Gathering Lies

This is a typical Meg O'Brien book;exciting, suspenseful, with many surprises in store. It is well written and keeps you turning the pages with the suspense mounting with each turnof a page. You will change the--Who Did It..many times over. This book is without a doubt a five star, it is an excellant thriller. I'm looking forward to her next book. It amazes me that each book Meg writes seems to surpass her last. Great work Meg!

I enjoyed Gathering Lies very much. Meg's ideas are different and refreshing. Her characters always leave me waiting to meet with them again in between bits of time I can grab to read. I highly recommend this book as I do with her others and especially her Jesse James series. Sincerely, Terri Doria

I've been a Meg-a-Fan back since the Jesse James novels, and I'm glad to say Meg just keeps getting better. In this book, Meg blends murder with a huge natural disaster. And guess what? The disaster is a major earthquake hitting the Seattle area! (Meg must be psychic) This book has a great visual tone to it. I could almost see, and feel, the earthquake happening. Sarah, the heroine, is delightfully determined, even though she's up against impossible situations and dealing with a strange mix of personalities. Forced to work together after being marooned on an island after the quake, these characters struggle with issues like little food, no power, limited shelter, and no communication with the mainland. When one of the group is found murdered, distrust starts to hinder the groups chances of survival. Murderer or not, wood still needs to be cut for a fire to keep warm. But who are you going to give the ax to! This book gets five stars all the way. I liked every page of it, except maybe the blank one after the "End." :-)

Angel, a Seattle prostitute accuses five police officers of rape. Angel turns to attorney Sara Lansing for help, but the quintet of law enforcement officials derail her case with the apparent help of some high level individuals. Someone murders Angel and Sarah is arrested on trumped up possession charges. While on bail, Sarah decides to write a book exposing the Seattle Five. Harassment ensues and she accepts an offer to join five female writers at the Thornberry writer's retreat on Esme Island. Unbeknownst to Sarah is that she has been lured to the island so that the evidence of the DNA stocking Angel gave her can be retrieved and she can be silenced forever. An earthquake isolates the women even further, but does not stop Sarah from believing a killer has murdered someone even if everyone else shouts accident. Sarah wonders whether she can even trust the man she is falling in love with. GATHERING LIES is a strong romantic suspense tale that centers on the action. The story line is fast-paced and filled with many surprising twists and turns though some seem unnecessarily adding more tension to an otherwise taut thriller. Sarah is a courageous lead character and the secondary cast especially on Esme Island augments the growing unease that she and the reader feel because whom does the heroine trust? Meg O'Brien has written an absorbing suspense thriller that never eases up until the reader completes the final pages.Harriet Klausner

Set on a remote island in the San Juan Islands of Washington State. It is a well written book with attention to detail that readers of other books written by Meg O'Brien have come to appreciate. Without giving away a lot of the plot, I will point out that O'Brien brings out the dependency that residents of these islands have on ferry service to come and go from the islands for even the bare necessities of life. The beauty and grandeur are elluded to without being specific. She also writes of the solitude and isolation desired by many who live in the islands who might be looked upon by some city dwellers as reclusive. The characters are involved in the usual suspense and mystery with some not making it to the end of the novel without coming to a graphically depicted untimely end. It is another book written by Meg O'Brien that is well worth adding to your personal library.