“A mystery that introduces characters slowly, with a thoughtful alternating story line and backstory that allows the plot to maintain its pace. Owen’s frustration and actions, along with the people whose futures were destroyed by his father, are understandable and build to a satisfying conclusion.” School Library Journal (starred review)
Description
Owen Foster has never wanted for anything. Then his mother shows up at his elite New Orleans boarding school cradling a bombshell: his privileged life has been funded by stolen money. After using the family business, the single largest employer in his small Louisiana town, to embezzle millions and drain the employees’ retirement accounts, Owen’s father vanished without a trace, leaving Owen and his mother to deal with the fallout.
Owen returns to Lake Cane to finish his senior year, where people he hardly remembers despise him for his father’s crimes. It’s bad enough dealing with muttered insults and glares, but when Owen and his mother receive increasingly frightening threats from someone out for revenge, he knows he must get to the bottom of what really happened at Louisiana Frac … and the cryptic note his father sent him at his boarding school days before disappearing.
Owen’s only refuge is the sprawling, isolated pecan orchard he works at after school, owned by a man named Gus who has his own secrets—and in some ways seems to know Owen better than he knows himself. As Owen uncovers a terrible injustice that looms over the same Preacher Woods he’s claimed as his own, he must face a shocking truth about his own past—and write a better future.
Praise
“A mystery that introduces characters slowly, with a thoughtful alternating story line and backstory that allows the plot to maintain its pace. Owen’s frustration and actions, along with the people whose futures were destroyed by his father, are understandable and build to a satisfying conclusion.” School Library Journal (starred review)
“Fans who have come to expect Elston’s mastery of situational tension, double narratives, and enthralling mystery will not be disappointed…Readers won’t even notice the steady pull to the edges of their seats.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Eerie, mysterious…The narrative leads the reader through a few red herrings before revealing the stunning and powerful connection between the two voices. Family secrets and forgiveness drive this gorgeously plotted mystery.” Booklist
“Absorbing, haunting, and memorable.” Colleen Houck, New York Times bestselling author, on This Is Our Story
“Chilling and suspenseful, with just the right number of twists.” Kirkus Reviews on This Is Our Story
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | Nov 12, 2018 |
| Release Date | November 13, 2018 |
| Release Date Machine | 1542067200 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Blackstone Publishing |
| Categories | Teen & Young Adult, History & Culture, Literature & Fiction, Children/YA, YA, Fiction - All, Fiction - Child |
Author Bio
Ashley Elston has written six young adult novels; First Lie Wins is her adult debut.
Narrator Bio
Adam Verner is a stage, film, television, and voice actor and an Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator. He holds a BS in theater arts from Bradley University and an MFA from Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.
Stephen Dexter, known for his fearlessly truthful and versatile performances and a voice that is both commanding yet vulnerable, has quickly established himself as a narrator of note. His past credits include Reckless by Lex Martin, Cole by Tijan, Solace Island by Meg Tilly, The Lying Woods by Ashley Elston, and Marriage Of Inconvenience by Penny Reid.
Overview
Owen Foster has never wanted for anything. Then his mother shows up at his elite New Orleans boarding school cradling a bombshell: his privileged life has been funded by stolen money. After using the family business, the single largest employer in his small Louisiana town, to embezzle millions and drain the employees’ retirement accounts, Owen’s father vanished without a trace, leaving Owen and his mother to deal with the fallout.
Owen returns to Lake Cane to finish his senior year, where people he hardly remembers despise him for his father’s crimes. It’s bad enough dealing with muttered insults and glares, but when Owen and his mother receive increasingly frightening threats from someone out for revenge, he knows he must get to the bottom of what really happened at Louisiana Frac … and the cryptic note his father sent him at his boarding school days before disappearing.
Owen’s only refuge is the sprawling, isolated pecan orchard he works at after school, owned by a man named Gus who has his own secrets—and in some ways seems to know Owen better than he knows himself. As Owen uncovers a terrible injustice that looms over the same Preacher Woods he’s claimed as his own, he must face a shocking truth about his own past—and write a better future.
Reviews
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