Schlubby thriller writer Ian Ludlow is suffering from writer’s block, which could mean the end of the world. In previous exploits, Ludlow’s fertile imagination has saved the U.S. president and helped a beautiful, imperiled actress defect from China. But now another plot is unfolding across the globe, leaving seemingly disconnected death, discord, and suspicion in its wake. Will Ludlow be able to tease together the storyline behind the plot and concoct a counter-narrative in time to save humanity? Or will Match Game reruns, avoidance sex with the lovely Chinese actress, and Ludlow’s silicon doll of a 1996-era Denise Richards prove too much of a distraction?

This book was not for me. I have enjoyed other Lee Goldberg novels, especially “Lost Hills.” This was more of a leering satire of the genre of unlikely heroes facing staggering odds who try to save the world in implausible ways. If you enjoy that genre, and if you enjoy a wildly exaggerated plot, you may enjoy this caper. There are some funny lines, and Goldberg knows how to build suspense.

That was not enough to keep my interest. Most of the male characters were two-dimensional caricatures of hot-button issues – immigration, conspiracy, disinformation, espionage – not complex people struggling in a complex world. Most of the women were either icy killers or vapid self-promoters. The plot unfolded as though Woody Allen was trying to write a leading man part for himself: The world turns on the words of a writer. A gorgeous Chinese actress has repeated meaningless sex with him. Ick.

Three stars because this book taught me that there are oil wells all over Beverly Hills, disguised in ordinary-looking buildings. That’s something I want to remember. The rest of the book, not so much.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It was a great novel for those who like simple thrillers. I'm surprised he didn't turn it into a movie or TV series

"Fake Truth" is pure entertainment from page one through the end. Bestselling author, Ian Ludlow, is just an ordinary guy with a vivid imagination, something the CIA sorely lacks and desperately needs. In book three of the Ian Ludlow series, Ian is now an off-the-books spy for the CIA, working with his former assistant and current CIA operative, Margo French. Once again they team up to avert deadly consequences on a global scale-a war between the United States and Mexico, as well as the takeover of multiple countries by Russia. Hopefully, with luck on his side and inspiration fueled by his love of James Bond movies, Ian Ludlow can once again save humanity. In the most humorous way possible, of course!

Fast moving thriller. Enjoyable read except for the sexual content and some violence. Both could have been toned down without affecting the plot. I can't recommend any books in this series though because the sexual content is too graphic.

The writing and the characters are great, but there's too much jumping around and a little too much nonsense for my taste.

"Fake Truth" isn't an amazingly done story. It's often predictable and uninteresting. I wished it was a little more interesting overall but it's just okay.

Fake news, Russian intervention, immigration issues and drug smuggling fill our daily news. Only Lee a Goldberg could put them all together in a thriller that will also have you laughing as you read. Ian Ludlow is an author who has saved the President and brought a defector out of China, with each of his adventures tied into his Clint Straker stories. Suffering from writer’s block, he picks up an article about two tourists in Portugal who died while taking a selfie. What if they were really murdered? This sparks an idea for his next book . With Margo, his research assistant and an agent for the CIA, he sets out for Portugal to research the deaths and discovers a connection to murders back home.

In Russia a plan has been set in motion to use illegal immigrants to implicate a Mexican drug lord in smuggling and murders in the US. The evidence has inconsistencies, but it is forcing the President to take drastic actions. This diverts attention from Russian plans for expansion. Using social media and information planted with a prominent newsman, they spread their fake news. It is up to Ian, who has stumbled on the plot, to stop them.

Before finding success as the author of the Clint Straker action series, Ian was a writer for the police series Hollywood and the Vine. It was a time he was not proud of, but his series is re-visited in Fake Truth. The dialogue between Hollywood and his part-plant partner is guaranteed to get a laugh, but there are also moments of pure action. I have been hooked on this series since reading the first book, True Fiction, and look forward to seeing Ian Ludlow in the future.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer Publishing for providing this book for my review.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fake Truth is the 3rd book in the series. I have not read the first two books in the series. This book did not hold my attention as much as I would have liked. I think perhaps if I would have read the previous two books, I would have enjoyed this one more. Overall, a quick read with some light humor here and there.

Utterly ridiculous & funny. It felt very relevant, with conspiracy theories & fake news being treated as the truth, but this was so over the top - if my eyes rolled any harder, they would roll out of my head. However, there were so many funny lines, I did laugh a lot.

This is the second book I've read in the three-book (so far) series featuring writer Ian Ludlow and his research assistant Margo French, and it's every bit as delightful as I expected. As with the previous one, I chuckled my way through (with a couple of outright guffaws here and there).

Most of those chuckles came by way of "ripped from the headlines" timeliness, although the author insists it wasn't intentional and he "really made this stuff up." Funniest to me, though, were the references to things gone by like James Bond movies and especially TV game show "Match Game." First aired in 1962 - the year my husband and I got married and soon thereafter became regular viewers - the fill-in-the-blank answers from celebrity panelists were borderline risque, generating feigned shock and raucous laughter from the audience. In today's world? Well, if you want to know how far we've come, just watch a couple of episodes of "Family Feud." Yowser!

Back to the story, Ludlow knows the difference between fact and fiction, but somehow the plots he concocts for his series character, freelance superspy Clint Straker, manage to come true in real life. That hasn't gone unnoticed by the CIA, where the powers-that-be see great potential in tapping Ian and Margo as resources. At the beginning, the pair meet Wang Mei, a Chinese actress who claims to want asylum in the United States. Meanwhile, the Russians are busy running a troll farm to spread propaganda online in an effort to manipulate Americans.

Ian takes Wang on a TV show blitz that ends on a very conservative "news" show, where snarky host Dwight Edny hurls insults that, let's say, don't sit well with the Chinese beauty. When Ian falls victim to a bad case of writer's block while trying to conjure up his latest Straker book plot, Margo decides an investigation of the "accidental" death of a couple in Portugal may be just what the doctor ordered to kickstart Ian's creative streak. Following in the dead couple's footsteps brings some unexpectedly dangerous revelations (if not a spark or two of that aforementioned creativity). Meanwhile, back in the US of A, trouble is brewing on the illegal immigration front as Texas ranchers take up arms to stem the tide in true vigilante fashion - making a Mexican drug lord very unhappy (see what I mean about current events)?

Throughout it all, Ian and Margo try to avoid getting killed before he can finish his next book. Since this is a series, I don't think I'm letting the cat out of the bag by saying they make it to the end, but the devil is in the details. I will say, though, that I enjoyed every page and, in addition to thanking the publisher, via NetGalley, for a pre-release review copy, I leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

Question: "Is there nobody left we can trust?"

Answer: "Not on TV."

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Lee Goldberg and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Lee Goldberg returns with another novel in his off the wall Ian Ludlow series. While the story reads as a little less than serious, the tale moves well and will keep most readers entertained. As Ludlow is still coming to terms with how his last book predicted a real-life event, he has newly-defected Chinese Actress Wang Mei with him. The CIA are eager to learn a little more and hope that Ludlow can use his astonishing powers to predict yet another international event. However, Ludlow seems to be coming up blank, sufferings from writer’s block and unsure how to solve it. Even some steamy trysts with Wang do not help his writing juices flow any better (no comment on any others, though Goldberg does not spare the reader). Meanwhile, a conservative talking head has been fanning the flames about Mexican incursion along the southern US border, in hopes of creating something even more chaotic. Little does anyone know but Dwight Edsey is actually part of a Russian sleeper cell, trying to create new issues as they infiltrate new fake news. When Ludlow stumbles upon what could be a unite story idea, two American tourists falling to their death while taking a selfie, he and his assistant head to Portugal. What looks like an innocent accident might have more daunting implications on both sides of the Atlantic, but Ludlow will have to find the thing that ties it all together. As he is targeted for what he discovers, Ludlow learns that, yet again, his desire to write a bestseller could have international implications for which he was not aware. An interesting piece that entertains more than it stuns, Lee Goldberg does well to keep he fans satisfied. Recommended to those who like a lighter thriller, as well as the reader who needs something with some corny storylines.

I stumbled upon this series and found it to be perfect for when I need a lighter piece that will still entertain. Lee Goldberg does well to keep the reader in the middle of the story, offering both intrigue and some slapstick humour to balance out some of the larger and more chilling ramifications. Ian Ludlow is again a key character in this piece, finding himself in the middle of a major catastrophe without meaning to. His writing skills have garnered him much praise in the past, though he is looking for more. The reader can see some more of his creative efforts throughout, though he seems also to be tapping into a more physical and superficial side. Goldberg does well to offer different facets of the character, though none of them are especially deep. Goldberg uses other characters to enrich the plot and the storyline, though most of the them remain at the same caliber as Ludlow. This collection of characters complement one another well for this piece, which seeks to tell multiple stories before tying them all together. The overall piece was decent, offering the needed entertainment that I have come to expect with this series. However, there is a superficial nature to the piece, almost a hokey or corny sentiment. While I can only surmise that this is Goldberg does this intentionally, it makes for a harder read at times, as I seek something a little deeper. Still, there is an entertaining value to it all and I suspend some of my expectations in order to enjoy this quick read.

Kudos, Mr. Goldberg, for another great piece that fit nicely into my reading journey this week.

This is the third book in the Ian Ludlow series after True Fiction and Killer Thriller. If you have not read the first two you probably should, the events in this book take place after the events in the second. In addition, the books are very good. Anyway, this book starts where the second left off, Ian and Margo are back in the States and Ian is trying to get his mind on track for his next novel. Margo and he decide to investigate the accidental death of two American tourists in a small town in Portugal for inspiration. Like the first two, the story is both humorous, over the top, it is highly entertaining, and a quick paced read. I look forward to future Ian Ludlow adventures. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Ian Ludlow is an unlikely hero. He is an author of popular novels with a past as a television writer. However, he also is a CIA asset who uses his knowledge of plotting to help unravel international conspiracies.

Fake Truth by Lee Goldberg
Fake Truth Cover
In Fake Truth Ludlow bumbles into a conspiracy dealing with Russians creating fake news about events in the USA. The plot of this novel has the feel of “ripped from the headlines” due to some events actually going on in the USA right now.

Russian spies are in the US creating events. They frame an illegal immigrant man for murder, commit a mass shooting at a ranch near the Mexican border and use a reporter on their payroll to hype these events up.

At first, Ludlow is looking into the death of a tourist couple in Portugal. But as he digs in the truth seems unbelievable. How could these kids on Instagram have a connection to the deaths back in the US?

These Ian Ludlow books are a fun read. They have this unreality to them that is soo over the top, it almost seems believable. Author Lee Goldberg presents both sides of the story. The spies planning their operation are some of the point of view characters.

Even knowing what is happening the story is still a page-turner. How will Ian connect the dots? How much deeper into the conspiracy will the spies get before their plan is stopped? Will all the bad guys be caught or could some slip away?

If you have not read the first two Ian Ludlow books I would suggest picking them up before trying this one. While it is a stand-alone story there are enough callbacks to prior books that might help a reader understand better.

Fake Truth will release on April 7, 2020. Preorder your copy today.

A free advance copy of this book was provided via NetGalley for this unbiased review.

Lee Goldberg writes excellent stories that keep this reader coming back for more. His thrillers are really excellent stories that build tension and keep you on the edge, wondering what will happen next. You are tempted to turn pages quickly to find out but then you'd miss the clues. Fake Truth is on the same book shelf as my Tom Clancy books they are that good!

I want to start off by saying thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book, it was a very good read easy to follow along with storyline and characters. This was a new author for me but I very much enjoyed it, thank you for the opportunity and I look forward to reading more by this author again. I highly recommend this book to everybody.

A tongue in cheek thriller that wasn’t my cup of tea but would definitely appeal to those who enjoy satire. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the arc.

It sounds like it shouldn't work, but the Ian Ludlow series just does. It's entertaining, genuinely thrilling and still retains the "fish out of water" freshness that makes it work. Needs to be filmed

Firstly thank you to Net Galley, the publishers and the authors for an ARC copy for a honest review.

My first book from this author, and an author who's name has been on my radar, so pleased to be able to read this author. an established author, television writer and producer.

The only thing more dangerous than fake news is fake truth in this exhilarating thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg!

Author Ian Ludlow writes great adventures…but after helping Chinese movie star Wang Mei defect to the United States, he becomes the accidental hero of a real-life espionage thriller. Now he’s stuck with the actress—and suffering a nasty case of writer’s block—when he stumbles into a secret Russian plot using “fake news” to outrage Americans into believing a terrifying lie.

It’s up to Ian and Margo French, his researcher-turned-spy, to discover the connection between a barbaric drug lord in Mexico, a homicidal maniac in California, a rogue citizen army in Texas, a raging TV pundit in New York, and two dead tourists in Portugal…before the president of the United States makes a catastrophic mistake that could resurrect the Soviet Union.

The only weapon Ian has against the global conspiracy, and the assassins who are closing in on him, is his vivid imagination. If his story isn’t a killer thriller, he’s dead.

A book with a difference, characters that are different, story that is exciting at the same time as been very funny at times, Ian Ludlow seems to me to be very close to the author himself.

An author who was involved in television shows, produced television shows in real life and Ian Ludlow is a character in the book who is an author writing books and television shows....

It reminded me of some of the light hearted series of the 80's, Hart to Hart and yes Diagnosis Murder, Murder She Wrote with added pace , great humour, a clever story, and a real cliche but clever ending.

Good fun, laugh out loud a few times, good story

Found it difficult to score as not as gritty as some books I read, but I did enjoy the fun, humour added into the action, if not over the top sometimes, slightly tongue in cheek.

Four stars, I did enjoy it.

I started reading Lee Goldberg once he partnered with Janet Evanovich and the Fox & O'hare collaborations were fun and witty. I even started his new "fun" Ian Ludlow series (although Book 2 really jumped the shark and makes me less excited to pick up #3). So, this was a different tone than the others. More serious and dark, very stoic girl bad-ass cop stuff. It took me a lot longer to get through and not for me. It didn't have the same level of suspense as some of the other books out there that's like this. The urgency didn't kick in until the end and because this is only Book 1, he is still slowly unwrapping character story elements. We know we should care about her broken family/childhood situation and figure it'll be part of future stories, but for now, it's back story that gets in the way of the action and plot.

I've read Lee Goldberg's Fox and O'Hare series but not his Ian Ludlow series. I was expecting a light-hearted romp, this is anything but and I loved it! I've been burnt out by toxic political races and media coverage. At first, I thought, oh no, more of the same but mixed up in an intriguing and suspenseful plotline is political satire at it's most outrageous. The author isn't pushing his own agenda and I have no idea which side of the aisle he stands but he turns over the top conspiracy theories on their heads. A must-read for anyone trying to find humor in the crazy world we live in today.