This was a great mystery. I did not guess the killer. It was so good to see Ffion and Leo again. George was a good addition as her new partner. Loved the dog Dave. Good ending. Hoping there is more to come.

I don't think the original producers of reality shows gave much thought to the millions of story lines their shows could/would generate. The plot lines I've read centered around these shows are better than alot of the shows themselves. When Clare Mackintosh sat down to write A GAME OF LIES, she had many examples of the best and worst of human nature to include in her book. The setting and the idea behind this game seem raw enough to guarantee someone was going to get hurt.....but murder? Probably wasn't in the plan. As the investigation moves forward, readers find out way too much information about the participants in the game.....pretty much everything except who the killer is. But this detective is not going to let a murderer escape.

This book was really alot of fun to read. My guess as to who the killer was kept changing until I just gave up and was surprised at the reveal.

The Games of Lies is a welcome second book in the DC Morgan series. DC Ffion Morgan and DC Leon Brady are back, this time solving a case surrounding a reality tv show. I love the contemporary use of the reality show being filmed on the border of Wales and England. The spin on the reality show sets up a great plot with lots of twist and turns. It plays out as almost a game of truth or dare on steroids. The author, Clare Mackintosh leads the reader down many paths, leaving us always guessing until the end. The resolution very nicely ties up with no loose ends, except hopefully another book in the series.
Thanks to @SOURCEBOOKS Landmark @thoughtsfromapage for the early read

DC Morgan is back in action when a reality tv production sets up shop in her backyard - Dragon Mountain. Seven contestants must find out the others’ deepest secrets or risk confronting their biggest fear in the confession pod. When one of the contestants goes missing, DC Morgan is tasked with getting answers from people who aren’t willing to offer up their trust…

A GAME OF LIES is the second book in the DC Morgan series (the first being THE LAST PARTY) by Clare Mackintosh, and brings us back into Morgan’s small Welsh town full of its familiar characters, families, and lost loves.

Adding a reality television element to this story was such a fun idea and opened up this world and story to some new and interesting characters!

However, I found the plot of the television show (and the secrets) to be immensely lacking, though seeing Leo and Ffian back together again was such a treat!

A fine read, but not one that leaves me itching for a third.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: April 23

A Game of Lies is the newest book by Clare Mackintosh. This one is a follow-up to her previous book. The Last Party. Both books are set in North Wales and feature Detective Ffion Morgan. This novel revolves around a reality game show being filmed in the woods of Ffion's hometown. A murder leads to an investigation and secrets are quickly revealed. This book portrays a human's thirst for money and what that greed will ultimately lead to while also reminding the reader that there are plenty of good people (and dogs!) in the world. Read and enjoy!

A Game of Lies centers around the reality TV show Exposure. The contestants are expecting a physical challenge in the woods type contest. Shortly after starting they are told that they will be vying to protect their deep dark secrets.

A tale of lies, deception and betrayal. We the readers are tasked with deciding who to believe and what the true motives of everyone involved are.

What would you do to protect your secret?

I was interested in all the contestants. I wish I had known a little bit more about each one before the reality show began. I liked seeing some familiar characters from the first book in the series as well as some new faces. There is a slight romance aspect to the story involving main characters. I liked both of those characters and speculating where it would go.

There is quite a bit of Welsh language in the book, but is pretty easy to follow once I became familiar with it.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for the arc via netgalley.

Reality shows are all the rage today and A Game of Lies fits right in! The second installment of DC Ffion Morgan is Clare Mackintosh's latest series as it follows the first but can be read as a stand-alone. Every bit as good as the first!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC!

I really enjoyed the premise of this book.
It’s a reality tv show where all the contestants have a secret that they don’t want revealed. First, one of the contestants goes missing. Then, someone ends up murdered and pretty much everyone has a motive.

I loved all the POVs and how you can see they are different than how the show portrays them to be. I also thought it was interesting to kind of put a spotlight on the morals of these types of shows and the people who participate in them.
I really liked it. It’s split into 3 parts and part one is a little slow but that’s usually expected in this kind of book. Part 2 and on was hard to put down though! It was fun seeing what everyone’s secrets were and slowly figuring out who did the killing.

I enjoyed it! If you like a good who-dun-it then you’ll probably like this! I’m excited to see if there will be more to this series.

Thank you to the publisher for a free Netgalley copy.

I enjoyed this second book in the DC Morgan series more than book one. In this murder mystery, we are looking for a suspect among a group of regular people on a reality competition show.

I found the mystery to be entertaining and enjoyed all of the main characters in the book. We got to know DC Morgan more, as well as, her partner who I enjoyed. Mackintosh spins a good story and to me it was extremely fast paced. Def recommend this series.

This book takes the reader to an idyllic rural area along the Northern Wales/ England border. A new reality show is being shot here, whose participants do not know until the start that they are participating in a merciless game. Each of the participants has a secret and the goal of the show is to reveal the secrets of the other participants so that their own is preserved.
Shortly after the start one of the participants disappears without a trace. The show continues, but things take a turn for the worse when a murder happens on location but away from the ever present cameras. DC Ffion Morgan begins her investigation and as the tracks extend beyond the Welsh border, Detective Leo Brady joins her (there seems to be a history but I haven’t read the first book in the series).
This book has quite a few viable suspects, the contestants, the crew, a blogger just outside the grounds … everyone is hiding something … this is a book about secrets and lies, mental health and the compulsion of reality tv of contestants putting themselves out there but also of an audience attracted to watching people expose themselves … The mystery is well plotted, I enjoyed my reading.

The author's unique locations and vivid descriptions enrich the story, while a murder mystery unfolds in the realm of reality TV, featuring a diverse cast of suspects, family, officers, and even a memorable dog. Though the plot is solid, it occasionally feels stagnant, lacking excitement. The protagonist, Ffion, brings drama with her unpredictable attitude, but her interactions with love interest Leo disappoint. The narrative offers a twist on the murder mystery genre with cozy vibes, though keeping track of characters proves challenging. Overall, while the story has its merits, it falls short of being truly engaging, leaving hopes for Ffion's character development and relationship dynamics in future installments.

Thank you Netgalley, Clare Mackintosh, and Sourcebooks landmarks for the ebook! Although the dialect in this book made it a bit more difficult to keep track I really enjoyed this storyline! I love a good game show gone wrong, stuck in the wilderness, wondering what Halloween went who done it!

Contestants have gathered in Wales for what they thought was to be a Survivor-type reality show, only to find they've been duped; the losers will have their deepest, darkest, most damaging secrets revealed to the viewing public, and their loved ones. That fact makes everyone mad, and even makes someone mad enough to kill . . .

And, we're off and running in the second book of what I hope is a long-running DC Morgan series. Ffion's got a lot on her plate this time around: solving a juicy murder, dealing with an overly-devoted dog, and denying her feelings for another investigator. This was a fine, fun whodunnit that ends with the promise of more good things to come.

Book two in the DC Morgan Mystery series. I just read book one and wasn't really a fan of it. Book two was better for me, though. Much shorter, at least. LOL

This time, Ffion and her new partner Georgina are sent to the set of a reality TV show, Exposure, when a contestant goes missing. While they are trying to locate the contestant, they are also trying to solve a murder. This brings Ffion back in contact with Detective Leo Brady from the first book. This was the best storyline in the book for me. (That and Ffion's needy dog, Dave.)

Again, way too many characters to follow who all get their own point of view.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is my first book in the DC Morgan series but is the second installment. I absolutely loved this and now have to go back and read the first one. With that being said, I had no problem reading this first and getting up to speed on what's going on. I love the reality show premise where seven contestants are competing to out one another's secrets. DC Ffion Morgan is a complex flawed character I found myself both loving and hating. Mostly because of how stubborn she was about her feelings for Leo! The mystery had me hooked and I had no clue who the killer was. A really twisty tense story with colorful characters set in a beautiful Welsh setting. I especially enjoyed getting to know DC George Kent and hope there will be more from her. And of course the true hero of the book is the rescue dog, Dave! Highly recommend for mystery fans.

I was super excited to dive into this one, but unfortunately it left me disappointed. It didn't have me dying to read more.

The setting and descriptions were great!

I enjoyed THE LAST PARTY so I was excited to get my hands on the sequel early. You don’t necessarily need to read the first to understand what is going on in this one. This is less of a thriller and more of a mystery/whodunnit. This had the same feel but wasn’t as fun for me. I thought more was going to happen with the plot and it kind of fizzled out. With that said, I enjoyed the setting and the characters. I would definitely read another Ffion Morgan novel since I loved a flawed MC!

Decided to DNF this unfortunately, I really did not enjoy the first book in this series and this second book started off much the same.

Thank you net galley for the earc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh is the second in the DC Ffion Morgan police procedural, taking place on the border between Wales and England.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Sourcebooks Landmark (in particular Cristina Arreola for sending me a widget,   and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.



Series Background: (Warning: May Contain Spoilers from Previous Books)
DC Ffion Morgan works out of her home-town of Cwm Coed, on the Welsh-English border. Her boss is DI Malek.  She doesn't always do things by the book. She is recently divorced, but it's a small town, so she sees him a lot, as well as her mom Elen and younger sister Seren (who is actually Ffion's daughter).  She has adopted a rescue dog called Dave, who suffers from separation anxiety.  In her last case, she ran into Detective Leo Brady, who was supposed to be a one-night fling. Feelings are lingering.

   

My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions):
Seven reality show contestants find themselves stuck on a mountain, and discover that the show is not exactly what they signed up for.  Each has a secret that they do not want revealed, but the whole show is set up so that those secrets will be discovered on air, live for all to see....much to the detriment of the contestant.   Although Ffion has never watched the show, she finds her interest increasing when she realizes her drinking buddy, Ceri, (the local postal worker) is part of the show.

When one of the contestant's disappears, Ffion is called in to find him.  But soon it is more than a disappearance that will be front and center.  There is a murderer she will have to find.  She has a new partner to work with, DC Georgina Kent, but finds her rather cold.

Meanwhile, she is working with Leo again, and it isn't going so smoothly this time.


My Opinions:
I found this one dragged.  It was another seemingly long book (the first one in the series had a slow pace as well).  The plot was good, if somewhat predictable.

Again, there were a lot of suspects, but I  didn't really care who the killer was.  Never a good thing in a crime novel.  The story was told from multiple perspectives, and this worked quite well (it didn't in the last book).

The book is about lies and secrets, as well as reality tv.  Not a fan of any of them.  It is also about mental health issues, and that was handled very well.

I still love Ffion...and Dave was a great addition (yes, I'm a dog lover).  I also liked George. I had been hoping that Leo would return, and he did, but it was somewhat predictable.  So, I am a fan of the characters, which gain depth with each book.

Overall, even though I found it a little long and predictable, I still think it was a good book, and will be reading the next one!

Reality show contestants find out they are in fact on a show about exposing their deepest, darkest secrets. Then a contestant disappears. Detective Ffion Morgan is already on the case when a murder occurs and everything is thrown into even more turmoil.

I really liked this book. I love the concept, a favorite subgenre of mine is reality show mysteries/thrillers. Ffion is such a great leading character, really strong and smart with some relatable flaws. Her possible burgeoning romance with another character, carried through from the first book, is well worth rooting for. The mystery is also a strong one with great twists and turns. I definitely recommend this book-but read the first one first.