Last One to Lie is a psychological thriller by J.M. Winchester. I classify myself as a romance reader. Reading a book like this is so outside my comfort zone. I have to tell you upfront that this book was one crazy, twisty, turny, wild ride. If this is a genre you enjoy, or in my case, even if it isn’t, you NEED to read this book. I could not put it down.

Where do I even start? This is one of those books where I can hardly tell you anything! I really had no idea what I was walking in to which made it so much better for me.

Kelsey Jennings and her husband and daughter have recently moved from Florida to Ellicott City, where her husband, Malcolm’s parents live. This book starts right out with a bang when Kelsey goes to pick up her toddler, Mikayla, from daycare, only to discover she’s not there. They have no record that she was even there that day. And when Kelsey tries to call her husband, he doesn’t answer and the school where she thought he was teaching school at, says he doesn’t work there.

Detective Paul Ryan is on the case of the missing husband and child. One look into the eyes of the beautiful mother of the little girl and he’s lost. He’ll do whatever is in his power to find this little girl. But the more he investigates, the more questions he has. He knows Kelsey is keeping something from him, he can feel it. At the same time, the case is bringing back painful memories of his own past. Memories he can never let go.

This book is wickedly crazy. I think my mouth hung open most of the way through. There are so many lies told, you don’t know what to believe, who to believe. One thing is certain, though, and that is that Paul Ryan has gotten himself right into the middle of it all.

Where as J.M. Winchester’s other book scared me, this one didn’t. What it did do, though is keep me on the edge of my seat, all the way to the very end. You simply cannot walk away from this book. You have to keep reading to see what is going to happen next. Rest assured that you will not be bored. So, buckle up, ladies and gentlemen, and prepare yourself. And have fun!

When Kelsey goes to pick up her daughter from her new daycare, she's nowhere to be found. The daycare workers claim she was never there. Not only is her daughter missing, Kelsey can't reach her husband at his new teaching job either.

This book started off gripping me. I was flipping through the pages trying to figure out what was going on. Then about 25% in I just couldn't stay interested. It was just too unbelievable. Her daughter is missing, she's piddling around her house, the police are taking their time talking to people not even attempting to get in touch with others. It just didn't unfold believable enough for a missing child case. I don't want to spoil it, but there are too many other events that take place that were just too far fetched for both Kelsey and the detective on the case.
Had we as readers known certain things sooner in the story, it might have helped me understand and tolerate some of these things but by the time we find out, any reasonable detective should've known something was up.
A decent read, but just too many flaws for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review .

A missing child ... a runaway husband ... distraught mother. ... a tortured detective ... a missing sister or two ... murder ...

For the most part, I really enjoyed this book. At the beginning, I really couldn’t figure out what was going on, and for this genre, that’s a good thing ! It kept me guessing as to what was going on, and who was good and who was bad ... the story is really well put together and totally keeps you guessing until the end, but there are some wacky twists and so,times hard to keep track of them all. I also can’t say that I liked the main detective too much - seemed to have very little integrity and mainly thought with his little brain. 🤷‍♀️

3.5 ⭐️

When reading a book, I always make notes about the story and characters. Often, I don’t need the notes to write the review as the story was so memorable. This was not the case for me with this book. I did make notes while I tried to read this story, then I stopped and went back and tried reading it again. I love a complex mystery, but this story was so confusing, to me, that I gave up. I didn’t care for the female characters, the detective or the way the story flipped back and forth which made it even more confusing. The summary sounded so intriguing, but I am truly sorry that I just could not finish the book, I really tried. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

What the heck?! This was one twisty, bendy mind boggling read!

This starts with quite a bang but I’m thinking I know exactly what’s happening and how this is all going to play out. And yet, even though I know what’s going to happen, the writing is so fresh and the characters are pulling me in. Then, with the turn of a page I realize that I don’t have a clue what’s going on. Everything I thought I knew was total bs and suddenly Ms. Winchester has just pushed me down one heck of a rabbit’s hole!

This is the type of book you want to go in as blind as possible. Of course, if you were going to do that, you wouldn’t be reading this. But have no fear, I’m not going to spoiler it for you. I will say that the characters were real, diverse, unique and sometimes...scary as heck.

The one thing I struggled with was being able to keep up with which characters point of view I was reading throughout the story as it changes frequently. Usually, after a few lines I’d figure it out but it did remove me from the story more than once and often at the most inopportune moments. Otherwise, this book was pure perfection with characters that kept me guessing as well as its wicked intensity.

I highly recommend this for psychological thrill lovers!

This book was okay. I think it had the potential to be a lot better though. I felt bad for the detective - he had no idea what way was up for a while there. All in all not a horrible book but not a great one either. Better luck next time!

2.75 (confused) stars, rounded up.

Oh boy....this thriller was tropes galore. I was incredulous by the end, very much looking like the Ariana Grande math meme, you know the one. Had the author thrown 75% less of the wild but whack “twists” into this book, it would’ve been great! I would have loved it.

The premise of a woman going to pick her child up from daycare and realizing 1) she isn’t there and 2) there is no record of the child at the daycare at all, thus opening an investigation into whether the child exists at all is a unique one. But things quickly took a turn for the bizarre. I felt the pacing was way off, the main character switched so quickly from anxious mother to conniving sociopath that it made my head spin. It didn’t seem realistic.

The other main character, a cop who was a misogynistic toad (no surprise there) was so incompetent and smug and led around by his testicles that at times I wanted to throw my tablet against the wall. He eventually does get shot (spoiler, I guess) but doesn’t die and that’s the true tragedy of this book.

Not to mention all the other wild sh*t thrown into this relatively short read. My god.

Despite all the mess, I did tear through this just to see how the heck it was all supposed to come together. The ending was fine, sort of predictable, and what do you expect from 50 billion storylines? I just couldn’t bring myself to give this 3 stars, but worth a read if you enjoy hate-reading stuff and don’t take it seriously at all.

This book will make your head spin!

Kelsey Jennings has recently moved to the area and and dropped her young daughter off at a new daycare for the first time. A few hours later her child is not at the school and she doesn't seem to be registered either and no one remembers seeing Kelsy or her child that morning or any other morning. Kelsey becomes hysterical and she can't reach her husband by phone either so she calls the police and Detective Paul Ryan shows up and tries to make sense of this missing child case but as he digs deeper so does the mystery of this distraught young mother who he seems to be attracted to and he knows he cannot afford to let any personal feelings hamper this crazy investigation. So what does this dedicated detective discover as he digs deeper into this case and tries to fight the allure of this young mother who is definitely keeping secrets and he will do everything in his power to bring this missing child safely home if she is still alive.

This book was crazy good and very well-written. The story opens the same as any standard missing child case but hold on to your seat because the crazies will soon begin and you reach a point and say I know where this is going and No you don't because the twists and turns keep coming and the way the author wrote this book will have you rechecking last page to see if you missed something important. I loved this book because it took some liberties with the writing to help confuse you and I just could not put this book down. I can't wait to read another suspense story by J.M. Winchester and I highly recommend this book to any reader that wants to experience a mental whirl-a-twirl ride!

I want to thank the publisher Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC and any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this terrific book a rating of 4 head-spinning 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Stars!!

What a whirlwind! So many twists and turns it’s difficult to talk about this book without spoiling something. The author leaves just enough clues for the reader to sense that something fishy is happening, but you will not be prepared for the conclusions. A page turner.

I've just finished "Last One to Lie" and I'm holding my kindle with my mouth agape. WHAT A CRAZY, MESSED UP, RIDE!

I loved the writing style and was hooked from the first chapter! This story alternates perspectives between Kelsey and Detective Ryan. Kelsey just moved from Florida to Maryland with her husband, Malcolm and their two-year-old daughter, Mikayla. When Kelsey attempts to pick Mikayla up at daycare, she is informed that her daughter is not there and also, is not a child registered there. Cue to panic......Kelsey attempts to get in touch with her husband and is informed that he does not work at the school that he said he worked at.

Do yourself a favor and pick up this book.....and make sure you have some time or are capable of staying up all night to find out what happens.

Bravo JM Winchester! I can't wait to find out what you come out with next!

A special thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and JM Winchester for providing me with an ARC.

Complete MindF*ck. This was one of those books that sucks you in, doesn’t let you go, and twists your brain every which way imaginable… and then doesn’t even have the decency to set it straight before throwing you to the curb, finished with the book. At least my ARC copy – acquired far enough ahead of publication that this could possibly have been changed – has a slightly confusing (but interesting) way of labeling the chapters with timestamps but not perspectives, so it usually takes a few sentences or even a few paragraphs to understand whose mind you’re in at a given point. Explosive almost from the first word to the last. A welcome “lighter” sophomore effort under this name (if only in comparison to *just how dark* the freshman book under this name was), reading this author’s romance books under her real name followed soon after by one of the books under this name is a particular revelation of just how gifted a storyteller she truly is. Very much recommended.

Now this is a book that really requires concentration when reading. Full of twists and turns that I definitely didn't see coming. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

What. Just. Happened?! I’m reeling from this book! This is my first book by the author but definitely won’t be my last. There were so many plot twists. I was so confused and then you finally get to the end, and you’re still working out how. I could not put this one down. Everything you learned was so disturbing and absolutely crazy.

Kelsey Jennings has recently moved to a new town with her husband and daughter. After a yoga class, she goes to pick up her daughter from daycare. But, the school says she never attended. Her calls to her husband, Malcolm, keep going to voicemail and the new school he had a job at says he never started the job. The story alternates between Kelsey, and the detective, Paul Ryan, assigned to the case. There were so many twists and turns, secrets and lies. This will mess with your head and you cannot possibly guess the ending! You absolutely need to read this!

* ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

An Inconsistent story of a mother, investigation reveals illogical evidences! Detective Paul Ryan wants to believe Kelsey’s story about her daughter’s disappearance and her husband’s vanishing! But everything around them continuously changes, that leads Ryan to suspect Kelsey. This is such a roller coaster of a psychological thriller. Every time I read a twist, instead of stirring the plot, those twists give away the truth, one at a time! Last time I felt this pumped and hyped, it was when I read What Lies Between Us by John Marrs. This book sure lives up to the expectations.
4.25/5⭐️
Thank you Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer and J.M.Winchester for the ARC. This review is not influenced in anyway!

Is Kelsey telling the truth? Her daughter Mikayla is missing from day care, except that the facility says she was never registered. Her husband Malcolm is missing too- and his alleged employer says he didn't take the job. Told alternately by Kelsey and Detective Paul Ryan who is investigating, this is by turns annoying and engaging but its always a page turner. There's some good plot twists readers of this genre will appreciate. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. There's a surprise waiting within.

"Nothing will ever be the same after this. Everything has changed. And not knowing the outcome on his long all this will last has me feeling lost and unsettled."

What a crazy story. My head was left spinning after I finished reading.
Kelsey Jennings goes to pick her daughter up from day care, to be told that she was never there. She tries calling her husband, but no answer. She phones the school where her husband works, only to find out he never turned up.
Detective Paul Ryan spends his time getting closer to Kelsey as he tries to figure out a case that makes absolutely no sense.
Part one follows Kelsey as she discovers her husband and daughter are missing, as she meets Paul Ryan and their attempts at making sense of this case. Each chapter jumps from Kelsey to Detective Ryan and back again but still, nothing makes sense. We know Kelsey is hiding something, but what?
But then we get to part two and part three. And wowzer. Everything starts to make sense, there is twist after twist and it leaves you feeling breathless.
At the end, we are hit with one final twist and the ending is truly amazing.
However, I'm left with just one question: Why did they not fingerprint the gun???

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this.

I finished this book a couple of days ago, and honestly, I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it. On one hand, it had its moments where I was sucked in as I tried to figure out what was going on (in a good way), and there were times when I was staring at this book while I tried to figure out what was going on (in a bad way).

As often as possible, I like to finish with the positives, but I feel like due to the nature of this book it just won't be feasible this time.

Last one to Lie was ….. interesting. To begin with, it is told from the first-person view of multiple people. At times this became confusing as every character speaks and acts almost exactly the same. There is nothing to differentiate between who is speaking at what point. There are also two different story-lines taking place at the same time – the decade-old disappearance of Detective Ryan’s sister, and the happening now abduction of Mikayla. While the author manages to somewhat successfully weave together storylines of things that have happened in the past along with the things taking place now – it wasn’t until the end that I found myself horribly confused as to just who did what (more on that in a minute).

Giving credit where it is due – this story is definitely one of a kind and nothing like anything I have read before. I just wish it would have been executed with a bit more clarity. The farther we delve into the first part of this story the more it makes sense. You see…..

**SPOILER ALERT**

Kelsey has an identical twin sister. As the story progresses, we find out that both girls have been traumatized by their pasts, but we are lead to believe that Kelsey is “evil” while her sister Holly is “good”. And yes – Kelsey has done some pretty messed up things in her life (or at least I think it was Kelsey?) Once it was revealed that she had a twin and they had “switched lives” once before it all became a bit muddled to be honest.

This was where I started having a lot of problems keeping the two of them straight. Which one did the horrible things as a child? Throughout the entire book we were lead to believe it was Kelsey that was evil and Holly who was good, but still shot Detective Ryan when he discovered the truth – but at the end of things the woman living as Kelsey originally was really Holly according to fingerprints (even though we were lead to believe that Kelsey was the one who did all the evil things as a child and then took Holly’s spot in the adoption)?

So was Holly the evil one? I am SO confused! It would seem to me that the “evil” sister would have made a better companion to the adoptive parent mentioned in the subplot. Also – I would have liked more closure when it came to Detective Ryan and his missing sister Julia. Does he ever find her?

**END SPOILER**

Even with these things, I do believe this story will appeal to people who like to read books that don’t conform to what we consider “normal” (although I hope they find it less confusing than I did). I would give this author another chance.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

The plot here is a mess, and it's supposed to be, but the story is the real mess, with the first person POV changing from chapter to chapter. What a horrible idea is this? Otherwise, the writing is OK.

Kelsey goes to pick up her daughter from daycare but the daycare doesn’t even have a record of the little girl. Adding onto the confusion, her husband is nowhere to be found. The lead detective assigned to the case thinks it’s clear that Kelsey is not telling the truth but what exactly is she lying about?

4.5 stars (rounded up)

Last One to Lie was one of those books that you pick up and don’t want to put down. Yes, the plot line (I don’t want to give spoilers) becomes unbelievable and like something out of a Lifetime movie with some of the plot twists having been seen before, but the book was fantastic.

This was the first book from this author and I can’t wait to read more from her.

Highly recommend if you like mysteries or thrillers.

Wow, this book was quite a journey that really played with my head. From the first page until the very last I was hooked. It didn’t take long before I finished this book.

This book has a lot of twists, some you can see coming and some that will have you questioning everything. I loved the twist at the end, but I wished that there would have been a different, more satisfactory ending. I disliked the female character throughout this book, and at times even disliked the male character. But it was very well written and it felt like you really got to know the characters.

The only reason this book didn’t get five stars is because I would have loved a more satisfying ending, and I felt that the police efforts on finding the missing child should have been better, but then again I don’t know much about how these situations work in real life.

I can definitely recommend this book for people who like to read thrillers that play with your mind and have twist after twist coming.