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The Liar

Review

The Liar

When small-town girl Shelby Anne Pomeroy married worldly, debonair Richard Foxworth, she felt as though she was living in a real-life fairy tale. After all, what were the chances that a rich, well-traveled businessman like Richard would choose a sheltered girl of 19 who hailed from the mountains of Tennessee to be his bride? 

Unfortunately for Shelby, a mere five years later, her fairy tale life disintegrated when Richard drowned in the Atlantic off the North Carolina coast, making her a widow at 24. Not only was she alone at such a young age, she now bore the sole responsibility of raising their small daughter, Callie, with whom she'd been pregnant when Richard married her.

"THE LIAR is undoubtedly one of Nora Roberts' best works, and proves that even after the plethora of bestsellers she's penned, she still has plenty of riveting tales to tell."

Before Shelby can dry her tears, reality sets in. She finds that the life she shared with Richard was nothing more than a carefully created sham. The $10-million life insurance policy that he'd assured her he had didn't exist. Nor did the college fund he'd supposedly been building so meticulously for Callie's future. What did remain was millions of dollars of crippling debt that included credit card bills, car loans, and the mortgage for a mansion on which he'd never even made the first payment. To top it off, the discovery of several fake IDs with Richard's image bearing a number of aliases and addresses and a stash of cash, the likes of which she's never seen, leave her convinced that she never even knew the man to whom she'd been married.

As Shelby tries to gather her wits and figure out how she can clear the debt that is the only inheritance Richard left, a private investigator shows up at her door, demanding to know where Richard is and her involvement in his shenanigans.

Thankfully, even the independent Shelby realizes that making a new life for herself and her daughter isn't something she can do on her own. She wisely heads back to the bosom of her family and friends in Rendezvous Ridge, Tennessee. While she's been away from home a long time, mainly due to Richard's negative influence, being back in the Great Smoky Mountains has never felt better.

As hesitant as Shelby is to trust another man, Baltimore transplant and talented handyman Griffin Lott catches the eye of the willowy redhead whose return has set the small-town gossip machine into overdrive. As Griff and Shelby begin to explore the feelings they can't deny, the past intrudes when Richard's nefarious business partners from the past come calling, convinced that his widow holds the secret to untold riches.

THE LIAR is undoubtedly one of Nora Roberts' best works, and proves that even after the plethora of bestsellers she's penned, she still has plenty of riveting tales to tell. Its hometown Southern atmosphere will make readers long to sit on the front porch in the heat of a summer day and enjoy the simple life that consists of sipping ice-cold lemonade and engaging in good conversation. At the same time, the amount of intrigue in this perfectly paced novel will keep them turning the pages long after they should have turned out the lights and climbed into bed.

Reviewed by Amie Taylor on April 17, 2015

The Liar
by Nora Roberts