This is my first five star read of the year. I listened to this on audiobook and I was completely addicted from the first chapter. Such a brilliant and original thriller! I read quite a lot of books in this genre and although I'm never that good at making preductions this one was impossible to guess. I actually went into this book blind and I think it made it even more enjoyable but I've copied the synopsis below.
This is going to be my recommendation for everyone in the weeks to come. I think it might even be my top thriller for 2024. It will be hard to beat!

This book is so hyped and I'm struggling to understand why!

I made a short video about it:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bxUK4m...

1. Intriguing premise and that's why I picked it up.

2. It's slow, boring, far-fetched and nothing really happens till the last chapters.

3. I like it more when clues are peppered throughout the book and I get to work out the mystery myself, instead of having the reveal at the end.

4. This is the second book I read this year in this "tell me, don't show me" vibe and I hope this is not a new trend :/

5. Might be your next cup of tea, it just wasn't mine.

What a very apt title for this book as titles so rarely, truly reflect what follows.

A really good story in so many ways. It kept me page turning to the extent that I had to say goodnight at one point or I would have kept going until the last page. Frankly, the break was a good idea as it offered an opportunity for parts of the plot to clarify themselves and crystallise.

Whereas so many books of fiction really do need total suspension of disbelief in order to enjoy same, this book is not one of them. For sure, the odd question or two pops up but, for me at least, nothing to derail the story.

I am now waiting patiently for Ashley Elston's next offering.

Oh my goodness! Buckle up for an amazing read!
Was not expecting this to be as amazing as it was.
Am even more impressed to now learn that this is the author’s first adult novel! Amazing- she. Writes so cleverly, every twist and turn a surprise.
Loved it! Cannot wait to read more from this author!
Make this a must read for 2024!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

First Lie Wins follows Evie Porter who is a con artist so is given a new identity, target and life on each of her jobs. Throughout her years in this career she has always protected her true identity as an escape plan that is until she meets someone claiming to be her at a party.

This book was absolutely incredible! Our narrator was very intelligent and it was fascinating to follow her thought process as she tried to outwit her boss and escape to her previous identity. As someone who reads a lot of thrillers, I'm usually quite good at guessing plot twists however this story was so unpredictable and incredibly addictive to read. The ending was genius and it was so satisfying to see clues from both the present and past timelines come together so seamlessly. I would love to go back and reread this and see if I can piece it together myself on a second read.

Overall I would recommend everybody reads this but be warned you will need to cancel any plans you have as this book will suck you in and you won't be able to put it down!

It's not you, it's me. I have to stop expecting too much of commercial thrillers. I had to DNF at around 20% because the prose, voice and characters were so generic, I couldn't connect to them at all.

Circumstances in Lucca's youth lead her to working for the mysterious 'Mr Smith'. He sets her undercover jobs, where she takes an alternative identity, and worms her way into peoples lives. She then awaits further instructions as to what her job will be.
This time around, she is 'Evie Porter', and is now living with Ryan, who is the 'mark' of her current job.
One day, at a party, 'Evie' is introduced to a woman, who looks remarkable like herself. Not only this, but she introduces herself by using Lucca's birth name. Could she be another employee of 'Mr Smith's?'
I won't spoil the story for others, but you are in for a great read.

i enjoyed this a lot more than I expected too. I was absolutely gripped and couldn't put it down. Engaging writing and well developed characters

So far, this year is proving to be a goodie, book-wise! I really enjoyed First Lie Wins.  It’s complex (in a good way), so cleverly plotted, and written in a way that keeps you reading on.  It’s so original in its plot and style of narration.
 
I don’t know how to begin explaining this one!  Never mind cat and mouse, this is cats and mice.
 
Essentially Evie Porter has a great life – her loving boyfriend Ryan, great friends, lovely house etc.  Only – none of this is real; Evie Porter doesn’t exist. 
 
Evie is an identity provided by her employer, along with details of her job and her mark, Ryan.  However things don’t go quite as planned. Evie starts to imagine this life as something permanent.  She’s kept her real identity safe to return to one day, that is until a woman who looks remarkably like Evie, rocks up using her real name.  What in the .. ?
 
So now Evie has to find a way to navigate this complex web of lies and stay one step ahead. Or seven.
 
It’s soooo good!  It’s fast paced and twisty and clever and gripping.  I didn’t want it to end.  It’s so visual, it’s one of those books that I kept mistaking for a TV show, looking forward to the next episode.  Actually, this would make an excellent TV series – think Killing Eve meets Orphan Black.
 
Evie is complex, whip smart and bad-ass, yet Elston writes her in a way that gives glimpses of vulnerability.  Whilst she’s shady at times, and doesn’t let things like right or wrong stand in her way, you can’t help but root for her.

A huge thanks to Headline and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book for review consideration.  All opinions are my own.

I really wanted to like this book. It started brilliantly, but the plot soon descended into impossiblity and incredulity. Good effort by a debut author.

A very intriguing read, struggled to put this down, with all the twists and turn I just had to know how it ended, and a very satisfying end too

First Lie wins is a book that had me from the first chapter.
Evie Porter is her name….well for this job she is, Mr Smith her boss sets her subjects, she gets to know as much about them as she can before she goes in to get whatever her boss has asked her to get, wether it be assets, data or dirt on the subject. This assignment is different though, she’s falling for Ryan and she can’t afford to mess this job up after what happened last time.
I’m not going to go into this book too much as it’s definitely better coming in blind. The storyline was decent and I liked the twists and turns along the way and also past jobs and how they affected the current one. I liked the main character, I thought she was a good lead with many qualities. The book flowed well and the chapters were a good length to neatly end on when snatching time to read.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Headline for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I chose to read a free eARC of First Lie Wins but that has in no way influenced my review.

Evie Porter is a ghost. She's recently moved in with her handsome, charming boyfriend, Ryan Sumner. She's getting to know the quaint little town where she now lives, in her new picturesque house, as well as having to deal with Ryan's somewhat overprotective friends. But Evie Porter doesn't really exist. Nor did Wendy Wallace, or Regina Hale or Mia Bianchi. Evie is given a job to complete by her boss. She does what's necessary and then she's gone, onto the next identity and the next job. But this job feels different. When an old friend of Ryan's turns up in town with a new girlfriend, Evie is stunned to discover the woman's name. Because it's her name. The name no one else knows. The more she questions the woman about her past, the more unnerved Evie becomes. Because this woman isn't from Eden, North Carolina. Evie is. And this woman's mother didn't pass away when she was in high school from cancer. Evie's did. It's like looking in a mirror, same eye colour, same complexion, same hair. But this is only the start of a game of nerves. The first move in a thrilling game of cat and mouse. And to make sure Evie survives this deadly game, she needs to stay one step ahead...

First Lie Wins is an exciting, compulsive, thrilling read that is nigh on impossible to put down for any length of time. It's gripping, immersive and totally addictive from the highly intriguing start to the riveting, edge-of-your-seat conclusion. What a book! It's full of energy, there is always something happening and the suspense is written so well, you will find it impossible to tear yourself away from Evie's terrifying, tricksy world. Her entire life, her personal interactions - they're all lies! But then she meets her next mark, Ryan Sumner. Evie needs to remember that Ryan isn’t as perfect as he looks on the outside and has dark secrets of his own. After all, that's why she's been sent after him! But spending time with Ryan (and his suspicious friends) whilst waiting for her next instruction from her boss, isn't so bad. Ryan owns a luxurious house he inherited from his grandparents, so Evie gets to play house whilst reminding herself that Ryan is definitely her future. There is no future there. He's the mark. First Lie Wins is such a thrilling read, probably the most exciting book I've read in a while and I loved it!

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. If you're a fan of fast-paced, psychological thrillers then First Lie Wins is an absolute must-read. It's so clever, with tight, punchy plotting, and twists and turns galore. You never really know exactly what's going on but that adds so much to the appeal of the book. Who can you trust? Evie? Ryan? Certainly not the mysterious boss, Mr Smith, who is pulling all of the strings. A whirlwind of a novel. So much fun, so utterly captivating, a true page-turner without a doubt. The characters are so well-written, I fully believed in them all. The ominous, all-seeing Mr Smith. Whip-smart, wily Evie with her shrewd, quick thinking. Devon, the hired help whose technological know-how knows no bounds, and Ryan with his own secrets who can't help but fall for a woman who doesn't exist. The plot is fast paced and thrilling from the moment you crack the spine. My notes for this book include 'chapter two - WTF??!!!!!!!'. When you get a reaction like that, you know you're onto a winner, right? All in all, I loved First Lie Wins! An early contender for my book of the year. Hugely gripping, full of irresistible suspense, pitch-perfect plotting all wrapped up in a thrilling, high energy read. More please, Ms Elston! Highly recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of First Lie Wins. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

I loved the 'cold open' this started with, something is wrong, sure, but you don't have a clue what yet.

Hard to write a review without giving spoilers but there is intrigue, no one is exacthly what they seem, there are thrills and there's a twist which you may or may not get before the book tells you.

Really good fun and well written. A good beach read or a cosy night in.






I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review which I have given.

I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller in which Evie Porter appears to have the perfect lifestyle with boyfriend Ryan. But the reality is very different because Evie Porter doesn't exist. She is working under a false identity for her unknown and sinister boss, Mr Smith and Ryan is her latest 'mark' . Will Evie be able to keep her eye on the ball to avoid getting on the wrong side of Mr Smith and provide him with what he wants from Ryan, or will she fail as Ryan has a few secrets of his own!

I was always a massive thriller reader but recently found myself getting less excited by them. I think I'd maybe read too many and could see the formula early on which dampened my experience. First Lie Wins was like a breath of fresh air and really reinstated my love of thrillers.

Evelyn "Evie" Porter is in a new relationship with Ryan Sumner. However, Evie is not real. Ryan thinks he is her boyfriend, but really he is Evie's next job.

Her boss, known only as Mr Smith who she has never met, has been assigning Evie (real name Lucca Marino) to jobs where she is tasked to seek out intel and other information from politicians to businessmen, giving her a new identity each time to do so.

When Ryan's friend James turns up at a party with his new girlfriend "Lucca Marino", Evie quickly realises that Mr Smith is out to get her but in this game of cat and mouse, Evie is always one step ahead.

This book is so clever and is meticulously and intricately planned out. The timeline switches between present day as Evie Porter but is interspersed with chapters from Evie's past aliases and jobs. You can see it all play out in your minds eye and it is such an entertaining read.

I would say that I probably wanted it to end about half a page earlier than it did but that's absolutely a personal thing. I highly recommend this book!

This captivating thriller is a great example of living up to the hype! ‘First Lie Wins’ by Ashley Elston is the Reese’s Book Club pick for this month and has been all over bookstagram, so I dove into my copy with a mixture of excitement and trepidation… Once I became immersed in the novel, I was absolutely gripped from intriguing start to satisfying finish.

The premise of this book is that our main character is an expert at walking into new identities to get the job done for her mysterious and omnipresent boss and then tossing them aside to move on. We first meet her as she is ingratiating herself into a Louisiana businessman’s bed, life, home and friendship group. However, when she runs into a woman using HER true identity, a spiral of deceit, ambition and tragedy begins to unravel…

I loved how fast-paced this book was, and the narrative structure which included flashbacks was very effective. I found that I was rooting hard for the main character despite her moral greyness and enjoyed guessing which connections were real. The tight-knit Louisiana friendship group was perfectly characterised and the gossipy nature of parts of the novel were fun. I can see why Reese Witherspoon chose this one as it felt very cinematic throughout and I can see it translating very well to screens big and small.

I’d recommend this racing, heart-pounding, unpredictable thriller fronted by a very strong female character to anyone! A clear five stars from me!

Thanks to Headline and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy of this one. All opinions are my own.

An absolute pageturner! I loved every moment of this one and really couldn’t figure out quite where it was headed up until the very end! Very cleverly written! I will be recommending this to everyone that I know!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston is a 4 ⭐️ read.
This was a really good story, plenty of twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Would recommend.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley

Well, here's a twisty, turny novel if ever there was one. It's a tale of hidden identities - nobody is who you think they are - including the main character who is a master (or should that be mistress?) of disguises. Even she gets the shock of her life when, during her latest 'job' she is confronted by another woman who appears to have stolen her genuine identity. The plot thickens!
I defy anyone to work this book out before the end! Every time you think you've worked out who's a good guy and who's not, and who knows what about who, then bang! another plot twist. Questions abound from all angles - is Evie more at risk from her 'boss' or her latest target? Could they even be the same person? How far reaching are Mr Smith's contacts and how dangerous are they?
This is a book that kept me awake even when I was disciplined and went to bed instead of reading just one more chapter. The possibilities of who's who and what is going on keep the brain cells firing long after you've put the book down, and you'll be keen to pick it up again at the soonest opportunity.
Top notch plotting and smoke screening from a brilliant writer.