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book notes
title: Catch Her in a Lieauthor: Jess Lourey
series: Steinbeck and Reed #0, 5
published: 8.31.2022
publisher: Amazon Original Stories
genre(s): thrillers
pages: 41
format: eBook
buy/shelve it: Amazon | BookBub | StoryGraph | Goodreads
rating:
the blurb
Two agents on the trail of a serial killer. A mother and daughter on the trip of a lifetime. Fates converge in paradise in a chilling short story by an Amazon Charts bestselling author.
Cold case expert Evangeline Reed and forensics legend Harry Steinbeck are on their way from Minneapolis to Costa Rica. They’ve been ordered to keep close watch on a protective mother and her daughter, both of whom have troubling connections to a Minnesota serial killer. Are they on holiday? In hiding? Or on the run? It’s time for Van and Harry to close in on the truth. And there’s more at risk than anyone can imagine.
Catch Her in a Lie by Jess Lourey is part of Getaway, a collection of six stories about dream escapes that take unimaginable, even sinister, turns. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single sitting.
a few notes
trigger warning: ❗off-page talk of abuse, murder, suicide❗
POV: 1st person
setting: Costa Rica; Minneapolis, MN
keywords/phrases: murder, serial killer, abuse
tropes: unlikable victim, red herring, haunted past
spice: 0/0
language: 0/0
mood reading: in the mood for a quick read with surprising depth and great twists
bonus points: Evangeline, for reasons that would spoil the reading experience!
my review
NOTE: This short story is part of the Amazon Original Stories Getaway collection, but it is also the prequel to the Steinbeck and Reed series.
As a prequel, this novella goes a long way to setting up an understanding of just who Harry and Van are as people. Despite the very short length, the characters were very well developed, and the action was appropriately paced. There were a fair amount of twists, surprising in such a short piece. Also surprising was the ending, which I didn’t see coming. The perfect lead-in to the new series.
About Jess Lourey
While I write across genres, there’s one universal connecting all my books: secrets. I grew up in a house choking with them, and I remain fascinated by the thoughts and actions we hide from the world.
My beginnings as an author were pretty grim, something I speak about in my TEDx Talk (https://youtu.be/a5vSLh3oPXI). I’ve come a long way since that first book, and I’m proud to call myself an Amazon Charts bestselling, twice Edgar-nominated, twice Goodreads Readers Choice Awards shortlisted, ITW Thriller and Minnesota Book Award and Anthony Award-winning author of nonfiction, children’s books, young adult, book club fiction, and crime fiction. I’ve reached over a million readers since 2020. I also love to teach creative writing in international workshops.
I live in Minneapolis with a rotating batch of foster kittens (and occasional foster puppies, but man those goobers are a lot of work).
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2025 Beat the Backlist Reading Challenge
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