Title: Tell Her No Lies by Kelly Irvin
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Contemporary, Christian, Mystery
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: C+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
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.
Review:
Tell Her No Lies by Kelly Irvin is an intriguing mystery with slight Christian and romantic elements.
Twenty-seven year old Nina Fischer has recently moved back in with her parents in order to pursue her photography and poetry career. After working late in her darkroom, she goes downstairs and discovers her adopted father and biological uncle, Geoffrey, has been murdered. As the only person at home with Geoffrey, Detective Matt King is quick to pounce on her as a suspect. Afraid King won’t search for the real killer, she and her best friend, videographer Aaron McClure, uncover shocking information about her adoptive father. When two more people connected to case are murdered, Nina and Aaron are more determined than ever to figure out exactly what Geoffrey was doing leading up to his death and how his activities might have lead to murder.
When Nina and Jan were children, their aunt and uncle completely welcome them into the family. She never quite felt comfortable calling her Aunt Grace mom, but Nina certainly views her as a maternal figure. Her cousin, Trevor, also easily adapt to Jan and Nina becoming his sisters. Geoffrey has high expectations for all three of his children and he never hesitates to let them know when they disappoint him. This makes Nina’s discovery that Geoffrey was leading a secret, double life that much more stunning.
Nina finds it difficult to trust people since her birthmother let her and Jan down so many times. She and childhood friend Rick Zavala bonded over their similar backgrounds. Although a romance never quite worked out between them, they have remained close friends. Rick is a lawyer with political aspirations and after Geoffrey’s death, he is not exactly someone Nina can rely on for emotional support. Although she implicitly trusts Aaron to help her in her quest, she is wary of revealing anything to Rick. Nina is taken off guard by Rick’s possessive and somewhat aggressive behavior but she continues to give him the benefit of the doubt due to their complicated history.
After uncovering the stunning information about her father, Nina’s first instinct is to protect his name. Instead of turning the details over to Detective King, she instead attempts to find out exactly what Geoffrey was involved in. Nina unwittingly puts herself and others in danger since someone is desperate to keep the truth from ever seeing the light of day.
With a gentle undercurrent of faith, Tell Her No Lies is a perplexing mystery with a multi-layered storyline. Nina is a sympathetic but somewhat frustrating character. She does not always make the best decisions and her inability to trust the people in her life is a little irritating. Aaron is a fantastic character who has the patience of a saint where Nina is concerned. Rick is a selfish and ambitious man who rarely thinks of anyone but himself. The pacing of the novel is a little uneven and some of the story is a little repetitious. Kelly Irvin does a wonderful job keeping the perpetrator’s identity cleverly concealed until the novel’s conclusion. An enjoyable read despite a few annoying elements.
