The King of Lies

By John Hart

Book Overview

From John Hart, the masterful New York Times bestselling and two-time Edgar Award-winning author of The Last Child and Down River, comes this tour de force of murder and the dark ripples it sends through a man, his family and community. Jackson Workman Pickens-known to most as Work-mindlessly holds together his life: a failing law practice left to him when his father, Ezra, mysteriously disappeared, a distant wife, and a fragile sister, Jean, damaged by the shared past they've endured. And then Ezra's body is discovered. Set to inherit his father's fortune, Work becomes a prime suspect. But so does Jean. Fearing the worst, Work launches his own investigation, crossing paths with a power-hungry detective, a string of damning evidence, and the ugly rumors that swirl within his small, moneyed Southern town. Desperate for the redemption that has eluded him for so many years and stripped of everything he once valued, Work fights to save his sister, clear his name, and regain the love of the woman to whom he gave his heart so many years before. Praise for King of Lies : "The King of Lies moves and reads like a book on fire." ---Pat Conroy "Grisham-style intrigue and Turow-style brooding." -- New York Times "[An] ambitious debut thriller…a gripping performance." -- People Magazine "Compares favorably to the best of Scott Turow" -- Publishers Weekly (starred) "A striking new talent." -- Entertainment Weekly

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250024404
• ISBN13: 9781250024404
• Release Date: May 2012
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 1.1" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

The king of lies

Great book!!

Exciting debut!

I enjoyed this book so much. The main character, a man as flawed as the rest of us, had me enthralled from the first page. By the middle of the book, I found myself unable to put it down, reading page after page as fast as I could. I have to admit, I kind of had the whole thing figured out, but that didn't take away the pleasure of reading this book to the end. A little twist here, a liitle twist there, great reading. I look forward to your next book Mr. Hart.

The King of Lies

I loved this book. I can say without hesitation that The King of Lies is simply the best novel I have ever read. I almost hope the author will stop with a work that is at worst a whisker shy of perfection. Yes it has the suspense of a good mystery novel but without resorting to anything that doesn't feel completely honest. Unfortunately, I know from growing up in a small southern town similar to the one that is the setting for this book that the nastiness the characters of "Lies" must face is very real. You don't need to read John Hart's bio to realize that he is writing from experience. Reading this novel was like listening to a piece by Mozart. What at first seems like a few simple "notes" evolves into a masterpiece. Even though every review I have read of this great book has so far been positive, none has yet come close to doing it justice.

A good Whodunnit with high literary value, good characters

A small-town lawyer's midlife crisis is sparked by the discovery of the dead body of his overbearing father. Although told in the first person, the tale gives good background and many interesting stories about other characters. In his search for his father's killer, the narrator uncovers a lot of dirt, human suffering, and neglect in his small town, all while trying to juggle his own affairs and keep himself out of jail as the prime suspect. Our first-person narrator has a good literary style while not sounding too cute about it (unlike some other famous authors' attempts at first-person writing). It would seem very difficult to write a good first-person thriller, giving the reader all of the necessary clues to solve the case while still making us go "D'oh, I should have known!" at the end. Kudos to the author for pulling it off.

Thrilling Page-Turner

"The King of Lies" is an exceptionally well-written crime mystery. Hart keeps the pages turning (out of the early Grisham mold) while writing with a thoughtful literary style. Certainly beats the socks off of all these cardboard cutout ghost-written novels on the shelves these days. Can't wait to read his next effort... as I'm sure this is just the beginning of a great new career.