~ About the Book ~
Even the most admired families have secrets to hide . . .
Nina Fischer carries a camera wherever she goes—so she can view life through a filter. Safely. After her mother abandoned her to the streets, Nina has kept people at a distance, including her uncle, who adopted Nina and her sister. Wealthy and proud, he is a good man, a fair judge, and someone many in San Antonio admire.
But when he is murdered, and the detective assigned to the case accuses Nina of the crime, she knows she must act. She’s determined to use her journalism background to find the real killer. The two men in her life want to help, but can she trust them? She’s known Rick since they were children, but now he’s an attorney whose political aspirations seem more important than Nina’s tragic loss. And then there’s Aaron, a news videographer; using their friendship could break the biggest story of his career.
Following the evidence leads Nina on a journey of discovery into her father’s shocking masquerade as a law-abiding, family-loving Christian. Unlocking these secrets could prove fatal, but it’s the only way Nina will ever be able to trust love again.
Combining romance and suspense, bestselling author Kelly Irvin’s Tell Her No Lies is a high-stakes race for the truth.
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release date: 13 November 2018
Pages: 352
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
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~ Excerpt ~
“Nina, please.”
A screamed whisper.
A chill spread across her bare neck above her T-shirt. She eased toward the kitchen door and put one hand on the solid wood frame. “Dad?”
No response.
Concern mixed with dread made a sour concoction in the pit of her empty stomach. She strode down the hallway that led to the living room and formal dining room on one side, her parents’ offices on the other. “Dad, is that you? Are you okay?”
Daffy shot past her and squeezed through the first door on the right. Mango held back, impeding Nina’s progress as she stared. The door to her dad’s study.
“Help me . . .”
Now a breathless whisper.
Nina touched the door with one finger. It swung open. “Dad? What’s wrong? Why are you whispering?”
A low whine told her Peanuts, Dad’s cocker spaniel, had beaten her to the room along with Daffy. Nina bent and picked up Mango, who weighed more than a small child. Her warm, tubby body offered comfort against a sudden chill. “I’m here. Dad, did you want something?”
No answer.
A petite Tiffany desk lamp cast just enough light for Nina to see that nothing seemed out of place. She cleared her throat. “Dad, where are you? You’re scaring me.”
Shadows created pockets filled with blackness. Books lined built-in shelves that covered an entire wall up to the eight-foot ceiling. The gold-and-auburn brocade drapes were pulled back and held with tasseled ropes, revealing the steady stream of rain running down two floor-to-ceiling windows. Fire bushes in the side yard scraped the windows in an annoying rustling sound.
The mammoth mahogany desk bore all the signs of a workaholic. A desktop computer, a laptop, and an iPad. Piles of papers. Law books stacked six and eight deep. Court briefs.
Her perusal of the room skidded to a stop. Behind the desk, one glass door to her dad’s gun cabinet gaped open. He never left it open. He always kept it locked and the key on his chain. Ever since she and her sister, Jan, had moved into a bedroom down the hall from Trevor’s room all those years ago.
The office smelled of old paper and books and something else. Something not good. Something that made her stomach turn over and her arms tighten around Mango. The cat squirmed and leaped from her arms.
The room smelled like blood.
Taken from “Tell Her No Lies” by Kelly Irvin
Copyright © 2018 by Kelly Irvin
Used by permission of http://www.thomasnelson.com
~ Review ~
If you like a good dose of family drama with your romantic suspense, then look no further. It’s all happening in this story! When the only father Nina has ever known is murdered, all the skeletons begin falling out of the closet. Add in (a) Detective No-Filter, who’s itching to arrest Nina, and (b) the two men vying for her affection, both of whom have a conflict of interest, and you’ve got a whole lot of tension, quite aside from the rising body count.
It was certainly a book that kept me turning the pages, but I found myself debating whether one particular character’s POV was necessary to the story. In some ways it would have had more of an impact if this character’s motives and actions had remained hidden for longer, although it perhaps could have worked if the character had been more developed—if there had been more of an internal struggle as the situation progressed or a greater sense that external pressures had painted the character into a corner.
Despite knowing what the aforementioned character was up to, there were still some surprises as the plot unfolded, and I confess I didn’t pick the culprit at the end—although in hindsight I probably should have at least wondered. Throughout the story, Nina also grapples with the idea of trusting a God people refer to as “Father” when both her earthly fathers have left her, and the one she knew and trusted is turning out to have a secret life that’s very different to the model Christian one he displayed to the world.
So, yes. Plenty going on, and I look forward to more romantic suspense titles from this author.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.
~ About the Author ~
Kelly Irvin is the author of more than a dozen Amish books. Her latest series I Every Amish Season, featuring recently released Through the Autumn Air as well as Beneath the Summer Sun. The first book in the series, Upon a Spring Breeze, won the 2018 Readers Choice Award from the Faith, Hope, and Love Chapter of Romance Writers of America in the long contemporary romance category. The series is published by Zondervan/HarperCollins Christian Publishing.
She is also the author of the Amish of Bee County series that includes The Saddle Maker’s Son, The Bishop’s Son and The Beekeeper’s Son. This last novel received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly, calling it “a delicately woven masterpiece.” The Beekeeper’s Son was a finalist in the national 2016 ACFW Carol Awards Contest in the romance category. Kelly is also the author of the Bliss Creek Amish series and the New Hope Amish series, both from Harvest House. She has also penned two romantic suspense novels, A Deadly Wilderness and No Child of Mine.
Among her other works are novellas in four collections, including An Amish Christmas Gift (Snow Angels), An Amish Market (Sweeter than Honey), An Amish Heirloom (The Midwife’s Dream), and An Amish Summer (One Sweet Kiss)
Kelly’s novel, Love Redeemed, was a 2015 finalist in the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Carol Awards contest.
Kelly is also the author of Tell Her No Lies, a romantic suspense novel that releases in November from Thomas Nelson Publishing. Publishers Weekly called her first romantic suspense novel, A Deadly Wilderness, “a solid romantic suspense debut.” She followed up with No Child of Mind. She worked as a newspaper reporter for six years writing stories on the Texas-Mexico border. Those experiences fuel her romantic suspense novels set in Texas.
The Kansas native is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Journalism. She has been writing nonfiction professionally for more than thirty years, including ten years as a newspaper reporter. She retired in 2016 after working 22 years in public relations for the City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department. She is a member of ACFW and Alamo City Christian Fiction Writers. In her spare time, she blogs, reads fiction, and loves her family.
Connect with Kelly: Website // Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest
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