Truthful Lies
Charismatic,complex and callous - an adventurous thriller that will keep you turning the pages (A Mikky dos Santos Thriller Book 5)
by Janet Pywell
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Pub Date 3 Jan 2020 | Archive Date 16 Apr 2020
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Description
SHE SIGNED UP FOR DOWNTON ABBEY.
SHE STEPPED INTO THE HOUSE OF USHER.
Family dysfunction turns deadly in this riveting thriller! At first blush, the Chedwell Estate, with its sprawling grounds and sumptuous Tudor architecture, appears to be a tranquil palace tucked away in the English countryside, but appearances deceive—the Manor is more House of Usher than Downton Abbey.
In a toothsome take on a classic set-up, after their father’s death and their mother’s debilitating stroke, siblings Roberto and Stella are about to kill each other over the estate (figuratively, of course!) In a last-ditch effort to keep things civil, Stella demands they hire a curator to prevent Roberto from ransacking the estate.
Enter Mikky dos Santos, tenacious artist, forger, and all-around talented criminal. From her first day on the job, Mikky feels like she’s being taken for a ride by fancy con artists—most of all by Roberto, who is at once flirtatious and threatening. But he’s also promised her a £175,000 reward if she gets the job done swiftly while neglecting to account for certain high-end items.
The crowning touch comes when he offers Mikky an extremely valuable bargaining chip, a Dutch painting he’s acquired through a mutual colleague of theirs. The thing is, it’s a fake, and she’s the one who forged it.
As Mikky does recon, she even learns that Roberto has dirty dealings with the mafia, and they once had a price on his head. And there’s plenty more she isn’t saying. She’s secretly collaborating with an agent from Europol, the EU’s top brass, to catch Roberto red-handed.
Author Janet Pywell’s storytelling is as mesmerizing and complex as her characters, and you’ll find yourself rooting for one character and then turning against them on a dime. As Mikky tries to piece together this puzzle of deception, illicit sex, and thinly-veiled threats, she can’t tell anymore which lies are “truthful” and what’s just dead wrong. But she’d better hurry—these people are lethal.
And you’d hate to lose Mikky once you’ve met her. She’s a unique—and uniquely lovable—female protagonist: a tough, tattooed, yet vulnerable badass who’ll steal your heart with one hand while pilfering priceless paintings with the other. She’s a must-read for devotees of complex female sleuths from Kinsey Millhone to the sly Jennifer Crusie novels, especially those with an international flavor, like THE [equally-inked] GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO.
Available Editions
| ISBN | 9781999853730 |
| PRICE | £4.99 (GBP) |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Terje O, Reviewer
A truly fantastic plot, very intricate and unpredictable, as well as great writing with excellent characters.
charlie c, Reviewer
Recently reviewed Janet Pywell's TRUTHFUL LIES and found it to be a compelling work that flowed well and accentuated the moral weaknesses of some of her characters. Family dynamics were on major display in the book and served to reveal an exciting plot with an unexpected conclusion.
I was hoping for more details of the past of the main character, Mykky, as her life and experiences would certainly add to her involvement in the unfolding dynamics. But the author did a good job of keeping her in the thick of events, especially her interaction with the wealthy family on display.
Thank you for the opportunity to review.
Charlie Casper
Bob M, Reviewer
Mikky dos Santos, art forger, con woman, Europol agent take a commission to examine and curate the extensive art collection of the Chedwell family in anticipation of a distribution to the second generation, now in their fifties. Mikky’s job is made considerably more difficult by missing records, claims and counter claims among the hears that assets have been diverted. Mikky is pulled this way and that by the heirs and their claims but steadfastly works toward and honest inventory until Roberto, the eldest and slipperiest, draws the young curator into a corrupt deal to certify that the Ruby Pear, a multi-million dollar necklace is in the inventory even though Mikky hasn’t seen it. Roberto has to her variously that his brother, Marco stole when he left three years ago, that it’s hidden, or that no one knows its whereabouts.
Although Mikky wears a tattoo of Munch’s The Scream on one arm and a full-color tattoo of John the Baptist’s bleeding head, she is not Lizbeth Salander or Gunnie Rose. Mikky is an inside investigator who leads with her emotions more than clever tricks or hand-to-hand combat. Ms. Pytell presents us with a series of characters, each of whom turn out to be different from what we thought. It will keep you guessing.
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