J. T. Ellison

Her Dark Lies by J.T. Ellison will be available Mar 09, 2021. Preorder your copy today

Her Dark Lies

Angela Guilherme

*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

When Claire Hunter met Jackson Compton it was love at first sight. A whirlwind romance that culminates in their wedding at his family’s estate at Isle Isola in Italy.

Claire and Jack are from two different worlds. She’s an artist, from a middle class family, and he’s the fourth generation of a millionaire and famous family, not only because of their business but also from their philanthropy. And they are both hiding secrets...

Even though Jack fell in love with Claire just as she is, she began to change almost immediately, turning herself into what she believes Jack’s wife should be. He’s ten years older than her and a widower. His first wife died in mysterious circumstances but he doesn’t like talking about it. And, eventually, Claire becomes obsessed in finding everything she can about her.

Meanwhile, someone is watching their every move...

A few days before the wedding, when they return home, they surprise an armed intruder and, in the ensuing fight, Claire shoots him dead to save Jack. But the version that becomes official is that it was the security guard Marlcom who killed him. After all, the family’s reputation has to be protected...

This is only the first incident and the first body as the wedding date grows nearer. And it soon becomes obvious that the killer is in the island where their whole family as well as the rest of the guests are, trapped due to a series of storms. It also becomes evident that the killer is determined to, not only stop the wedding from happening, but also on destroying the Comptons.

When the last storm is finally over, who will have survived at Isle Isola? And will the wedding happen?

A claustrophobic thriller, where all the characters have secrets they don’t want to see revealed. I really liked it, even if it wasn’t all that hard to figure out who the killer was. Even so, the author was still able to surprise. And she wasn’t shy about killing her characters...

Samantha King

This book is fast paced, with short chapters and keeps you wanting more.
The whole time I was reading this I was trying to figure it all out. I was never bored it kept my interest and its written really well.
Irs a skillfully written thriller I knew from the very first page this was going to be good and I wasn't wrong it continued to get better and the ending was done so well.
There was so much going on I was pulled right into the story.
The setting was perfect
The characters were well written
And the story was done brilliantly

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

 

Book: Her Dark Lies

 

Author: J.T. Ellison

 

Book Series: Standalone

 

Rating: 2/5

 

Recommended For...: thriller lovers

 

Publication Date: March 9, 2021

 

Genre: Thriller

 

Recommended Age: Can't reccomend, DNFed

 

Publisher: MIRA

 

Pages: 336

 

Synopsis: Jutting from sparkling turquoise waters off the Italian coast, Isle Isola is an idyllic setting for a wedding. In the majestic cliff-top villa owned by the wealthy Compton family, up-and-coming artist Claire Hunter will marry handsome, charming Jack Compton, surrounded by close family, intimate friends…and a host of dark secrets.

From the moment Claire sets foot on the island, something seems amiss. Skeletal remains have just been found. There are other, newer disturbances, too. Menacing texts. A ruined wedding dress. And one troubling shadow hanging over Claire’s otherwise blissful relationship—the strange mystery surrounding Jack’s first wife.

Then a raging storm descends, the power goes out—and the real terror begins…

 

Review: Had to DNF this read at 23%. The book didn't connect with me and it was really boring at the beginning of the read. When it started to pick up a little, the pace slowed back down again and I didn't have the energy to deal with this book.

 

Verdict: Not for me, but maybe for you.

Totally Addicted to Reading

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.I knew going into this book I would be in for a thrilling ride, and it did not disappoint. Riddled with secrets, lies, revenge and death, Her Dark Lies by J.T. Ellison kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. 

In this story we meet Claire and Jack who are in the middle of planning their wedding, but someone doesn’t want them getting married. A fact which became clear after the many attacks, most of which resulted in someone’s death, against Claire. The questions running through my mind as I went deeper into this twisted world, is why and who would want to attack Claire and hurt Jack. Did it have anything to do with Jack being a multi-millionaire and Claire a struggling artist, or the death of Jack’s first wife, which occurred under mysterious circumstances? Whatever the answer, someone did not want these two joined in marriage. The further I dug, the darker the revelations became. Despite the story’s predictability, it still had me turning the pages. 

The fact the wedding was scheduled to take place on the same island where Jack’s first wife died mysteriously added to the intensity of the story. Also, the strange occurrences leading up to the wedding made the story atmospheric. The story began on an interesting note, with the pace slowing down as the author described the island, the villa and the surrounding area. It picks up the pace at around the twenty percent mark and maintained a steady momentum throughout the story.

The story delivered the POVs of Claire and the person behind the attacks, which provided interesting insights into their minds. Claire was no saint, actually neither were any of the characters featured throughout the story. They all had skeletons in their closet, which they would not want revealed. Jack never spoke about his first wife with Claire, and she never told him about her shady past. What a pair they both made.

After all that had transpired, I expected a dramatic ending, but I found it to be anti-climactic. Despite this, I found Her Dark Lies entertaining. A must read for fans of thrillers. 
This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading

Megan Leprich

This was J.T. Ellison's best book by far! It was so fast-paced and I had no idea what was going to happen next. The atmosphere was perfectly set up to where you felt like you were at this villa with the characters seeing everything they were seeing and feeling the weather and overall spookiness of this desolate place.

The characters were also perfectly executed and well-built. I was having the hardest time figuring out who the "bad guy" was and who was telling the truth and who was lying. Each of the many characters brought a very specific aspect to the story and I love how the author portrayed each of them. My favorite character by far was Claire, the girl that didn't fit into all this wealth with her creative, artistic personality. I feel that I connected with her the most because she kind of reminds me of myself and her character really surprised me throughout the whole book with how tough she was.

The ending is what really tipped the scales for me, it was so unpredictable and amazing. I didn't understand the twist at the end at first but after rereading it I'm in even more awe of this awesome story that J.T. Ellison created.

*Thank you so much to Mira Books and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of this book for my honest review!*

J.T. Ellison

Fast-paced and brilliantly unpredictable, J.T. Ellison’s breathtaking new novel invites you to a wedding none will forget—and some won’t survive. Jutting from sparkling turquoise waters off the Italian coast, Isle Isola is an idyllic setting for a wedding. In the majestic cliff-top villa owned by the wealthy Compton family, up-and-coming artist Claire Hunter will marry handsome, charming Jack Compton, surrounded by close family, intimate friends…and a host of dark secrets. From the moment Claire sets foot on the island, something seems amiss. Skeletal remains have just been found. There are other, newer disturbances, too. Menacing texts. A ruined wedding dress. And one troubling shadow hanging over Claire’s otherwise blissful relationship—the strange mystery surrounding Jack’s first wife. Then a raging storm descends, the power goes out—and the real terror begins…

A Novel

Amy Medeiros

Wedding of the year turns deadly

This suspenseful thriller began starts off with what happens to the wife of a very rich man and then jumps to the new fiancée and how she’s coping with being the new bride. Right before the big lavish wedding at their gorgeous villa horrible things start to happen. I love how the author beautifully described the island setting off the Italian coast and the fast paced happenings that lead up to the crazy ending.

Sharon Steinman

Suspense books are a great way to keep yourself distracted. I read this book over the past few days and really enjoyed it. There were some good twists and turns in the book. The book was written with two narratives which I enjoyed. 

Claire Hunter is an artist who falls in love with Jack Crompton. Jack comes from a very affluent and influential family. She and Jack are getting married on Isla Isola on in a very private and prestigious wedding. Claire's life now is so different from her life when she was younger. She never would have expected to be here.

Jack is attentive and wonderful fiancé and she can't wait to start her life with him. Jack was married before to before for brief period of time ten years ago to Morgan. Morgan died in an unfortunate accident and Jack has been able to talk about it with Claire.

So many lies in this book, read away as all the truths start to come out.

Chantale

This just isn’t for me. I found it just dragged on and I gave up because no point in reading something that you can’t get into

Her Dark Lies

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