First Win Lies By Ashley Elston is a psychological thriller about an organization of con men and women. The idea of long conning into a domestic partnership is great and had me hooked very fast, if the narrative stuck with this it would be five stars, but in the middle, the novel takes a turn that I was interested in at first until I figured everything out and was waiting for the turn that did not appear. The flashbacks really slowed down the pace with only 2 out of the 10 were written exciting. There are turns in the story that were written so unexciting. There was one turn where the main character finds out someone close to her is working for her mysterious boss, she doesn’t try to figure out when they got turned if they were not the person they were the whole time. The main boss Mr. Smith has been operating this organization for twenty-plus years operates it so stupidly, at first he is everywhere and knows everything then he talks to an informant just down the hall without watching the door for the main character. The first half of this book is executed so well and the back half goes to pieces there’s still some clever writing here and there but as a whole, I was disappointed with how it was told. First Lie Wins was one of Goodreads’ best mysteries for the first half of 2024. First Lie Wins was published on January 2, 2024.

Plot Summary: Evie Porter is about to move in with her boyfriend Ryan, it seemed sudden but they are in love. Evie meets his friends and is questioned hard about her past and intentions. She does well because Evie Porter does not exist. She has to go to a Goodwill store to fill her empty apartment so there is something she will have to move in. Ryan is a mark that she needs to learn more about his business. Through the con, she does start falling for Ryan and enjoying their time it all comes to an end when Ryan runs into and old Friend James, and his new girlfriend Lucca. Evie gets sick as she learns more about the new girlfriend and why she is using Evie’s real name and background.

What I Liked: Everything in the plot summary is the first half of the book and it is so great. I loved where it was going and it takes a turn. I can’t think of a book where I liked the beginning this much to have it fall to pieces. Evie Porter as a character was fascinating I did have a problem with some of the flashbacks but as a whole, she is a great character. I liked Devon her behind-the-scenes man. I liked the football player and what he did in the story. I did like the police investigation and the clever way that it all played out.

What I Disliked: There was a big scene about top gangster’s books and Evie getting the best of someone using the books, but the gangster who had never met her before was like okay person I have never met before that knows my whole operation was good with you just turning over this guy live your life. I already talked about the super smart leader meeting an informant just down the hall from Evie, not in a room just in the hall. It was too dumb for a super smart organization. I hated what happened to Lucca the actress when everything is revealed about what she knows and what she does she could not have warned her. Most of the flashbacks took way too long to get to the point of why we’re seeing this flashback. The flashbacks slowed the pace of the novel too much. The ending was too easy to figure out who Mr. Smith was in the story.

Recommendations: First Lie Wins starts very well but ends up a mess after you think about it. I wanted a lot better story pace. Never have I been so intrigued by a novel to be so let down in the end. I will not recommend First Lie Wins. I will give the author Ashley Elston another chance since I did like the beginning so much.

Rating: I rated First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston 2.4 out of 5 stars.