LIVING LIES ~~ Dawn Brown
Samhain Publishing
ISBN: 1-60504-047-9
June 2008
Romantic Suspense

Present Day

It's been twelve years since Haley's older sister Michelle disappeared, and after all this time, her remains have finally been found -- in her grandmother's basement. Now everyone is starting to suspect Haley's father, who died years ago of a heart attack, but all that changes when the original suspect comes roaring back into town. Dean Lawson had a screaming match with Michelle the night she disappeared, and everyone believes he killed her. As if Haley's life isn't bad enough, what with taking care of her drunken mother without much help from her brother Garrett or other sister Paige, now Haley has to deal with the accusations being leveled at her family. But Dean has come back with information that could rock this quiet little town, and Haley must team up with the one man who could endanger her if she wants to find out what really happened to her sister, and allow her family some peace at last.

With such a promising start, Dawn Brown's LOVING LIES is so all over the place, it was hard to get a handle on the story. Every single person in this book is depressed or angry, which made it extremely difficult to get into. Haley isn't the most likable woman when she's first introduced, and although I could understand her attitude because of everything that's happened in the past twelve years, it didn't make her very sympathetic. At one point in the book, Haley is so fed up with her mother that she decides to destroy Michelle's room, taking "grim delight" in her mother's despair. The only character I cared about was Dean who maintained an air of mystery around him, while it was obvious he wasn't a danger to anyone. Another problem I had with the story was how confusing the first few chapters are, as the author tries to introduce anyone who knew Michelle, but the constant scene hopping made it difficult to grasp the intensity and urgency of the suspense.

An interesting premise wasn't enough to save LOVING LIES from too many intricate plot points and characters, but that doesn't mean I won't give Dawn Brown another try.

Courtney Michelle