No More Lies by James Scott Bell is this week’s Reader Friday. Here’re the first lines: “The big fat liar was dressed in yellow slacks, yellow golf shirt, and yellow socks. His shoes were black. He looked like a ripe banana with feet.
But first the photo and Scripture verse. Cindy Garness Skogman in Milaca, Minnesota took the photo. I love the way she captured the sunset! When I saw the photo, John 16:33 popped into my mind. We will always have trouble, but like the sun setting every evening, Jesus is there, waiting to help.
Now for No More Lies by James Scott Bell.
“This pure thriller with a roiling plot is not to be missed!” – Romantic Times
She thinks she knows who she is and what she wants, but when the web gets terribly tangled, is her game of deception a clever lie or a deadly trap?
Two bodies in an isolated canyon on the edge of L.A. One with saddlebags filled with diamonds.
That’s how it begins for Liz Towne, a stunning blonde with a devout husband who has given up a prime job for reasons Liz cannot understand—for “Mac” MacDonald, a Gulf War vet who’s done time in prison and is just now finding his way back to normal life—and for Roxanne “Rocky” Towne, Liz’s sister-in-law, who suspects things she cannot prove. All three are thrown together by a tragedy in Pack Canyon.
After finding the stolen diamonds, Liz is faced with an escalating set of choices: Truth or lies? She is all in. No stopping now. Even if she wanted to … what else can she do?
A stunning suspense thriller from International Thriller Writers Award winner James Scott Bell.
Note: This book was originally published in 2009 with the title Deceived, and received the following reviews:
“Twist-filled suspense thriller with punchy dialogue and an ending to keep readers awake at night….Bell is a master of the cliffhanger, creating scene after scene of mounting suspense and revelation in this heart-whamming read.” – Publishers Weekly
“This pure thriller with a roiling plot is not to be missed!” – Romantic Times
My take:
No More Lies by James Scott Bell is so good. Bell masterfully weaves together the story of three lives affected by the discovery of the diamonds. Told from these three points of view plus a couple more, the story evolves as one lie leads to another. But who is lying?
Rocky Towne is a free-lance fraud investigator for an insurance company, barely making it from paycheck to paycheck. But she’s in there trying, and seeking. Her brother, Arty, talked to her about Jesus, and He certainly made a difference in his life. Except Arty is the only person Rocky trusts. She’s not sure she can buy into this Christianity stuff.
Mac MacDonald has bought into it, but it’s so hard to live up to what he thinks a Christian should be. Especially with a parole agent like he had who was looking for any reason to send Mac back to prison. Arty has been helping him keep it together.
Liz, Arty’s wife, can’t understand why her husband quit a lucrative TV position that would keep her living in the style she’d come to know. She was not going back to being dirt poor.
This story is about justice, and no one does it better than James Scott Bell.
If you hurry, you can buy it on Kindle for 99¢!
I think romantic suspense and suspense readers will love this story. Leave a comment either telling me the first line in the book you’re reading. And/or tell me what you’d do if you found a sack of diamonds in the middle of nowhere, and I’ll enter you in an August drawing for a book from my library.
July’s winner is Lucy Reynolds!
I'm reviewing No More Lies by James Scott Bell on this week's Reader Friday. Leave a comment and I'll enter you in an August drawing for a book from my library! Share on X
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Comments 42
What a glorious sunset! Good review, Patricia.:-) I am reading Paws for Concern by Amy Hueston. “I snatched the tray of Doggone Good Cupcakes off the display counter away from my aunt.” It’s great fun!
Author
Hi Vera! I’m glad you liked my sunset. 🙂 I love Amy Hueston’s books, too. I reviewed Paws For Concern on my blog here.. I’ve got to see if she’s released another one.
What a great photo! The verse you chose says it well: Sunsets can end good days or bad. God uses them to hint at better things to come if we trust Him.
The first line of the book I’m reading is…well you all know what it is because you’re all reading it. It’s “Deception” of course. So here are the opening lines of the book I just finished: “Tonight’s op was nothing compared to some of the filth he’d crawled through. Their objective simple, his targets unaware.” are the opening lines of “The Deadly Shallows” by Dani Pettrey. It’s a really great book.
I think if I found a sack of diamonds in the middle of nowhere, I’d be looking over my shoulder a lot. Someone will certainly want them back!
Author
Tim, so glad you’re reading Deception! Dani’s book sounds great. And I’m like you–somebody’s going to want those diamonds back!
Pat, thank you for the review of “No More Lies”. I just bought it.
Author
I think you’ll enjoy it, Tim. Not only is James Scott Bell a great writer, he’s a fantastic teacher–I’ve learned a lot from him about writing.
Wonderful photo and verse.
Your review makes me want to read that book!
My first line is from Crossfire by Lynette Eason:
FBI Special Agent Julianna Jameson glanced at the alert on her phone. “Hostage situation in progress.” she murmured, reading the text aloud.
Author
I’m so glad, Paula, that my review made you want to read the book! And I love that first line by Lynette Eason!
The verse matched perfectly to the picture. Thank you
Author
Thank you, Dean!
Oh my, the photo! The first thing I saw were God’s big arms swooping someone into a healing hug. So, the Scripture went perfectly with it.
I’ve had a delightful week of reading and am now on book #5. There was a fun lead in quote before the first line that caught my attention. It’s by anonymous, “Never ask a woman who is eating ice cream straight from the carton how she’s doing.” The book is The Sweet Life, by Suzanne Woods Fisher.
If I found a bag of diamonds, I’d hope I had a trusted friend with me who could help me get them to my former Sheriff, who is an honest man. And I’d be praying a lot for protection and wisdom.
Author
Barbara, I love that first line by Suzanne Woods Fisher! And I’m glad you liked the photo and Scripture. So agree about the diamonds. 🙂
no idea
Author
I can’t imagine finding a sack of Diamonds, BN!
The sunset is beautiful and this book sounds very very interesting. In fact it might be almost but I’m sure not quite and never will be as good as yours. Happy writing.
Author
Awww, thank you Judy! I think you would enjoy it.
Thanks for the review; I just bought it! Now you know what my plans are for the weekend!
Author
Good! I hope you enjoy it. 🙂
This sounds like a good read. I also am reading Crossfire by Lynette Eason so I will give the first sentence of Chapter 2.
Julianna had been completely truthful with Hector. She had no plans to get herself killed.
Author
Ooooh that sounds scary, Gloria!
Hi, your photo is beautiful and the verse fits it just right. Wow, No More Lies sounds and looks very intriguing , thank you so much for sharing the review, I really want to read it now. If I found a bag of diamonds I would turn it in to law enforcement, it is not mine so hopefully it goes to the rightful owner.
Author
Me, too, Alicia. 🙂
Awesome sunset! I have read a number of books by James Scott Bell and enjoyed them all. This includes Deceived. “The slap-slap of rubber soles against asphalt echoed in the darkness somewhere behind Gabriella Benoit.” First line of Over The Line by Kelly Irvin. Pat I enjoy all of your photos and your reviews. Thank you and God bless!
Author
Love, love Kelly’s books, Mary. And she’s such a sweetheart!
That is a very interesting picture. Not only is the sunset stunning, but I love the form of the clouds. Good Scripture verse for that one.
Well, Tim has already shared the first line of the book I am reading. I thought I finally had one this week, but he beat me to the punch. I read Deception a few weeks ago and enjoyed it immensely.
The first few lines of the James Scott Bell book just reach out and grab your attention. I haven’t read any of his books, so I need to keep him in mind when I find myself with nothing on my stack that seems appealing at the time.
Author
Edward, I believe you’d love JSB’s books! Especially his Mike Romeo ones. He’s about to release a new one and that means the others will be on sale. 😉 Oh, and I think you’d like his Sister Justicia books, too. She’s the nun who knows judo…
Beautiful photo! I think if I found a sack of diamonds in the middle of nowhere I’d probably be a nervous wreck since the odds of them being there by any other means than something illegal is pretty low. I guess I’d probably report the find to the police.
Author
Me, too, Megan. I remember many years ago, a lady left her purse with $35,000 in cash at a pay phone (that’s a long time ago. lol Anyway, someone found it and turned it in. You wouldn’t believe the people that thought the person who turned it in was stupid. And I couldn’t understand why they’d want to keep something that didn’t belong to them.
beautiful picture and verse! If I found a bag of diamonds, I would turn them in to the police and hope the owner gives a reward for finding them.
Author
Me, too, Shelia!
Beautiful picture! The verse fits it so well. What a funny first line. I’m going to have to check the book out. I’m reading By Way of the Moonlight by Elizabeth Musser. It was the silliest of presuppositions, only the alliteration worthy of notice, and I loved alliteration.
Author
Hi Erika. I think Cindy Skogman did a great job taking the photo!
I’m reading Crossfire by Lynette Eason. First lines: MAY THURSDAY MORNING
FBI Special Agent Julianna Jameson glanced at the alert on her phone. “Hostage situation in progress,” she murmured, reading the text aloud.
Author
I.Must.Get.That.book! Lynn. I’ve been meaning to download it all week. 🙂
This book is one I think my husband would enjoy! 🙂
It’s so good to be back, Covid hit my family & it’s been a roller coaster for two weeks! Yikes! Thank goodness we all had our shots & boosters or I could imagine it would have been so much worse 🙁 I’m feeling human again.
I didn’t do much reading obviously, but I just choose a book from my Love Inspired shelf. I have their reading service so this one is not officially released until October.
First lines from “The Baby’s Christmas Blessing” by Meghann Whistler….I read the one before this entitled “Falling for the Innkeeper” so our heroine, Chloe, is the secondary character in my current read. I am so looking forward to getting to know her!
“Chloe Richardson gazed down at the baby in her arms. She wanted this job. She REALLY wanted this job.”
Congrats Lucy on the July win!!
Ooops, sorry that should be…Chloe was the secondary character in “Falling for the Innkeeper” and the heroine in my current read. Sorry!
I love series books because you can follow the characters you’ve come to love in previous books 🙂
Author
I agree about following the characters, Trixi. And I knew what you meant. 😉
Author
I’m so glad you’re over Covid, Trixi! I’ve avoided it so far, but I figure everyone will eventually get it. And when I don’t feel well, I like to read the shorter books. 🙂 And Meghann Whistler’s book sounds intriguing!
Funny thing, we’ve avoided Covid all this time and in my husbands job at the resort hotel, he’s been exposed many times but it’s never affected him. I’m the one that got it first and have no idea where it came from…I mostly try to avoid a lot of people and crowds (except for grocery shopping). I’m fairly certain he contracted it from me when he was taking care of me while I was down. It’s just funny how it works, I’ve personally known more people now that have had it then two years ago.
Author
I do, too, Trixi. This variant is so much more contagious than those two years ago. I’m so glad you’re getting better.
Fabulous scripture and photo!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on No More Lies.
Author
Thanks, Caryl!