LIE TO ME - Starr Ambrose
Pocket Books
ISBN: 978-1-4165-8664-7
December 2008
Romantic Suspense

Present Day; Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Eleanor Coggins may come from a working class background and her career has been less than stellar so far, but she excels at one thing. She makes a very good friend whose loyalty survives her friend. Janet's final letter convinces Eleanor that Janet found something that caused her wealthy husband, Banner Westfield, to murder her. Eleanor breaks into the Westfield mansion during a large party to find whatever it was that Janet had found. And that's how Jack Payton, Banner's half-brother, discovers Eleanor picking the lock on Banner's desk.

Now, Jack Payton is the black sheep -- an illegitimate one -- of the Westfield family, so when it appears someone else is about to discover the two of them where they have no business being, Jack, covers for their presence by kissing Eleanor. He then announces that they are engaged to be married. Eleanor goes along with the ruse, figuring it will give her more chance to go through Banner's files to uncover the truth. The pretend engagement, however, becomes more complex when she learns Jack was just released after two years in prison for vehicular manslaughter, and that Jack has a twelve-year-old daughter he is seeking custody of. He had been unaware of Libby's existence until recently; she was the product of a long ago, forgotten affair. Libby came to live with his mother, Elizabeth Westfield, when her grandparents could no longer keep her.

Not everything is as it seems in LIE TO ME. The plot unfolds with several twists that maintain a high level of suspense. The characters and their relationships are believable. Jack, Eleanor, and Libby are likable; Banner is not, while Elizabeth Westfield is not easy to pin down. Other players of note are Police Chief Ben Thatcher -- why is he hanging around? -- and a colorful ex-con named Rocky.

LIE TO ME is an excellent debut novel. What I liked most about it was the heroine's evolution from a previously ineffectual woman called Nora by her family into a capable, take-charge dynamo soon known as Ellie, thanks to Jack's dubbing her thus. With this stellar (pun intended) beginning, Starr Ambrose is a name to watch for in the romantic suspense genre.

Jane Bowers