The lies I tell A novel

Dark, intense, and unsettling, Clark's latest psychological thriller focuses on how all-consuming revenge can be and whether it is justified, even for the "right" reasons. Meg Williams had a difficult childhood--she never knew her dad; then her mother, Rosie, fell in love with property-developer Ron Ashton, who tricked Rosie into signing over everything she owned, leaving her and Meg homeless and penniless. Rosie died shortly afterwards, and Meg was left in abject poverty, sleeping in her car and wearing thrift-store clothes to school. After graduation, Meg took dead-end jobs and couldn't break the poverty cycle until she came up with a devious but brilliant plan to finally get revenge on Ashton. Years later, budding journalist Kat Reynolds sees Meg at a party and is sure she knows her. Once she figures out that she and Meg were at the same high school, she's confounded. How did that poor girl become a hugely successful real estate agent in L.A.? As Kat investigates, she finds a twisted story of a woman whose quest for revenge has turned into something almost admirable and whose devious plan has blurred the line between revenge and justice. A gripping, disturbing thriller with a totally unexpected ending and a thought-provoking premise guaranteed to capture readers' attention.

This intriguing thriller from bestseller Clark (The Last Flight) focuses on two 30-something women who are bent on revenge. Posing as a real estate agent, Meg Williams is a con artist who returns to Los Angeles to get even with Ron Ashton, a local politician who swindled her mother from their home when Meg was a teenager, forcing the two of them to live in a van. Unbeknownst to Meg, journalist/copyeditor Kat Roberts has been tracking Meg and is ready to take her down for a brief encounter that ruined Kat's life 10 years earlier. Vowing to expose Meg for her crimes, Kat pretends she's interested in buying a house and hires Meg as her agent. Each is aware that the other woman is lying, but they manage to develop a close friendship. Using flashbacks and alternating points of view, Clark skillfully fleshes out the strong, multifaceted characters. The story nicely mixes brisk plot points with slow burning reveals as it builds to a satisfying conclusion. Clark doesn't disappoint. Agent: Mollie Glick, CAA. (June)