Customer Reviews

Gathering Lies (MIRA)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Attorney Sarah Lansing has been charged with drug possession, a charge which is brought about after her defense of a woman who has been raped and then murdered by five Seattle cops who are determined to find the evidence which Sarah supposedly has but has not turned over to the DA for fear it will get "lost" and the cops will go free. While no charges have been brought against these five cops, Sarah has lost her job and basically hides out at home. While awaiting her trial Sarah decides to write a book about the five cops and the events leading up to her arrest. Sarah receives an invitation to writer's colony on a tiny island several miles from Seattle where she spent her childhood summers with her family and where she again meets her first love, Luke Ford. Five other writers join Sarah on the island, each has a secret they don't want to particularly share, including the owner of the colony. When a disaster strikes by way of an earthquake, two men show up on the island, all the truths come out and so does a killer, now the body count begins to rise. This novel was a truly enthralling novel up to the very end and I was truly surprised at its conclusion. You will enjoy this novel.

I've been a Meg-a-Fan back since the Jesse James novels, and I'm glad to say Meg just keeps getting better. In this book, Meg blends murder with a huge natural disaster. And guess what? The disaster is a major earthquake hitting the Seattle area! (Meg must be psychic)

This book has a great visual tone to it. I could almost see, and feel, the earthquake happening. Sarah, the heroine, is delightfully determined, even though she's up against impossible situations and dealing with a strange mix of personalities.

Forced to work together after being marooned on an island after the quake, these characters struggle with issues like little food, no power, limited shelter, and no communication with the mainland. When one of the group is found murdered, distrust starts to hinder the groups chances of survival. Murderer or not, wood still needs to be cut for a fire to keep warm. But who are you going to give the ax to!

This book gets five stars all the way. I liked every page of it, except maybe the blank one after the "End." :-)

Set on a remote island in the San Juan Islands of Washington State. It is a well written book with attention to detail that readers of other books written by Meg O'Brien have come to appreciate. Without giving away a lot of the plot, I will point out that O'Brien brings out the dependency that residents of these islands have on ferry service to come and go from the islands for even the bare necessities of life. The beauty and grandeur are elluded to without being specific. She also writes of the solitude and isolation desired by many who live in the islands who might be looked upon by some city dwellers as reclusive. The characters are involved in the usual suspense and mystery with some not making it to the end of the novel without coming to a graphically depicted untimely end. It is another book written by Meg O'Brien that is well worth adding to your personal library.

Angel, a Seattle prostitute accuses five police officers of rape. Angel turns to attorney Sara Lansing for help, but the quintet of law enforcement officials derail her case with the apparent help of some high level individuals. Someone murders Angel and Sarah is arrested on trumped up possession charges.

While on bail, Sarah decides to write a book exposing the Seattle Five. Harassment ensues and she accepts an offer to join five female writers at the Thornberry writer's retreat on Esme Island. Unbeknownst to Sarah is that she has been lured to the island so that the evidence of the DNA stocking Angel gave her can be retrieved and she can be silenced forever. An earthquake isolates the women even further, but does not stop Sarah from believing a killer has murdered someone even if everyone else shouts accident. Sarah wonders whether she can even trust the man she is falling in love with.

GATHERING LIES is a strong romantic suspense tale that centers on the action. The story line is fast-paced and filled with many surprising twists and turns though some seem unnecessarily adding more tension to an otherwise taut thriller. Sarah is a courageous lead character and the secondary cast especially on Esme Island augments the growing unease that she and the reader feel because whom does the heroine trust? Meg O'Brien has written an absorbing suspense thriller that never eases up until the reader completes the final pages.

Harriet Klausner

This is a typical Meg O'Brien book;exciting, suspenseful, with many surprises in store. It is well written and keeps you turning the pages with the suspense mounting with each turnof a page. You will change the--Who Did It..many times over. This book is without a doubt a five star, it is an excellant thriller. I'm looking forward to her next book. It amazes me that each book Meg writes seems to surpass her last. Great work Meg!

I have been thoroughly impressed with this book! I love mystery novels and this book really kept me on the edge of my seat. I found myself reading it every spare moment I had! After reading this book, I continued to read several other of Meg O'Briens novels and haven't been able to get enough since! She is truly in a league of her own and I would highly recommend this one to just about anyone. Several of my co-workers have also become addicted to her writings since I introduced this work.

I enjoyed Gathering Lies very much. Meg's ideas are different and refreshing. Her characters always leave me waiting to meet with them again in between bits of time I can grab to read. I highly recommend this book as I do with her others and especially her Jesse James series. Sincerely, Terri Doria

When I started reading this book, I thought I had wasted my money. It did become interesting, eventually. This story has a lot of twists like any good mystery, but is it a novel or a public service message? Is the author a novelist or a lecturer? Parts of this story were buried beneath the author's preaching. I read novels to be entertained, not lectured on the problems in society. I am well aware of them. The last chapter contains more preaching than story. I won't be reading any more of Meg O'Brien's books.

This is my first Meg O'Brien book and I must say I really enjoyed it. I loved the story line and the fact that it was written in first person past and present. I also enjoyed the characters and their colorful personalities. The story was very suspenseful and full of surprises. You will keep going back and forth on "who did it." And you will be surprised at the end. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes suspense.

Meg O'Brien could turn a grocery list into a good story. She combines the plausible with the unexpected in such a way that the reader never knows what the next page will bring.

Gathering Lies is such a story, but with bonuses: A rustic northwest island filled with more intrigue than it has room for; a big time earthquake; over-the-top women; police of all persuasions; big-city politics; and a murder (or more).

I give the book five stars even though it put a dent in my vacation; I wouldn't leave the hotel until I read the whole thing.