The Lies You Wrote by Brianna Labuskes Book Review

About the Book:

The double murder of a married couple in a small Washington town draws FBI forensic linguist Raisa Susanto into an investigation that mirrors a decades-old crime. Twenty-five years ago—to the day—Alex Parker murdered his parents, then took his own life, leaving behind a note admitting everything.

Raisa, paired with forensic psychologist Callum Kilkenny, uses her skills to read between the lines. Especially now that paranoid postings on a conspiracy thread suggest that Alex was a victim himself—theories that have piqued the interest of a perceptive content moderator and a true-crime podcaster eager for a big break.

As old and new crimes converge, messages from the living and the confessions of the dead take on new meaning for Raisa. Something more sinister than a copycat crime is at play, and plundering the darkest corners of a killer’s mind leaves her vulnerable to a deadly twist even she never saw coming.

My Review:

I liked this beginning to a new series featuring a linguist FBI agent. I know one has to accept the unlikely nature of a linguist actually doing field work but I enjoyed that possibility. I had no idea so much could be discovered from word order, sentence structure, etc. The main characters are rather quirky and we get hint after hint of life changing events in their past.

Besides being a good FBI murder mystery, the plot also questions whether an FBI profile agent could be completely fooled. There are a couple of great twists near the end that provide the answer.

This is the first novel I have read by this author. I like the plot development, character construction, and the amount of action balanced by the personal life of the agents. I will certainly be looking for the sequel.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

Brianna Labuskes is the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Amazon Charts best-selling author of psychological thrillers and historical fiction. Her books have been translated into several languages worldwide. She grew up in Pennsylvania, lived in Washington D.C. for many years and now calls Asheville, N.C. home. She enjoys traveling, hiking and spending time with her pup. For more: visit her at briannalabuskes.com.

Thomas and Mercer, 352 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)