Lies by T. M. Logan is
his debut psychological thriller. From page one readers will
be riveted to the storyline and it never lets up. The plot
focuses on what can happen to someone’s normal life
when, in one moment, it comes crashing down with the main
culprit, lies and betrayals.
The plot begins with Joseph Lynch and his 4-year-old son,
William, navigating North London traffic when William spots
his mother’s car exiting the highway. A spur-of-the-moment
detour leads to disaster. Mel, Joe’s wife and William’s
mother, is spotted at the Premier Inn bar arguing with her
best friend’s husband, tech millionaire Ben Delaney.
After Mel leaves, Joe confronts Ben with a civil conversation,
but it quickly develops into a confrontation. Words lead to
shoving, and Joe pushes Ben a little too hard where he falls
and bangs his head. At the same time, he must help his son
who is having a major asthma attack, leaving Ben unattended.
Unfortunately, when he goes back later, Ben is missing and
so is Joe’s phone. Later that night Mel is confronted
and delivers her first lie, saying it is only a business meeting.
Eventually, she admits to an affair that begins a downward
spiral for Joe’s life. The more he tries to unravel
the lies, the more deception he discovers. As the lies gain
momentum, he realizes he can trust no one and must mount a
personal investigation to find the truth. Accused of having
something to do with Ben’s disappearance, Joe must find
Ben to prove his innocence.
The storyline raises some valid and important issues about
technology and social media. Joe realizes that someone is
manipulating his text messages, the home PC, his Facebook
account, photos, and anything else they can get their hands
on. It becomes clear the crime and the technology were going
hand-in-hand.
Because social media is an antagonist “I wrote this
quote, “I was struck by what a strange view you could
get of someone’s life from looking at his or her Facebook
profile.” I do not think Facebook reflects someone’s
real life. No one is as happy as they appear on Facebook nor
as angry as they appear on Twitter. I once read about an academic
study by Birmingham City University that showed how Facebook
was involved in 40 to 50 murders. People had a dispute and
became antagonistic; some pretended to be others, luring people
into dangerous situations, or to make it appear someone was
alive when they actually were not.”
It is interesting to have a story written from the male point
of view. Joe is an average, contented, trusting man, happily
married man, a daunting father, and a respected teacher with
a wife he loves and a son he worships. But he is also very
naïve, lying to himself as he tries to persuade himself
that he was not betrayed. He is the kind of character a reader
can root for.
“Joe is similar to me. I am a father like Joe. What
he says about William, his four-year-old, is what I would
say. William is based on my son at that age, including his
traits, games, and challenges. Both Joe and I are family oriented.
Just like William, my son was obsessed with cars and one of
his first words was the car company, Audi. The scene in the
book is true, where we would sit in traffic, calling out car
names. My son matched up the shapes of his toy cars with the
real cars owned by myself, my wife, and my parents. He is
righteous, every man, an average man, a good father and a
loving husband. In the beginning of the book, he is optimistic,
kind, steady, and honest. It takes him a while to figure out
bad things can happen to good people. He wants to see the
best in someone, which leads them to take advantage of him.
People manipulate him because they could predict what he would
do and how he would react.”
This gripping psychological thriller is a twisted page-turner
that will keep readers guessing with an unexpected turn. There
are layers of lies, secrets, and betrayals.
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