3 LIES [Kindle Edition]

Helen Hanson (Author)

Book Description

At CIA headquarters, a young officer discovers that terrorists may have commandeered their computer systems to launch an unauthorized mission. Elsewhere, conspirators abduct nine people to manipulate the rules of their game. Two disparate ambitions — Clint Masters becomes the reluctant link in the chain of danger.

Ever since Clint’s almost ex-wife dumped him, he bobs along the Massachusetts coast in a sailboat with his black lab for company. He avoids all forms of technology, a counterintuitive effort for the burned-out founder of CatSat Laboratories. Tired of clutching the brass ring, he needed to untether, step off the corporate treadmill, and smell a flower. Fortunately, he met one, a beautiful, unspoiled woman who doesn’t treat him like a commodity. His relationship with Beth offers more promise than his marriage ever did, even if she is on dialysis for her recovering kidneys, until she disappears.

In spite of the evidence, Beth's family refuses to admit she’s in danger. Without routine dialysis, she won’t survive. As Clint realizes that he loves Beth, damn-near ex-wife Paige sashays back into his life with disturbing news.

While the CIA young gun tracks his quarry, Clint enlists the help of two men to find Beth, a blithe Brit named Merlin, and Todd, his playboy partner-in-tech. But Clint must find Beth before her kidneys fail. And before someone unloads a bullet in his head.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bestselling Kindle author Helen Hanson writes thrillers about desperate people with a high-tech bent. Hackers. The CIA. Industry titans. Spammers. Guys on sailboats. Mobsters. Their personal maelstroms pit them against unrelenting forces willing to kill. Throughout the journey, they try to find some truth, a little humor, and their humanity -- from either end of the trigger.

While Helen writes about the power-hungry, she genuinely mistrusts anyone who wants to rule the world. 

Helen directed operations for high-tech manufacturers of semiconductors, video games, software, and computers. Her reluctant education behind the Redwood Curtain culminated in a B.S. in Business Administration with concentrated studies in Computer Science. She also learned to play a mean game of hacky sack.

She is a licensed private pilot with a ticket for single-engine aircraft. Helen and her husband spent their first anniversary with their flight instructor studying for the FAA practical. If you were a passenger on a 737 trying to land at SJC, she sends her most sincere apologies. Really.

Born in fly-over country, Helen has lived on both coasts, near both borders, and at several locations in between. She lettered in tennis, worked as a machinist, and saw the Clash at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium sometime in the eighties. She currently lives amid the bricks of Texas with her husband, son, a dog that composes music with squeaky toys, and another dog that's too lazy to bother.

Please visit her website at HelenHanson.com. If you enjoy her books, please consider writing a review at Amazon. If you don't, please be kind.

Product Details

• File Size: 495 KB
• Print Length: 314 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0983202710
• Publisher: Domino INK (December 4, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004F9P8BI
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,634 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A deadly recipe for death July 31, 2011

By TicToc

Format:Paperback

Article first published as Book Review:3-Lies by Helen Hanson on Blogcritics.

Terror has its own vices, where belief creates a certain way of life. Money can even sabotage those intentions, twisting belief of reason to a belief in money. Even the best of intentions change for the ever-elusive dollar.

In 3-Lies by Helen Hanson, we follow the lives of Beth Sutton and her new boyfriend Clint Masters, as well as his faithful dog Louie. Beth is a kind and loving young woman, finding love at a time when her life is not at its best. On dialysis, she has not kept her diagnosis a secret from Clint, allowing him to know everything about her from the start. Beginning a relationship with secrets is in no way acceptable to her or her way of life. If he can deal this this than she understands, he can deal with anything.

Kidnapped in a bizarre scheme by a group of terrorists in an effort to blackmail the Supreme Court Justices, Beth is at the mercy of a group with nothing to lose. Bewildered by the action taken by her family, Clint is confused. They not only refuse to report her missing, they file a restraining order against him as a stalker. He struggles with the enormity of the circumstances as he feels her life leak away the longer she is away from both her medication and her dialysis machine. Without them, her system will shut down, and yet he is anathema to the family.

To top it all off his best friend is after him to come back into the business and his soon to be ex-wife has just announced to him that he is going to be a father. Yet none of this makes sense, or compares to the terror he feels at Beth's disappearance. Not entirely sure of his feelings for her prior to the event, he is now more than ever convinced that he loves her and there is the possibility that he will never see her again.

In a separate situation within the CIA, a young agent Doug Bryant has stumbled on an old code file, one that seems to bring some disturbing information about agents gone missing. Due to his discovery, his clearance is elevated and he is now in the ranks of those with need to know priorities. As he delves into the files themselves, he finds missing funds, missing ships, and a spy in their midst. What is going on with this missing group of agents, and how will he be able to help with his lack of experience?

As both investigations begin to intermesh, the CIA in in the dark about the missing person occurrences, those that deal with the disappearances of the friends and family members of several of the Supreme Court Justices. As every move Doug makes is blocked, he finally finds some of the information he needs to go forward. But who does he trust? He thinks he knows but how can he be sure?

When the leads bring him and his lead together with Clint, they begin to see the scheme as it unfolds. Murder and kidnapping, are just a few of the capabilities of this group of individuals they are tracking. Can they get the information and find Beth in time? When the clues all come together, will they be able to stop this plot from going forward. In a race against time, with lives at stake will Doug and Clint decipher the clues in time?

Hanson has developed a diabolical plot, ones that seems both real and deadly. Her characters, from Beth to Clint, from Doug to the other captives, deliver on the reality of people with whom you can relate. They are human with both strengths and flaws. Overcoming obstacles, and yet at times showing such human emotions, sadness, sympathy, jealousy, and spite, it is easy to imagine the interaction. I was impressed how Hanson was able to take two separate occurrences and draw a line between the two, intersecting and bringing them to fruition in a way that is both believable and impressive.

I would recommend this book for the suspense and thriller seeker. It also delivers on romance, action and adventure, and just a bit of stepping outside of who you are. Once started, I could not put it down. The writing is genuine and the feelings are heartfelt. This would be a wonderful book for your library. I look forward to reading more from Helen Hanson, she has an artistry that is hard to deny.

This book was received as a free download from the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 3 Lies July 19, 2011

By BigAl TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition

"3 Lies" has several elements I found appealing. I'm a computer geek, so the portion involving the CIA's computer issues was a natural fit. Clint, the protagonist, and his girlfriend Beth were both the kind of people I'd like to know, which helped pull me into the story and get me emotionally invested in the outcome. The contrast between Clint and his smarmy partner as well as the difference between Beth and Clint's estranged wife made them look even better.

Another thing I liked was that the plot was involved, in that it had multiple threads that eventually came together, yet I didn't have any difficulty keeping track of the different characters and threads. It takes talent for an author to keep a complex story with multiple things happening from becoming too difficult for the reader to keep everything straight.

None of this would matter were "3 Lies" not a great story. The different story threads kept me guessing. Although it became apparent how they were related, how (or if) everything would resolve was never obvious, which maintained the suspense. Several twists near the end were big surprises and made the ending even more satisfying.

**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyable! December 19, 2010

By P. DEHAAS

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was a little apprehensive when I downloaded this book on my new Kindle because I happen to know the author. It is her first publication, and you know how it is when someone you know has written or created something. You really hope that it is good because you won't know what to say if it isn't. Well I don't have to worry about that. I loved this book! It is a genre I usually don't read--it is a techno/espionage thriller, but the story line is so creative, and the characters interesting enough to keep me fully engaged. Not having a command of the intricacies of computers & technology in no way detracted from my interest in the story. In fact I may have actually learned something in spite of myself. The author's writing is quite good, the dialog natural and convincing. I liked the variety and depth of characters, and the thread of romance which ran throughout. I think this is a very entertaining read for anyone who likes a good story with several creative twists and turns.
Congratulations on a very fine first book. I look forward to many more.

More About the Author

Bestselling Kindle author Helen Hanson writes thrillers about desperate people with a high-tech bent. Hackers. The CIA. Industry titans. Spammers. Guys on sailboats. Mobsters. Their personal maelstroms pit them against unrelenting forces willing to kill. Throughout the journey, they try to find some truth, a little humor, and their humanity -- from either end of the trigger.

While Helen writes about the power-hungry, she genuinely mistrusts anyone who wants to rule the world.

Helen directed operations for high-tech manufacturers of semiconductors, video games, software, and computers. Her reluctant education behind the Redwood Curtain culminated in a B.S. in Business Administration with concentrated studies in Computer Science. She also learned to play a mean game of hacky sack.

She is a licensed private pilot with a ticket for single-engine aircraft. Helen and her husband spent their first anniversary with their flight instructor studying for the FAA practical. If you were a passenger on a 737 trying to land at SJC, she sends her most sincere apologies. Really.

Born in fly-over country, Helen has lived on both coasts, near both borders, and at several locations in between. She lettered in tennis, worked as a machinist, and saw the Clash at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium sometime in the eighties. She currently lives amid the bricks of Texas with her husband, son, a dog that composes music with squeaky toys, and another dog that's too lazy to bother.

Please visit her website at www.HelenHanson.com. If you enjoy her books, please consider writing a review at Amazon. If you don't, please be kind.