Family drama and mystery all in one good book. I enjoyed the ride thru time and trying to figure out the pieces as I went. A slightly abrupt ending but overall a good read.

Spectacular ! I truly Enjoyed every page! Looking forward to reading more books by this talented author!

This is the first book of the series I had read, but I will defintely be going back to read the other3! Det Croft is a great character, and this book is able to be read as a standalone, giving you great insight into his methoods, by references to his past cases. very much a closed room type mystery, as the case progresses the team gets more and more suspects, but no leads to what realy happened to Tomlin. Even as the case snakes too close to home, Mike and his team push on, to the surprise ending! Don't miss this one!

I liked the supernatural element in this story, and enjoyed the mystery. Read quickly in one sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I read 65% of this book, but as I kept grabbing other books to read without having finished this one, I decided it was just too much work for me.

It was the first Mike Croft book I have read and maybe the last. The story was okay, but I didn't love any of the characters and the mystic dog was just a strange addition. People were killed and people had lied, but to be honest I didn't care enough to find out who had done it and why.

So not a bad story, just not keeping my attention and with literally hundreds of other books that I want to read, this story is just not worth my time.

A tricky tale of family secrets and lies. Loads of suspects in this police thriller,with motivation to kill. A local legend/ghost story stirs the pot.

THE LIAR by Jane Adams has more twists and turns than a luge track and while the ride it gives is readers may not be as heart-stopping as a ride down the aforementioned track it is nonetheless a complex and tantalizing read. Adams is a skillful storyteller who creates believable, relatable characters.

I love a good psychological mystery and this one involving Detective Mike Croft and his friend John Tynan is one that will exercise the reader’s grey matter. John had been seeing Martha Toolin and become quite smitten with her. Now Martha’s been murdered and it appears that her entire life has been built upon a foundation of lies. Martha was in reality a con artist who used her talents as well as a variety of identities to exploit the weak and susceptible, leaving a trail of victims large enough to fill a telephone book and the police with more than enough potential suspects.

Adams writes with keen perception and clarity throughout, not just of deception and murder but of grief, old wounds, and of dark and grief-plagued lives with secrets hidden just beneath the surface

Readers will eagerly turn the pages of this compelling and clever narrative all the way to its surprising conclusion.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
John, alone since his wife died falls in love with Martha. And then she is murdered.
So many lies are discovered about Martha as the investigation begins. Did John really know Martha? What is the truth. And as it continues more people have a reason for the murder - but what is shocking is who really murdered Martha!

This is book 4 in the Mike Croft series but they do work well as stand alone.

I have read all the books in this series so I feel I have got to know Mike quite well. He comes accross as being a little insecure he lost his 10 year old son and his marriage fell apart. He is now happily married to Maria but they were never blessed with children. In this story Mike is plagued by dreams that included his son. What do they mean? Do they have a bearing on the current case? These are questions he is looking for the answer to.

His partner of choice is Jude she has a knack of knowing the right way to approach people which Mike is lacking so they make a very effective team.

John, a retired detective takes a major part in this book as his past comes back to haunt him.

The story is intriguing it is not the fast paced adrenaline pumping type of thriller but a solid gripping detective story full of twists and turns. There are many secrets to uncover and the ending is quite a shock.

There were many stories all interlinked to make up the main story with betrayal, blackmail, fraud and the issues that affected unmarried mothers way back in time that all feed in to the main story. I kept turning page after page wanting to know what other secrets were to be revealed before Mike and his team were able to join the dots.

I didn't really work out what the big black dog brought to the story but it didn't affect my enjoyment so very happy to award the full 5 stars.

All the characters in this book seemed to have their own secrets. This is a good series of books by Jane Adams featuring Detective Mike Croft. The Liar has a touch of the supernatural, a murdered woman, plenty suspense and a few loose ends. Overall, a good book, well written but a rushed ending. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I really struggled with this book, was way too slow and none of hte characters felt fully developed, i was interested in the story but it dragged and not sure why the side story about the black dog

Another fantastic story from Jane Adams. D I Mike Croft at his best, even when his friend ex D I John Tynan is indirectly involved! The murdered woman, involved with John proves to be a liar in all of her previous years and it is up to Mike to fathom it all out! A terrific storyline, full of twists and turns to the end!

The Liar by author Jane Adams is another in the Mike Croft Series. DI Mike Croft has a new murder to solve. But who is the murdered woman calling herself Martha Toolin? She had been spending a lot of time with ex DI John Tynan as he helped in her search for distant relatives. Soon another body washes along the shore, the mysterious Tom who had been seen with Martha.
There are twists in the plot as Mike and Jude research the family links provided by John. A baby's unauthorized grave, a secretive PI, and a jealous wife add to the cast of characters in this thriller.
A fierce black dog is seen around the village which has John and others remembering folklore about a large black dog during times of stress. There is never a clear answer about the dog.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Book four in the Inspector Mike Croft series. A gruesome murder which quickly becomes personal. Swiftly moving, suspenseful thriller, well plotted with plenty of twists and turns along the way.

I have been a fan of Jane's work for quite a while now- in fact ever since I had the good fortune to pick up a copy of the first book in the Detective Mike Croft series called 'The Greenway'. I loved everything about that book and since then I have read each and every book in the series that Joffe Books have released. The fourth book in the Detective Mike Croft series is called 'The Liar' and it was released on 19th November 2019. 'The Liar' is another difficult and intense case for Detective Croft and his team. I flipping well loved 'The Liar' but more about that in a bit.
What can I say about Detective Mike Croft? He is an experienced detective with many years of experience behind him. He has been there, done that and worn the t-shirt. He has a wife and they seem to be quite happily married. He is popular with his colleagues- both old and new. He has a few close friends outside of the force but even some of them are former colleagues. Croft is the sort of police officer that you would want to investigate a case involving either you or one of your loved ones. He is tough, tenacious, determined, resolute, methodical but he is also kind, compassionate and sensitive. You can rest assured that when he is allocated a case he will investigate until he has solved the case and the guilty party has been apprehended. Will Croft and his team be able to solve the case? Well for the answer to that question and so much more you are just going to have to read the book yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
Oh my goodness, did I enjoy this book or did I enjoy this book? I think you can probably tell by now that I absolutely loved reading 'The Liar'. I didn't look up from this book from the moment I first picked it up until the moment I closed the back cover as it were. I became totally wrapped up in this case and I could not even comprehend putting this book down. I was intrigued on two fronts- firstly about the black animal that was spotted and second about who had killed Martha and why. The pages turned increasingly quickly as my desperation to find out how the story was going to conclude. It seemed to take me next to no time to get through the story but then whilst I was reading this book I had lost all sense of time. Usually I have the attention span of a gnat and I am easily distracted but not in this case because my sole focus was on the book and on the book alone. The world outside could have ended and I wouldn't have noticed anything about it.
'The Liar' is really, really well written but then I wouldn't expect anything else from Jane Adams. She has a knack of starting the story in such a memorable way that you will not forget the book in a hurry. This book is certainly going to stay fresh in my memory for a long time to come. Jane draws you into the story from that memorable incident onwards and once she has your attention, she will not let it go until the moment you close the back cover. Jane writes so realistically and uses such vivid descriptions that I really did feel as though I was part of the story myself and I was another member of Croft's team.
Reading 'The Liar' was much like being on one hell of a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way. Just when you thought that the action had settled down for a minute so you could gather your thoughts and take a breather then off the action would go again.
In short, Jane Adams has done it again and she has written one seriously fantastic book. The series featuring Detective Mike Croft just gets better and better. I will definitely be reading more of Jane's work in the future. I would definitely recommend this author and this book to other readers. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

This is the fourth in the DI Mike Croft series a police officer operating out of Wymondham HQ, set near Norwich, a tense and twisted story where little is as it appears. The stabbed body of the middle aged Martha Toolin is discovered in her lodgings, a woman new to the area. Little of the woman turns out to be real, even her name is not accurate, it turns out she is a bad woman, a con woman who preys on the vulnerable and the elderly. And what is her connection with retired ex-DI John Tynan? Martha had befriended him, and they were looking into his past by looking into his family history. This list of those with a motive for wanting Martha dead grows, and both she and others in this complicated investigation are liars, a case of twists and turns, tense and suspenseful, with its supernatural edges. This will appeal to those who enjoy a good crime mystery.

The 4th book in the Mike Croft series which seems to be improving (if thats possible), with age!

A woman is stabbed in her room while a black dog is terrorising the village as well. D.I Mike Croft has his work cut out for him.Nothing is as it seems as we find out as the story progresses. Jane knows how to keep us hooked with these books, not just a straight murder mystery, nah, they are so much more! I found I couldn't stop at the next chapter...on and on, just a bit more.Edge of my seat stuff! Easily read without reading the others,but, I always think you get more out of the story if you have read the previous ones, the characters develop in your mind over time! Loved this book!

I enjoyed this book. Well written and lots of suspense. The reason I have given it 4 stars and not 5 is because I thought the ending was rushed (though not expected) and left a couple of loose ends open. Will definately read more from this author
I received a free arc of this book from Net galley and am eriting an impartial revie

I remember writing at the end of my review for book 3 in this excellent series featuring DI Mike Croft, "Their Final Moments", that I wished there were more Mike Croft books. And now my wish has been granted, ten years on from book 3, we return for book 4 and find Mike happily married to psychiatrist Maria and working out of Wymondham HQ in the same area near Norwich. This story takes him back to the setting of book 1. Close to Happisburgh village, the Greenway is a path through woodland connecting two areas of open fields, one end leading to a housing estate and the other end near the village by the beach. It provides a shortcut for walkers and leads around what was rumoured to be a fairy hill, and was where Mike solved both an old and a new crime with the help of ex-DI John Tynan. He and Maria remain great friends with John who is almost like family to them now. A woman called Martha Toolin has been introduced by a family member to John as a distant relative and has been staying at a B&B researching his mother's side of the family. Although reticent at first to have anything to do with that side of his family, John is soon won over by her charm and personality and finds himself taking a great liking to her. So it comes as a huge shock that, after taking her to dinner one night and dropping her off safely at her lodgings, she is found stabbed to death in her room the following morning. A teenage boy had been looking for her earlier and may have been involved in her death. As DI Mike Croft starts to investigate, he delves into her past and finds that nothing about the woman was what it seemed. She was a con woman and the police discover no end of people with a grudge against her. John helps the investigation by digging into his own family history since the woman seemed to be so interested in it, but starts to unearth secrets that may be better left buried. When another body turns up on the beach, the pressure is really on the police but as the story progresses, it seems like everyone except the detectives are liars and the truth is in very short supply. All the characters are so well described that I came to know them very quickly, and Mike, Maria, John and the other detectives are very likeable. Keeping the great partnership of Mike with ex DI John Tynan is a real winner as the older man has a wealth of wisdom and local knowledge, and makes a great sounding board for Mike when he struggles with a case. There is lots going on the book, both with the main story which is swimming with suspects and motives, and also the side story of John's, but it was never overcomplicated. The ending was one of those which I didn't see coming but which all made perfect sense when explained. I can thoroughly recommend this book and would love to see more in this series. I would say read the earlier ones first, not only to get a good feel of the characters and the history involved but also so as not to miss out on some very good stories. 5*

Many thanks to the publishers Netgalley and the author for a free ARC of this Ebook. It's the latest in the DI Mike Croft series, and as I haven't read any of the others in the series was a little concerned that I wouldn't be able to catch up with the story so far. Fears were unfounded the book could be read as a standalone with no problem. The author give a little background information without labouring it. I really enjoyed this book, the characters were well developed, the story rolls along and comes to a satisfying conclusion. I would b very happy to read more of this authors work, and would definitely recommend this book.