We all lie a little, but Ryan's characters elevate the lie to an art form. Plumb the depths of deceit and dive into the challenges of this twisty, devious tale!

Another phenomenal book by Hank Phillippi Ryan! The First to Lie had so many twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end. I love how no one was who they seemed, and I didn't know who was who which was a great thing, because it kept me on the edge of my seat. Just when I thought I had it figured out, another scenario happened that blew my theory out the window. I absolutely loved this book, and I highly recommend it!

The First to Lie is a book that will keep you guessing until the very last page. When you think you have it figured out, you’ll turn the page and question everything you thought you knew.

You’ll follow a strong cast of characters that you’ll grow to both love and hate. The story centers around the pharmaceutical company Pharminex, and the miracle drug, Monifan, they’ve recently developed. This is a story of deception, jealousy, and justice- it is a must read!

I highly suggest this book for anyone looking for a fast-paced suspense that will keep you at the edge of your seat.

Holy twists, turns, flips, and spins! My mind is still reeling! And not just from all the different directions that this book pulled me in, and believe me, there were many; But also from all of the different POVs and characters that were in this book. Who even am I? Who even were they? I’m not even sure about anything or anyone right now.

Okay actually, I am sure of one thing-a person a in particular, right now, and that is Hank Phillippi Ryan. Before reading this book, I had heard of her name, and was familiar with the title of this book (as I had seen it on Netgalley of course), and I also have one of her older novels sitting on my iPad, just waiting to be read (and read it shall be, and soon) but I hadn’t actually read anything of hers until receiving this arc. And Hank Phillippi Ryan, now that I am familiar with you, I just have to ask: what have you done to me?! I am warped! Seriously, there were so many characters in this story, and so much going on, that I’m not sure who I am (am I still me? who even knows anymore). Between this book, and everything that’s happening in the batshit crazy year that is 2020, nothing is right and I am not sure what is even happening anymore.

Okay but in all seriousness, this book. THIS BOOK. I don’t want to say too much because, spoilers, so i’m going to keep this kind of vague, and I feel that you will get all you need to know from the synopsis. Other than that, its best to go in blind for the best reading experience possible.

BUT.

Wow.

You are going to be blown away.

You never see this coming. You’ll be riveted, on the edge of your seat, flipping through the pages in anticipation of what’s going to come next because you just have to know. You’ll be tossed around in every direction possible, and before you can even recover from the whiplash of the last twist thrown your way, another one will come at you, and when the final revelation comes, you. Will. Be. Shocked. You may think that you had it figured out but. NOPE.

Are you intrigued yet?

This was a flawlessly written, addictive novel centered around the devastation wrought by a large pharmaceutical company and the family that owns it. It’s about justice, deceit, and revenge, and it’s utterly compelling.

Hank Phillippa Ryan excellently crafted a story with a well woven plot that is excellently executed and keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

Highly recommend!

This story moves like lightning! It is a classic case of just one more chapter before I go to bed. And then, just one more. . . Loved it! I wish I had a lie detector that worked on book characters after reading The First to Lie.

Was so excited to get an ARC of this upcoming novel ! What an amazing book ! This book will keep you on your toes throughout the whole book. Will you be able to keep track of all the lies ? Of who is lying to who ? OMG ! So suspenseful ! One of my favorite books about this author is that her books are set here in my home state, Massachusetts. So a lot of her background is familiar for me. This is a thriller from the get go and you will not want to put it down ! I assure you ! There are 2 main female characters and 1 male character. The hardest part is trying to figure out who is good and is trying to do the right thing. Or figuring out if they are on the side of evil and up to no good ! This is a story like no other ! Highly recommend this to anyone who likes a mystery / thriller or anyone who is a fan of Hank Phillippi Ryan. And if you have never read any of her books. this is a good one to start with !

Great book!! Will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end!! Great job Hank! I always enjoy her books. Looking forward to the next one..

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

A horrific betrayal sets in motion a plan for revenge that will generate deceptions, spill closely-held secrets, and draw several women into its dangerous web.

Nora Quinn takes on a new job: sales representative for Pharminex, a pharmaceutical giant touting an off-label use for one of its drugs. She spends her days visiting doctors’ offices and chatting with the women in their waiting rooms.

Ellie Berensen, with an unquestionable belief in justice and a penchant for reputable reporting, is a new-hire reporter for the fledgling Channel 11. She spends her days investigating a potential blockbuster story that will earn her full-time status at the new station.

Meg Weest is a roving assistant producer for Channel 11 and, as such, serves as Ellie’s assistant. She’s bubbly, enthusiastic, and perhaps a tad obnoxious. She’s also Ellie’s neighbor.

One cause will bring these three women together. One ethically digs for the truth while another will use any means necessary to reach her goal. One is an enigma, with an agenda all her own. But Pharminex is their singular target. The pharmaceutical giant, putting profits above all, has kept a dangerous secret. Will the women find a way to expose the deception or will the fabric of lies they’ve spun become their undoing?

Told from several points of view, this compelling narrative takes an occasional step into the past as it winds its way through a delicious cat-and-mouse tale that pulls readers into the telling of the tale from the very first page. At its core, it reveals the destructiveness of lies and revenge as it weaves a tapestry of power, betrayal, treachery, and greed.

With well-defined, nuanced characters and a twisty, intriguing plot, readers are kept guessing as unexpected revelations keep changing everything. At the same time, closely-held family secrets, personal agendas, and corporate machinations build suspense while a pervasive underlying uneasiness ratchets up the tension and keeps the pages turning.

As the narrative approaches its explosive denouement, readers will find everything they think they know becomes something entirely different in this captivating, unputdownable tale. Don’t miss it.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Macmillan-Tor/Forge / Forge Books and NetGalley

4 stars very good unusually thriller about bad medicine family deception ,reporting and people not being who they say they they are It is different from other books because it is told in chapters by different people but they are not who they say they You even go back in time

WOW what a book! This is the first Hank Phillipi Ryan book I’ve had the pleasure of reading and I can tell you with confidence that I will be reading more! So many twists and turns. Just when I thought I had it figured out....I didn’t! I loved how each chapter was the story building of each character. And how they intertwined with each other. The story just builds and builds with a fantastic twisty ending you won’t see coming! Read the book! That’s all I can say. You won’t be disappointed! Great book 📖

THE FIRST TO LIE
If Escher Wrote Books
Like a circle in a spiral . . ., like a series of fun house mirrors, or perhaps like those Russian nesting dolls, Hank Phillippi Ryan’s THE FIRST TO LIE spun through layers of truth in a mystifying kaleidoscope of “what if” possibilities. I suspected many of the tricksters, and many more that weren’t, and was ambushed by some I never saw coming. Disguises rival Shakespeare’s plays, and moral dilemmas hark back to ethics discussions . . . is it ever moral to lie? Do ends justify means? It’s rare for a book to be both an escape from reality and an illumination of truth, but this one qualifies. “Lies have a complicated half-life.”
Don’t we all play roles in life? Teacher self, party-goer self, church self, date self . . . but how far do we take it? Can one lose oneself in the pretense? I found myself thinking of those flip books with the pages cut in thirds, to switch heads, bodies, feet. I used various-colored post-its to highlight significant passages and distinguish characters. My book is now a rainbow porcupine.
I believe this book will speak to many people, on a deep and intimate level, exploring issues that affect us all. I don’t want to “spoil” with too many details, but this story mirrored friends’ experiences with fertility clinics, false promises given to the hopeful. Boston’s snowy spring and car crashes awakened memories of a trip one spring break, surprised by the snow still on the ground and carrying the weight of a student’s fatal crash just a week before . . . so many links to real lives, so many details magnifying the theme of mirrors and deception. I want to be in a book club to discuss every nuance, and I’ll be re-reading in August when the book comes out because, as a favorite professor said, “Any book worth reading is worth reading twice.”

Hank Phillippi Ryan writes intricately detailed mysteries. I realized early on I must pay close attention to those details or chance becoming confused about what is really happening. . The characters are complex and their motives are often hidden. The question to keep in mind is: when the one thing you want most in life is taken away forever how might you react? Just when I thought I had it all worked out a new bit of evidence occurred to show me how wrong I was. If you want an easy linear read, this book is not for you. However, if you like strong characters who will fight for justice no matter the cost you will enjoy The First to Lie.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from the author and Macmillan Tor/Forge through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
#TheFirstToLie #NetGalley.

Amazing book! I couldn't put it down, every time I thought I had it figured out, something came along and made me re-think. So far, this author has never failed to keep me glued to the book.

Thanks to the author for the ARC.

Pharmaceutical companies have caught the attention of Hank Phillippi Ryan in her latest book, THE FIRST TO LIE. Specifically, the Big Pharma company of Pharminex is being investigated. A "miracle drug" called Monifan is being used to treat infertility, with astonishing results. But not the desired outcome for many. We follow the family that owns the company, and the devastating results of a family member's experience.
Ryan isn't contented to tell a simple story, however, because she knows there is no such thing. Every story ties into another and another, until a web has been woven to the point you are beginning to have doubts as to what to believe. Within this dizzying framework comes the story that shocks you and leaves you reading as fast as you can! Characters are complex and often only give you teasingly small amounts of information. Ryan has pulled out all the stops and delivered a book that is amazing and continuously racing forward to the final shock. So good, I immediately started reading it again!

Wow! I had to stay up past my bedtime to finish this one. Big pharma is going down, but who all is it taking with it? I finally realized I needed to quit guessing who was telling the truth. I was wasting brain power trying to figure out who was lying. I could not stop reading once the reveals began. Clever, intriguing, and so sad that this basic drug issue really is true.

This was a great read.... the author kept me drawn into the story from start to finish. Just when I thought I had it figured out she would throw. Wrench in my theory! A must read for anyone who loves a good thriller.

Another suspense novel by Hank Phillippi Ryan that will keep you up reading past your bedtime.

The first lie is the start of lies that change lives. Keeping the story straight is a lot of work for those living the lives they have created by their lies.

We follow Nora, Ellie, Meg, Lacey, Brooke as well as the Vanderwald family who own Pharminex. Great wealth doesn't always mean a happy life free if loss.

Nora Quinn is a pharmaceutical sales rep for Pharminex. Ellie Berensen is a investigative reporter for a new TV station who is focused on Monifan, a drug manufactured by Pharminex.

The plot seems pretty simple but is quite complex as the characters reveal themselves and their histories while they delve into revealing the truth behind this miracle drug.

A H.E. A. (Happy Ever After) ending to lighten the heavy drama of drugs gone rogue and an industry that allows these things to happen.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge.

It took me several chapters to start getting into this. There were a lot of twists and sometimes the story got so confusing that I'd have to reread sections multiple times.

Although The First to Lie's basic story isn't new, Hank Phillippi Ryan tells it in a fresh and exciting style, justifying Publisher's Weekly starred review and making me wish that PW could give it more than their highest recommendation. Ryan's experienced hand in this genre reveals itself at the start of this stand-alone novel. It did not take me long to become immersed and once I was in it was all I could do to hang on for the ride. I'm usually pretty good at sussing out clues and figuring out mysteries well before the end of a book, but The First to Lie had me guessing until almost the end. Who was who? Who was lying, or rather, who wasn't lying? The story gets tied up just a tad too neatly but that does not detract from this "can't put it down" book. Kudos to Ryan! I hope she's working on another one right now.

It is tough for me to review this novel without biases, since Hank is a friend (and really, she is a friend to the whole mystery community!) I will do my best. The novel opens as we move back and forth between the points of view of Ellie Berensen and Nora Quinn. Ellie is an investigative reporter, and Nora is an employee at the company Pharminex. Ellie is investigating Pharminex, and Nora is starting to discover why. The company has been producing a drug, Monifan, and encouraging doctors to prescribe it off-label for infertility. Unfortunately, a small percentage of women are rendered totally infertile by the drug, and so it harms many rather than helps. Pharminex is owned by the Vanderwald family, and in flashbacks, we see into the points of view of Brooke Vanderwald, the heiress daughter, and Lacey Vanderwald, the wife of heir son Trevor. We know, too, that in the present day, Trevor has died under mysterious circumstances. So there is a lot to untangle here.

Like THE MURDER LIST, the story moves in unexpected directions, although once I caught on to the theme, I figured out many of the twists. This did not spoil the story for me, though - I was invested in the characters and their different journeys. I also loved the lush descriptions, particularly in the Vanderwald sections, which drip with opulence as they examine the lives of the moneyed elite. Hank is good at describing with laser-pointed accuracy, giving details that allow the reader to slip right back into the aughts.