Book Review: First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

Even if I didn’t have a weakness for tales of con artists overcoming all adversity to find their own, usually idiosyncratic, happily ever afters, I would still be blown away by this smart, terrific tale of the perfect Southern girl using her wits to conquer all.

Evie Porter is a Southern girl, but that’s about the only thing about her that’s factual. As the relatively new girlfriend of Ryan Sumner, who’s kind of a big deal in his small Louisiana town of Lake Forbing, she’s ready to face the scrutiny of his tight circle of childhood friends, no matter how intrusive their questioning:

There’s an old saying: The first lie wins. It’s not referring to the little white kind that tumble out with little to no thought; it refers to the big one. The one that changes the game. The one that is deliberate. The lie that sets the stage for everything that comes after it. And once the lie is told, it’s what most people believe to be true. The first lie has to be the strongest. The most important. [“]I went to Bama for a couple of years but didn’t graduate. My parents and I were in a bad accident a few years ago. I was the only survivor.[“]

Their expressions change instantly. This should end the questions, because they’ll look like assholes if they keep prying.

But Evie isn’t the social climber or gold digger that Ryan’s friends fear. She’s actually an accomplished con artist, assigned to embed herself into Ryan’s life by the mysterious mastermind known as Mr. Smith, who’s employed her since she was a teenager desperate to pay her dying mother’s medical bills. So far, she’s done a great job of her assignment, even if she’s not entirely sure why she’s here. Her expertise lies in the theft of the most closely guarded of property, but she has yet to be told what exactly she’s been sent here to steal.

Unfortunately for her, it looks like she might be on the receiving end of another kind of robbery, as handsome, charming Ryan worms his way under her skin and begins the process of stealing her heart:

Ryan leans in for a kiss and I don’t resist him. It’s slow and sweet, the kind of kiss that makes you want more.

 

And wanting more is dangerous.

 

I give myself thirty seconds to live in the world where this is real. Where my boyfriend is declaring his affection for me in front of all these people and there’s nothing to stop this relationship from continuing indefinitely. Where there is no question about who I really am or what my motives are.

 

But too soon, time is up.

The more Evie discovers about Ryan, the harder she finds herself falling for him. This is dangerous, she knows, even if she wasn’t already involved in multiple layers of duplicity involving violent characters working to opposing ends. But when her doppelganger suddenly shows up in Lake Forbing and murder enters the scene, Evie will have to quickly get her priorities in order if she is to have any chance of getting out of this entire situation alive.

I loved this fresh take on con artistry, as Evie fights tooth and nail to escape the noose slowly tightening around her. Evie is extremely sympathetic even in the worst of circumstances, as she walks a perilous tightrope between morality and survival. The obstacles Ashley Elston slings her way are truly breathtaking, making readers constantly second-guess everything we’d assumed to be true as the plot swerves deftly between past and present. It’s so hard to talk about this book without fear of giving away any of the constant but tremendously satisfying plot twists. What I can safely say is that Ms. Elston’s adult debut has been my first favorite book of 2024 and that I can’t wait to read more of her work!