway through the novel, which definitely kept my interest. It was also not the norm in that the protagonist was male, although there were other female characters who contributed to the plot. I don't want to reveal any spoilers so I won't elaborate, but who I thought the protagonist was and what I suspected was going to happen, did not, and kept me guessing until the very end. Well done! I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review. https://moesbookblog.wordpress.com/

Reviewed: February 18, 2017. Novel Publish Date: April 11, 2017.

Now I am convinced that Lisa Scottoline can write anything! I love her legal series, but reading this book, a stand alone, was equally enjoyable.

Scottoline opted for a topical and chilling story, one about domestic terrorism. Instead of her main character being a female, we have male protagonist, who shocked me when I learned what he was doing.

Plenty of red herrings and twists kept me interested. I love books in which all the pieces come together organically and not in an unsatisfactory way....that is exactly what Scottoline achieved. She even gave the reader enough romance to keep everyone happy.

I fear being a spoiler, so let if suffice to say, this is a really wonderful read. You will be engaged throughout and , ultimately, very satisfied with the well drawn central characters.

I prefer Scottoline's mainstream fiction to her Rosato and Associates and Rosato and Di Nunzio books (though they're pretty good too), and this one was really good. This is a fast--paced mind puzzle. Scottoline manages to deftly combine intrigue, psychological taunt, and romance. Though not as effective, to me, as Keep Quiet, this was a wild ride of a read.

So many exciting twists! Keeps you guessing about what's really going on. Lisa Scottoline really outdid herself with this great book.

Lisa Scottoline does it again! She has yet to disappoint me in a book with her wonderful twists, turns, and expertly drawn out characters. It kept me guessing until the end, a fantastic read.

It was a great start went south quickly!
The first part kept me guessing until the main characters motive was explained..

I really enjoyed this novel. More intense than Ms. Scottoline's others and I found that she had a strong voice with a male protagonist. For the first 25% of the book I didn't know whether to trust or hate Chris Brennen and couldn't wait to find out what he was hiding. When the truth came out I was hooked! I spent a lot of time trying to figure things out and love the clues Lisa drops. Fun, quick and thirlling

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

3.5* rounded up.

Chris is the new Government and Criminal Justice teacher at Central Valley High School, except that his name isn't Chris, he isn't a teacher and he is looking for a particular kind of teenage boy for purposes that are clearly no good (but not sexual). I found the first third of the story (Step 1) gripping as Chris gets to know the boys and the author introduces us to their families. Chris' cover is nearly exposed by another teacher who also comes from Wyoming in an entertaining scene where Chris fakes a choking attack to turn the subject.

There is a twist at the end of Step 1 which was excellent and made sense of things, but after that the story began to go downhill for me. Chris turned into a bit of an all round action hero, performing feats of bravery and tremendous physical strength, defying his bosses, wooing his love interest etc etc. The final plot explanation made sense and cleverly accounted for the particular teenage boy's involvement, although the need for there to be uncertainty about which boy was involved meant that one family's story turned out to be wholly irrelevant. None of the characters had any great depth, although I did warm to Mindy.

A page turner and an easy read.

I gave up after a few chapters because the writing was so un-nuanced.

With one of the themes of the book being baseball, I would say that the author hit a home run. This was a good thriller but was low on the suspense scale. I hope to see more stand alone books from this author since I have been finding that her series have become stale. The only criticism I would have of this book was the ending was too 'happily ever after'. A book, however, that I would recommend to all.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC of this title. I was so excited to get it, because I love Lisa Scottoline's writing. I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but as a thriller, it was top notch. It kept me reading into the night. I won't say a lot, because I don't want to risk giving away the plot. I will say that I had one premise...and was shocked to realize I was wrong. I loved it. Definitely put this on your purchase list for it's release in April!

A teach being hired into a high school using an alias w/another motive in mind. He uses his status to infiltrate himself in young men's lives. Many teenagers are detached from their parents in today's society. He is able to earn trust quickly.
An ATF agent who was an underdog as a child, now understands the underdog.

This book is different than others by Lisa Scottoline.
This has a slow build, but tensions rise until the climax and you can breathe

I’ve been a fan of Lisa Scottoline for a while so when the opportunity to read an about to be published book of hers came up I of course jumped on it and my fandom paid off as she has created yet another fantastic thriller.

I loved her plotline because at first you feel smug thinking you know exactly where Scottoline is going and what kind of character she wrote in Chris Brennan. You even have the Facebook status ready to post how you’re so much smarter than the author but let me save you the embarrassment and stop you before you hit Send. YOU ARE WRONG! There will come a point where the metaphorical car she’s been driving you on will take a wild turn nearly off a cliff that you won’t see coming. Now you’re on that steep descent of an emotional rollercoaster Scottoline so loves to strap her readers in for.

Carve some time out to read this because you will come to a point where nothing else in your life matters until you find out the ending. Thankfully she’s quite adept at this point in her career at character development, intriguing plot lines, thought provoking messages wrapped in subtlety and action packed scenes so you won’t be disappointed.

Lisa Scottoline has done it again!! Might be my favorite to date. Super page turner and all the awesome Scottoline delivers. Highly recommend!

This was my first book Ive read by Lisa Scottoline, But WONT be my last. I loved the twist and weird turns she took through out the story.

Chris Brennan becomes a substitute teacher for Central Valley High School, or is he? Hes an Undercover AFT Agent on a case. His decision to go undercover affects the lives of 3 mothers and their sons. Does he get to close? Without saying anymore, it was a great read and i really hope that this isn't the last of this story line.

A small town’s baseball team meets Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde when they get a new teacher and coach. On the surface, Chris Brennan seems perfect, a caring teacher and committed baseball coach, but he has a hidden agenda. Susan’s son Raz is the pitcher on the team and still mourning the loss of his father. Single mom Heather’s son Justin is the new player on the team and looking for a positive male role model and Mindy, mom to spoiled rich kid and star catcher Evan, who’s spending more and more time away from home doing god knows what. Scottoline does a good job capturing small town sports mania and creating a sense of full blown dread