Holy moses this book was full of characters and twists and turns! I had to start writing down who was who and who was doing what to try to figure out the intention of each person! It's like when you finally figure out what's going on with one person, it changes, and is that person really that person or is that person someone else? If you like an edge of your seat book that will keep you guessing throughout, then The First to Lie is your book!

I first fell in love with Hank Phillippi Ryan when I read The Other Woman and I have absolutely LOVED every book of hers I've read since and The First to Lie was no exception. I enjoyed the mystery of it all. Who is who...who is lying...who was the first to lie...why did they lie...what's going to happen? You know...all the great things that makes up a perfect mystery book!

There is so much depth to this book that is hard to explain without you reading it so my suggestion is to drop what you're doing and pick this book up!

Overall, expertly woven/unwinding story with a magnificent ending, that will keep you guessing all along and up late in the night just to finish it! This one is DEFINITELY worth your time!

I would like to offer a HUGE thank you to Hank Phillippi Ryan, Macmillan, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of The First to Lie, which allowed me to contribute this honest and unbiased review.

Always on the edge of my seat. The sense of anticipation, the character development, Hank Phillipi Ryan is one of my favorites for good reason! This is a book you could read over and over again and find something new every time.

Thank you for providing me a copy of this book.
I run out of time so sorry I wasn't able to finish this.

THE FIRST TO LIE is Hank Philippi Ryan at her absolute best; it's a novel of deception, obsession, and--chills!--neighbors. I think this is Ryan's most suspenseful book to date. The twists in this tale are unreal--unreliable narrators, protagonists that you cannot trust, and you're wondering who will be the NEXT to lie! I loved it. Meg, Gabe and Ellie are fresh characters that Ryan fleshes out and makes you care about--even if you loathe them!

Ouf - sit tight because this review is going to be tricky. The First to Lie was a highly anticipated book because I'd heard so many good things about this author and this was my first by her. I will say that I didn't really read the synopsis before I went in, but once I started and read it, I was slightly appalled. The idea of taking down 'big pharma' by a strong, determined woman sounds like an incredible plot point, but the drug of choice they planned to take them down with was a pill to 'fix infertility' in women struggling. Yes, you read that right, FIX INFERTILITY. Honestly, I didn't see any reviews pointing out how horrible of a plot point this is and how using infertile women as a plot point was a good idea either. Maybe I'm too sensitive to this subject because of my personal history with infertility, which made me more judgemental of this book. However I just can't be okay with a book profiting off a story about women who are bullied into taking a 'miracle pill' that will make them magically cured and be able to get pregnant - but also potentially never be able to get pregnant again. I don't think I've ever been truly trigged by a book before, but this one did it for me when women shared their experiences and journeys to get pregnant and why they were so excited for this miracle pill, regardless of it possibly ruining their chances forever to have a child.

Now - here is why I rated the book 3 stars. This book was thrilling. This book made me question what was happening, around the infertility pills. Why I didn't stop reading when I was so upset by the triggers for me was because I did find myself really wanting to know who did what and what came next. It was a bit confusing with all the different characters to keep up with, but once I sorted it out, I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't care for any of the characters, but they still kept my interest. I guess at the end of this review, I will say give it a shot if you want a quick thriller, but it won't be first on my list to recommend that's for sure.

I'm a big fan of thrillers, but also someone who is a hard to please reader. Hank really broke all the records of thrillers with this. The First to Lie will leave you wanting more.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hank Phillippi Ryan and Forge Books for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Another amazingly written novel by Ryan, I will be a forever fan of the way that she writes her thrillers.

This was a good well rounded written book! Enough twists and turns to keep my interest. I would highly recommend this book!

OMG! This is Hank Phillippi Ryan at her best. This book kept me turning pages and the ending was a total surprise.

Wow!

This book twists and turns in all directions before coming into focus. I feel like my head is still spinning.

I enjoyed reading this novel and would highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys a good mystery.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for fair and honest review.

Hank Phillippi Ryan's books just keep getting better and better. The unexpected twists and turns in this page turner will leave you satisfied and craving more!

A big pharmaceutical company has a drug that promises to help with fertility, but the side effects are horrific and kept secret from the public. An investigative reporter wants to expose them. A sales rep with the company has her own agenda.

Fantastic premise to this book and I loved everything about it. I love books that are told from different points of view. The only problem I had with this book was the POVs got a little confusing. That would be my only criticism. Everything else hit the mark.

WOW. Ok I admit it. I am late to the party when it comes to having every read one of HPR’s books and all I have to say for myself is “For SHAME”! Hooked and can’t wait to get some more added to my TBR pile.

Fast paced, well written and I have to say when you call a book a “suspenseful read”, you better mean in in my mind. And yes, this book can carry that title on its mantle for sure.

Twists, turns, investigative reporting skills at their best, applied to this story.

I will say, it wasn’t a five star due to the fact that I felt a tad overwhelmed with the many POV’s offered up and that could all be on me. You do have to be in the right head space when reading and based upon the plot and how fast I ripped thru this book, it was a great read. But I personally, love singular, maybe two at best, POV’s in storylines. Just me....BUT this was one I recommend and will be digging into her other books, FOR SURE!

Thanks Forge Books!

This is first book I read from this author and I couldn’t put it down. Very good thriller and kept me hooked from the first chapter. The characters are believable and the reader keeps guessing until the end. I would definitely recommend this book.

i know a lot of people really liked this book, but it hate to say it, it just wasn't for me. i mean the plot was overall just super slow and i really couldn't get into it all at all. but, i mean, someone might have better luck since they might have just liked it more. but, the writing was kinda bad, but it also had it's moments.

I’ve read several books by this author and was fortunate to hear her speak in person. Excellent speaker.
This novel is told from several points of view. There are twists around every corner.
An investigative reporter goes undercover in a large pharmaceutical company to gather information about a fertility drug.
The family who own the company also has many secrets. This novel deals with deceit, justice, and revenge. It’s a great read.
I received a free arc from Net Galley for an honest review.

Excellent, well written - of course, It's a Hank Phillippi Ryan book. This had a twist I didn't see coming, and usually do. Bravo!!

Blown away yet again by the ever amazing Hank Phillippi Ryan! This book took me on so many twist and turns and right at the end slugged me in the guy with a what the heck! LOVED THAT!! So shocked!

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

Ok this really pains me to write…. but I did not love this book. I have loved so many of Hank’s books and I honestly expected to be singing this one’s praises. But it just didn’t work for me.

I have to be careful in what I talk about this book because so much of what I didn’t love is major spoilers. BUT normally I love unreliable narrators, secrets, and twists. But it was too much. Like I was getting whiplash from the twists. Keeping track of the characters and their motives was hard. I did like the peek into the past- the events that set the current story up, though. And the ending……….. well, it just stretched my believability a wee bit too much.

I almost think that this might work better as a movie.

Bottom line: For me, this was just not as good as it could have been. I love HPR’s books- so any of her other standalones or Jane Ryland series- get them. You will LOVE them!