
Member Reviews

Lisa Scottoline knows how to weave together a story to ensure that you have a tough time being able to put it down. I wondered quite a few times where this story was going and just kept enjoying the read. There are definitely enough twists and turns to keep the story interesting. I highly recommend!

I enjoyed this book, except for the last 50 pages or so. I thought it was an easy read and had the potential to be a good suspenseful story. But somehow, the ending just didn't gel with the rest of the book. The ending just seemed over the top and out of control. And I never really understood the motivation for all the crimes committed. I'm still giving it 3 stars for the possibility that I somehow missed something important in the story line.

This was the first book by this author that I have read. I was drawn into the book immediately. My mind goes to "what in the world is this weird man trying to do in this small town?" About a 3rd of the book I realized what I thought I knew wasn't even close to the truth! Great plot and storyline with likable characters. I wasn't able to guess the ending and I was pleasantly surprised when all was revealed!

One Perfect Lie by Lisa Scottoline opens with Chris Brennan applying for a teaching job at Central Valley High School We immediately learn that he is a fraud. His resume is a fake and even his whole identity is a fake. We learn that he won’t be there long, maybe just a couple of weeks. Just long enough to do what he needs to do.
One of the first things he needs to do is find a student that he can befriend. Someone who will willingly do what he needs him to do. He meticulously learns everything he can about the students and sets his eyes on Jordan a boy on the baseball team. Jordan is perfect, except that Chris finds his mother attractive and he doesn’t need anything like that to mess up his plans.
It turns out though that Chris isn’t the only one keeping secrets. Something is also going on with the Kostis family. Mindy doesn’t trust her husband after he had an affair, but now she is finding even more not to trust and it seems to also include her son, Evan.
There are plenty of twists and turns along the way. Could hardly put it down at night to go to sleep!

When I first started this book, I thought I'd have a hard time putting it down, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. I enjoyed it but the suspense went by the wayside of the romance.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! From the get go, One Perfect Lie starts with a whopper. Chris is applying for a job as a high school teacher and coach, but he's a fraud. Why is he lying his way into the school? Three baseball players on his team feature prominently in the story, all with their own unique problematic home lives. I've liked most of Lisa Scottoline's books I've read, but always felt the writing was just ok. I thought this book was one of her best however. She pulled the rug out from under me with a twist I didn't see coming, and I love that! One Perfect Lie gives readers a fresh and unique story line, high school baseball, Pennsylvania farm country, a bit of romance, and lies....lot of lies! Be sure and put this one on your summer reading list.

Undercover agent gets personally involved when he goes in as a teacher in a town where hockey is king.

Lisa Scottoline is greatness. She has a way of pulling you in from the very first sentence and then not letting you go until the last page. This latest thriller is no exception.
Chris Brennan is not who you think he is. He seems like a perfect candidate for a small-town coaching/teaching position. But everything about him is a lie. And there's a lot at stake, including lives. Among the cast of characters are high schoolers with troubles of their own, single moms trying to get by, and married couples coping with lies as well.
I will tell you that this book made me think one thing at the beginning but then made me change my mind several times along the way. It's not who you think it is, and it's not why, either.
This one is a great suspense story. My only complaint is that the ending seemed a bit rushed in a bid to tie up loose ends. That doesn't take anything away from the riveting story, though.

Years ago my dad introduced me to 3 authors: Lisa Scottoline, Harlan Coben and Michael Connelly. To this day I still read all 3 but Lisa Scottoline never ceases to surprise me. I'll be honest that I wasn't happy with the one I read before this and took a break but there was something about summary and title of this novel that had me curious. It did not disappoint at all. I will say that I really thought the storyline was going one way when she turned it on its head. Most of all this book is about family and what it takes to protect ours. I highly recommend this one.

From the first page of this book, I thought the writing was terrible. I kept going because it is a Lisa Scottoline book and I've read a number of her books. This book has the dubious quality of being both a page turner and just horrible writing. It makes me wonder if someone else didn't have a hand in the writing.
One Perfect Lie starts off with a character "Chris" posing as someone he isn't, interviewing for a teaching position at a High School. The following chapters continue to introduce us to the community, more of Chris' nefarious actions and focusing particularly on the boys on the baseball team that he will be coaching. None of the writing or the characters ring true. Everything feels awkward. I am a reviewer for Netgalley and unless I absolutely cannot finish a book, I will do my best to read it in it's entirety and give every book the benefit of the doubt. So I read and I finished this book. As I said, it ended up a page turner which made it easier to finish. The writing never improved.
I believe it falls under the umbrella of Thriller and the premise is a thrilling one.
But I'm finding it hard to write anything else good about it. I will consider it a blip and probably read the next Scottoline book.

St. Martin's Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of One Perfect Lie. This is my honest opinion of the book.
Chris Brennan is hiding a big secret, but it is not like he hasn't done it countless times before. Pretending to have experience as a teacher and a baseball coach, Chris is given a position at Central Valley High School. He is looking for the perfect mark, a high school junior on the varsity team. When Chris finds him, what are his plans for the teenager and his mother?
The twist part way through the book made One Perfect Lie much more interesting than at first glance, but much less realistic. It does get a little blockbuster action movie unbelievable towards the end, but it does make the book very entertaining. I did not like the ending all that much, as the last few pages should have been left out entirely. It would have been stronger to let readers decide for themselves what happened next. Overall, One Perfect Lie was a good read, but definitely not as good as many of the author's previous novels.

I'm on the fence with a 3 and 4 star rating for Lisa Scottoline's One Perfect Lie but more on that later. Scottoline is a favorite of mine so I was anxious to get this read and it doesn't disappoint with the first few chapters locking down the reader.
We're introduced to Chris Brennan who's living a total lie. Chris' intentions are not clear early but they do seem sinister. As One Perfect Lie unravels, Scottoline manages to maintain her grip while introducing us to more people in this seemingly quiet, peaceful town. Once the lies become exposed and the body count adds up, things get good... but not so good as well.
I was all for giving this title a 4-star rating until Scottoline introduces a quickie love story. I know she often times blends the genre of thriller and women's literature, One Perfect Lie doesn't have the same finesse I've come to expect in her work. If the point was to humanize our protagonist, it wasn't necessary.
What is enjoyable about this title is that at no point was I able to determine where the story was leading until towards the end. And, I'm always intrigued with stories that feature a town that is bursting at the seams with lies and deceit. There is so much going on and keeping track forces the reader's attention. I loved following the stories of some of these town folk. In the interest of not spoiling too much, Scottoline could have made a whole 'nother novel out of the Mindy Kostis story.
Ultimately, seeing how all the stories merge and intersect kept me glued to this title although I did have to downgrade it a bit due to the mushy love story that was kinda plopped in there for no good reason. In any case, Lisa Scottoline still maintains her place as one of my go-to authors for a good read. Fans of her work will not be disappointed with One Perfect Lie. No lie, I promise.
Copy provided by St. Martin's press via Netgalley

The first part of this book caught my attention quickly because you know something is brewing but you aren't sure what, only that the deadline is only days away. We are introduced to Chris who is obviously hiding something but it's not what you think at all. The "plan" he's working on turns out to be much bigger and much different than you would expect and the way you feel about him changes drastically.
This was a great read!

My wife first recommended Lisa Scottoline books to me. She asked me to request this book from NetGalley and she read it first. She and I both give it 4 out of 5 stars. I have read 8 Scottoline books and my wife twice as many or more. She is reading a Scottoline book even as I write this. It starts with a bad guy identified right off the bat, but my wife said there's more to it. There more than a few twists and turns, but there is a very satisfactory ending.
I can't say too much more without going into spoiler territory. Some elements in this book: sexting by teenagers, a truck bomb and a dedicated ATF(Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) agent. There are a couple of typos--Glynco is misspelled as Glencoe. I spent some time training there and it is spelled Glynco. At one point a character is described as going from death to diagnosis in two months.
I recommend it to Scottoline fans. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this book.

My perseverance has finally paid off. Until One Perfect Lie, my experience of books by Lisa Scottoline hadn't been too positive. I read Most Wanted and Every Fifteen Minutes and was disappointed. I REALLY enjoyed One Perfect Lie though.
When the protagonist, Chris Brennan, an expert liar, charmed his way into Central Valley High School becoming its new Baseball coach and AP Government teacher and started befriending some of the boys, I was hooked immediately. I loved that sinister perspective. I was pretty much convinced I had the story all figured out. That was until the twist that had me thinking "oh, here we go again, it's going downhill from here."
But once I recovered from the complete surprise, I was actually on board with it all. The story was different from what I had expected, but I tend to like a good high-school, small-town saga with a lot of family drama and this fit the bill. Much of the story is from Chris' perspective, but there are also the point of views of three of the mothers whose sons Chris is coaching. Each family is struggling with their own set of problems and secrets. The characters drew me in and all the secrets and mysterious happenings kept this interesting all the way. Crime, suspense, action, family drama and even a bit of romance, this had a good mix of everything.
I felt it went a little over the top towards the end but still remained entertaining throughout. A very creatively plotted and unique story. So, third time lucky, I can now see why this author has such a following, and I will continue reading her books hoping to pick up a few more like this one.

If you like your books twisty and turny this may be the one perfect book for you.
I found it a little slow to get into, but the middle and end twists aided in a great payoff. I have yet to find a Lisa Scottoline book I didn't enjoy.

Lisa is an expert storyteller. She's an established and talented author. I enjoyed this book and the characters were interesting. The plot twist felt a little bit forced. I expected something darker after the big build up.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
I really liked this book. It's definitely one that begins with you thinking it's going to play out one way and then tosses in a bit of information that changes the whole storyline. Great character development, a fast-paced read that I didn't want to put down, and a story that kept you guessing what was going to happen up until the very end.
I'd definitely recommend this to other readers who like thriller-type books.

I have read many of Scottoline's books, and looked forward to this latest one. There is an unexpected twist quite early in the book which only adds to the plot. There are a lot of characters and perhaps, too many, unless the author had lengthened the story. There's missed opportunity of character development. The story itself is exciting and intriguing as well. It's a definite page turner and enjoyable. It's not her best, but still worth reading.

One Perfect Lie is one perfect read! I really enjoyed this suspenseful novel by one of my favorite authors.
I don't want to give away too much about the plot of the book since there are several surprise twists.
Chris Brennan seems perfect, maybe a little too perfect. He is applying for a job to teach high school government class and substitute coach the baseball team. However his motives seem suspicious.
Three of Chris's prospective students, Raz, Jordan and Evan, along with their mothers, each have their own troubles. All three boys are members of the baseball team, but the similarities end there. Jordan is very quiet and withdrawn; Evan is the typical spoiled rich kid and Raz has temper issues and just doesn't quite fit in. Each of their mothers are also dealing with problems of their own.
At the center of all of this is Chris Brennan. What has drawn him to this town and school? What is he planning and who will get hurt in the process?
One Perfect Lie is another fast page turning read by Lisa Scottoline. I was completely blindsided by some of the plot twists in this novel and I love when an author surprises me like that. I would be interested to see if any other novels explore some of the same characters from this book. I think I'd like to read more about them and it seems like there is definitely material for another book. One Perfect Lie would also make for an interesting book club discussion.
I received this book courtesy of St. Martin's Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.