Do I love books about Con Artists and Grifters? Yes, I do! So I was excited to try First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston, a very twisty story about a con artist who falls in love with her mark. Or is she? Is he? Is anything what it seems? Check out my Review with Spoilers for First Lie Wins, which is the Reese’s Book Club pick for January 2024. My Review of First Lie Wins has protected spoilers in case the twists leave you all mixed-up!
Written and edited by Jen Ryland. Last updated on:
First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
To be published on January 4, 2024 by Pamela Dorman Books
I read this book in December 2023.
Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for me to use to write an honest review.
Plot Summary of First Lie Wins
Evie Porter has everything a nice Southern girl could want: a great new boyfriend who just invited her to move into his house with a white picket fence. But Evie Porter doesn’t exist.
Evie is provided a fake name and new location by her boss Mr. Smith. Then, she learns the name of her target.
Evie senses this job will be different. Ryan has gotten under her skin, and she’s starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can’t make any mistakes–especially after what happened last time.
Jen’s Quick Take on First Lie Wins
- Fast paced and twisty
- Plot-driven
- Time jumps between Evie’s past and present jobs
- High Goodreads reviews BUT some readers found it confusing at times
- Morally grey characters
- On my list of Most Anticipated Mysteries and Thrillers of 2024
Review of First Lie Wins
My wish was granted!
I LOVE stories about Con Artists and Grifters. About a year ago, I made a list of Con Artist Thrillers and mentioned that there should be more con artist books, as I was able to rind a bunch of recent movies and shows.
“Evie Porter” is an operative who works for the mysterious Mr. Smith.
Her latest mark is Ryan Sumner, a young guy who took over his grandparents’ business after they died. One is a branch of a brokerage firm, and the other is a trucking business.
Of course, Ryan has something to hide or Evie wouldn’t be assigned to him. Mr. Smith operates in a shadowy world of blackmail and secrets.
One day, Evie meets one of Ryan’s friends and his new girlfriend, Lucca. Lucca looks a LOT like Evie. Something is UP.
What I Liked About First Lie Wins
The book’s narrative switches between past and present to explain how Evie got to this point and some of the lessons she learned along the way. While this is really more of a plot-driven book, it did give me more insight into Evie.
The constant surprises. Evie is always trying to figure out how to come out on top and who. I had a few theories, which I will discuss below.
I Did Find First Lie Wins Confusing at Times
You have to absorb all Evie’s past aliases and jobs and co-workers and keep up with all the crossing and double-crossing and triple-crossing. It was a lot to keep straight!
Are You Okay With Morally Gray Characters?
As in most books like these, none of the characters, aside from a child, were particularly sympathetic. So if it’s a must for you to have characters you can really bond with, this might not be the best fit.
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Spoilers for First Lie Wins and The Ending Explained
So “Evie’s” real name is actually Lucca Marino, the alias that James’s girlfriend was using.
Ryan’s trucking business involves moving stolen merchandise, which is why Mr. Smith wanted Evie to gather information on him.
I’ll list all Lucca ‘s jobs and then talk about my theories and the ending:
10 Years Ago:
In Eden, North Carolina, teenage Lucca Marino was stealing and fencing jewelry to help her sick mother.
She’s working at an event and gets caught credit card skimming. Mr. Smith offers to bail her out of trouble if she’ll work for him.
8 Years Ago:
Lucca’s first alias: Izzy Williams
Targets: Greg and Jenny Kingston.
Assignment: Matt, her handler, wants her to steal a flash drive. She succeeds, but feels bad for the Kingston’s young son.
6 Years Ago:
Alias: Mia Bianchi
Target: politicians to blackmail in Raleigh, North Carolina
During this job, she meets her new assistant Devon. She also makes a powerful friend and collects blackmail material on Matt, politicians and a judge.
6 Years Ago:
Alias: Wendy Wallace
Her new handler: George the delivery man
Targets: a football coach and players who are being bribed against the NCAA rules.
She makes another friend by warning a player about the sting.
4 Years Ago:
Alias: Helen White
Targets: The Tates
Assignment: Art heist
6 Months Ago:
Alias: Regina Hall
Target: Amy Holder, who has information on Victor Connelly, the head of a large crime family. She is blackmailing him. In addition, she knows who Mr. Smith is.
The truth: Amy also worked for Mr. Smith.
She is able to find out that George (who is actually Mr. Smith) was stealing from the Connellys, a crime family. In addition, Amy knows that Mr. Smith is testing all his employees and killing the ones (like fake Lucca) who aren’t up to the task.
Evie convinces Amy to help her double-cross Mr. Smith. They fake Amy’s death.
Six months later (in the book’s present) Evie is accused of causing Amy’s death.
George believes that Amy’s incriminating evidence is still in a safe deposit box and wants Evie to get it.
Evie tells the police that the actual murderer is Lucca. Not only do they look alike, Devon helped Evie fake Lucca’s presence in the area at the time.
What is the ending of First Lie Wins?
Evie and Amy set up George/Mr. Smith to be handed over to the angry Connelly family.
Devon thinks that Mr. Smith targeted Ryan because he wanted to take over his smuggling business.
Mr. Smith was trying to convince Ryan that Evie was spying on him (well, she sort of was…)
Evie and Ryan end up back together!
My take:
Overall, a fun book!
I was sure that Ryan was going to be Mr. Smith! But I was wrong.
I did think that Evie and Ryan would end up together.
Your questions from comments:
Why did Amy call Evie “Miss Smith” at the end? I gave my answer in comments, but tell me your take!
If you love books like this, check out my Con Artist book list!
Why does Amy call Evie Miss Smith at the end? I don’ t understand the significance,
Not positive but I assumed it’s because Evie (assisted by Amy) took over from Mr. Smith? But I will add the question to the post and see what others think!
That was my thought too
Devon predicted Amy wouldn’t be able to walk away from her “career.”. I think the three of them became a team with Amy assuming lead
Yes, that makes perfect sense. Thanks!
Oops! I meant Evie!
No worries – I am the WORST with names in books 🙂
They couldn’t give it up and go straight in the end, so it seems as though Evie has taken over as the “New Boss”
It appears that she has taken over the job. I also wonder if it was clarifying that she and ryan were now a permanent couple.