Joe Lynch makes an impetuous decision one evening, after his son William spots Mommy’s car in traffic. Joe follows his wife Mel, so they can surprise her. He’s surprised when she pulls into an underground parking lot for a hotel. He and Wills go to the lobby to look for her, but Joe steps in front of his son, so he won’t see Mommy arguing with another man. Joe recognizes him—Ben Delaney, the husband of one of Mel’s oldest friends—but he doesn’t want his son to see the argument. So he takes Wills back to the car and distracts him with his tablet so he can talk to Mel. But Mel is so upset, she doesn’t see him. She just gets in her car and leaves.

And then Joe finds himself face to face with Ben.

There are words. And then there are fists. And then there is blood. A lot of blood. And when William starts to have an asthma attack, Joe panics and leaves to make sure his son will be okay. He gets them home and finds Wills’s inhaler. And then he heads back to the hotel. But Ben and his car are gone. Joe tells himself that Ben must have gotten up and driven home.

Only Ben never shows up at home. And the police start asking him uncomfortable questions. And Joe finds himself in the middle of a really bad situation while his entire life starts to unravel. As he makes his way through the lies and secrets, will he be left with anything at all at the end?

T.M. Logan has written a twisty story where you never quite know what to believe. There are clearly layers of truths somewhere, but sussing them out takes some work. I enjoyed this thriller. There were some aspects of the story that I thought were a little predictable, but it’s well written, and I did really like the characters. I thought it was believable and interesting. It was a fun read, and I recommend it as a solid thriller.

Galleys for Lies were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.