Review: One Little Lie

• Title: One Little Lie
• My Rating: 4.5
• Genre: Suspense, Christian Fiction
• Format: ARC*
• Publication Date: March 3, 2020
• Author: Colleen Coble

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Book Blurb

It started with one little lie. But Jane Hardy will do everything in her power to uncover the truth. 

Book one in a gripping new series from USA TODAY bestselling romantic suspense author Colleen Coble.

When Jane Hardy is appointed interim sheriff in Pelican Harbor, Alabama, after her father retires, there’s no time for an adjustment period. He is arrested for theft and then implicated in a recent murder, and Jane quickly realizes she’s facing someone out to destroy her father.

They escaped from a cult fifteen years ago, and Jane has searched relentlessly for her mother—who refused to leave—ever since. Could someone from that horrible past have found them?

Reid Bechtol is a well-known journalist who makes documentaries, and his sights are currently set on covering Jane’s career. Jane has little interest in the attention, but the committee who appointed her loves the idea of the publicity.

Jane finds herself depending on Reid’s calm manner as he follows her around taping his documentary, and they begin working together to clear her father. But Reid has his own secrets from the past, and the gulf between them may be impossible to cross.

It started with one little lie. But Jane Hardy will do everything in her power to uncover the truth.  

My Thoughts

Colleen Coble is quickly becoming one of my favorite suspense writers. She combines imaginative plots with honest characters with real struggles.

Here’s the thing. There are a lot of suspense writers out there. But very few who can many to deliver a gripping story while asking serious questions about spirituality and faith. Those who try, often end up with corny plot lines and cringe worthy endings.

In her new series, Colleen Coble proves once again it can be done and done well.

Jane is an exceptionally interesting character because of her past. She started life in a cult with her parents and gives birth to a son in her early teenage years. Jane is told that the baby has died shortly after birth and is quickly evacuated due to a fire at the cult compound.

Flash forward to find Jane as Sherriff of a small town police force, despite some people not believing a woman can do the job. She is dealing with her complicated past and her difficult future when Reid enters the picture and a body is discovered.

What I like about One Little Lie is that the characters respect each other but don’t have an instant and unbelievable connection, even though we know they are the chief love interests. It’s great romance writing, especially given that the romance isn’t the driving force behind the story.

I also love that Reid consistently defers to Jane’s expertise and training as a police person. Often times, in novels, the male lead will try to protect the female lead even when she doesn’t need protecting. It shatters the idea of an equal partnership and just doesn’t make any sense.

Always let the person with the training and the weapons do the protecting. That’s just good life advice.

The mystery twists and turns, even though I figured out most of the baddies towards the beginning. I would say, though, that the focus of book one wasn’t to solve the crime, but to bring all of the lies out in the open and establish each character and their relationships to each other.

That is where Colleen Coble truly shines. In developing relationships and characters. I can’t wait for book two, due out in September 2020. I HAVE to see where this goes.

*Special thanks to Colleen Coble, Thomas Nelson, and TLC Book Tours for providing a copy of One Little Lie in exchange for an honest review.