Grady Barber grew up in Emerald Springs and got a break in a movie based on the Noah’s Ark story.  Although Grady’s movie career was a one hit wonder, he did have another success with song, and is thus qualified to be the Celebrity Judge for Emerald Springs Idyll.

Worse comes to worst, however, when Aggie happens upon a recently murdered Grady, just as the finals of the Emerald Springs Idyll are set to begin.  Aggie knows she is supposed to stay out of police investigations, having put more than her two cents in when there were other murders in town.  Can she stop herself from trying to find a killer anyway?

Throughout A Lie for a Lie Emilie Richards does a masterful job of giving each character a personality stamped as their very own, using dialogue which feels quite natural to the individual speaking, as well as actions that really do make sense in context of the character’s history and present.  The small town feel of Emerald Springs does spring to life as the reader pictures the various places around the town.  In the inherent paradox of finding a minister’s wife drawn into solving a murder and contemplating the morals of those around her, the story itself is well thought out and leads the reader to mentally question suspect after suspect along with Aggie.