I really enjoyed this book and had trouble putting it down. If you like twists and turns and thrillers then this book is for you. I look forward to reading another book in this genre from this author. Do yourself a favour and give it a read!

What a twisted and intriguing career path Lucca/Evie has!! It was a real page turner with great flashbacks to her past lives. Full of suspense with so many twists and turns and an ending I really didn’t see coming. It’s my first book by this author but definitely won’t be the last, thoroughly enjoyable.

Thanks to Headline and NetGalley for allowing me an advanced copy to read in exchange for my open and honest review. As always, my reviews will also be posted on Amazon, Goodreads and Waterstones and interaction on Facebook and instagram where possible.

This was a great page turner. I thought the first couple of chapters were slow but 10% in and WOW! Things take off in a very unexpected direction. Evie Porter is employed as a specialist in undercover work by Mr Smith. But all is not as it seems! The story has flashbacks to previous jobs Evie has done and their consequences. She sets out to unmask Mr Smith. Along the way she falls for one of her ‘marks’. Great interweaving of characters, scenarios and red herrings. I really liked this book. Lots of twists and turns to keep you reading. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a prepublication ebook

This was a thoroughly enjoyable and fun read! I've been facing into a little bit of a reading slump lately and this pulled me right out of it. It's a fast-paced cat and mouse thriller that I absolutely devoured. I found Evie to be a very likeable character (Which sometimes isn't the case with these types of books) and I was massively rooting for her throughout the read. I thought the cons were fun to follow and cleverly thought out, it was very interesting seeing them play out. I also enjoyed the few little red herrings that were thrown in. It made the twists more rewarding. I also liked the flashbacks to show how Evie's career progressed.

With many thanks to Netgalley and Headline books for this free arc and I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily

Well this might just be the best book I’ve read all year. An absolute rollercoaster of a book with a plot that is just so clever. Perfectly executed and very well written, with so many twists and turns and a pace that moves at a million miles per hour. An absolute page turner that you can’t and don’t want to put down and that early twist at the beginning sets the tone for the rest of the book. An addictive and ingenious 5⭐️ read

This is the first book I have read by Ashley Elston, and it did not disappoint. I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were interesting, the story line in itself keeps you on your toes, I found it unpredictable, and the pace of the book keeps you wanting to read more.

A stand out cat-and-mouse thriller with layer upon layer of characterisation. I enjoyed Evie Porter’s character and how you got to meet her again and again. Lies ran thick throughout the storyline which kept me guessing and wanting more. The constant sense of running away was underlying which helped to build that but if tension, especially when secrets made relationships fraught. Fantastic!

Ideal for fans of cat and mouse suspense that features a con artist narrator. Her cons reside within other cons, some short, others very long. With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

Evie Porters life at present is everything she could have wanted, the boyfriend, the house, friends, she has come a long way from humble beginnings. The only problem is that Evie and her life is a lie.
Evies job entails her playing different roles in order to insert herself into the lives of others in order to gain information for her boss Mr. Smith. The pay is good, and Evie has no problem in changing roles once her current job is completed.
However, she is enjoying her present life, and not looking forward to the time she will need to give it up to change roles. Then, the unexpected happens. While out with her boyfriend, Ryan, they meet an old friend of Ryans and the woman he is with. Ryan introduces his friend, James, and James in turn introduces his date. Evie is shocked to hear that his date has Evies original name, comes from the same place as Evie originally came from, went to the same school as Evie did, in short, told details of Evies life as her own.
This ensures that Evie can never go back to her original life, someone else has claimed it, just as she claims others lives.
This book is full of suspense as Evie tries to find out who this woman is, and why she has claimed Evies life. There are secrets and lies galore, and a plot that twists and turns, until an explosive ending. A compelling read.

Good story with lots of twists and turns. Kept me gripped, maybe a bit far fetched at times but a good edge of ur seat thriller usually is. Enjoyed it and recommend. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this early read.

This book was great, really different and an original storyline.
I really enjoyed all the different aliases that Lucca/Evie took on throughout the book and there were lots of twists that I wasn’t expecting.
Definitely got better as the book went on.

I enjoyed this book. Lots of twists and turns and it kept me turning the pages. Different to my usual choice of book but entertaining, with engaging characters.

Such an exciting book. Eve Porter seems to have everything you could want in life , house, garden, loving boyfriend etc but then the reader discovers that she has been placed in that life by her mysterious boss. She isn't sure why she was asked to inveigle herself into this person's life, there is always a reason. Getting information is the usual one or saving someone from blackmail, that kind of thing. Eventually she decides to find out her boss's identity to try to extricate herself from the situation. Too many people die once they have served their purpose and Eve doesn't want to be one of them. A tense game is played out with the reader unable to put the book down!! I loved it in case you can't tell :)

This book was far better than I expected. It was a real page turner and I read it in less than 24 hours and almost one sitting. Without giving any spoilers it is a great story of subterfuge, lies and lots of double crossing. The story kept a great pace throughout and was fairly difficult to work out who was a goody and who was a baddy.

A thoroughly well written thriller

This book really surprised me, was not expecting to like it as much as I did. Brilliant storyline which kept me guessing. Different from anything I have read before. The characters were brilliant and jumped out of the page. Definitely a page turner

Evie Porter is desperate to impress her new boyfriend's tight knit group of childhood friends. She's picked out the perfect outfit, planned a mouth-watering menu and rehearsed how she'll answer any awkward personal questions.

But the stakes are higher than usual at this dinner party. Because Evie Porter is not her real name, her relationship with local golden boy Ryan is not what it seems, and the consequences of anyone discovering the truth could be deadly.

Ashley Elston's first foray into adult fiction is a dynamic, riveting thriller which unfolds at an exhilarating pace and keeps the reader guessing till the very end.

The story plays out in one main timeline, with flashbacks to key moments in Evie's past filling in the gaps in the reader's knowledge in tantalisingly small pieces.

Evie is a delight of a protagonist - whip smart, resourceful and ruthless, yet with enough softness to her character that you are firmly in her corner. A tragic back story does a lot of the heavy lifting but it works because I was rooting for her even when she was at her most morally ambiguous. In contrast, her love interest Ryan is laughably bland, and this was the one element of the story I couldn't buy into.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

Lucca Marino was a loving daughter, she would do practically anything to buy the medication for her mother's cancer. Her skills as a small time thief brought her to the attention of a man who wanted to exploit and enhance her talents for his purposes. What follows next are a series of 'stings', very embedded and complex, entertaining too. Lucca is bright too and realises her worth but she is wise enough to know she could become a liability too. The 'man', a Mr Smith is clever too and seems to have eyes everywhere. It's almost a game of cat and mouse.
Will she get out alive?
First Lie Wins is a very cleverly conceived thriller. I cannot recall anything quite like it. I give it my thorough recommendation.

Really entertaining, kept me engaged in the mystery right through to the end. This is a very clever unique story line and written with good pace. Would be a fabulous beach read!

Loved it! This is just such a good entertaining read! There is a cleverly constructed plot to keep you turning the pages to find out more. I empathised with the main character and the air of mystery about her regardless of whether crimes were committed. I will be looking for more books by this author and I am certain they will be outstanding too.

The "baddie" was so well put together. Much different from other books. In fact, I thought to myself that the author brilliantly displayed so many layers of creativity throughout. Much to her credit.

I really enjoyed this book. It had me hooked immediately and kept my attention throughout. Full of suspense and thrills!