Friday, September 13, 2019

Book Review - State of Lies by Siri Mitchell

Book Synopsis
The secrets of those closest to us can be the most dangerous of all.
 
Months after her husband, Sean, is killed by a hit-and-run driver, physicist Georgie Brennan discovers he lied to her about where he had been going that day. A cryptic notebook, a missing computer, and strange noises under her house soon have her questioning everything she thought she knew.
With her job hanging by a thread, her son struggling to cope with his father’s death, and her four-star general father up for confirmation as the next Secretary of Defense, Georgie quickly finds herself tangled in a political intrigue that has no clear agenda and dozens of likely villains. Only one thing is clear: someone wants her dead too.

The more she digs for the truth, the fewer people she can trust.

Not her friends.

Not her parents.

Maybe not even herself.



Purchase Links


Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble | Thomas Nelson


My Review
Georgie Brennan is a physicist living in the D.C. area with her husband Sean and young son Sam.  When Sean dies in a tragic accident, her life is turned upside down.  Her father is being considered for Secretary of Defense, but she finds herself in danger that she doesn't understand.  She works to solve the mystery before it is too late.

State of Lies is a fast paced thriller.  The jeopardy that Georgie faces is intense and changeable.  I found it an exciting read and stayed up late two nights in a row reading because I couldn't put the book down!

Georgie is an interesting character.  She is a brilliant physicist and uses her deductive skills to solve the mystery she faces.  I know very little about physics, but the analogies and descriptions with physics terms are beautifully worded, and I think readers with a science background will especially appreciate them.  I loved reading passages like:

"I was missing a piece of the puzzle. ... It was like the gap between quantum physics and general relativity.  The first described the smallest particles in the universe while the second explained its vastness.  The problem was, neither could describe the other.  When you tried to join them together, the theories fell apart.  We all kept hoping that someone, somewhere could figure out a way to bridge the two and reconcile both branches of physics.  There had to be a solution.  We just didn't know what it was" (p. 293).

I found the story of Georgie and Sean, as it unfolds after his accident, particularly interesting.  Without giving spoilers, she realized that she didn't know some basic things about the man she married.  For instance,

"So that was the challenge.  How could I unknow the Sean I'd married?  How could I re-see the man I'd once known?  I needed to look, not for clues, but for something obvious.  Something, perhaps, that had been there the whole time" (p. 42). 

There is a political aspect to the mystery in this book, and the political pieces of the puzzle were intriguing;  they brought another level to the story and added extra twists and turns.

I highly recommend State of Lies for fans of well written mysteries and thrillers.  Just set aside some extra time -- this is a book that will keep you up late reading!
Author Bio
Siri Mitchell is the author of 14 novels. She has also written 2 novels under the pseudonym of Iris Anthony. She graduated from the University of Washington with a business degree and has worked in various levels of government. As a military spouse, she lived all over the world, including Paris and Tokyo. Siri is a big fan of the semi-colon but thinks the Oxford comma is irritatingly redundant.

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2 comments:

Siri Mitchell said...

I'm so glad you loved my book! Thank you for taking the time to write and post a review.

Sara Strand said...

I love a good thriller but you're right, adding the political component to it is another cool layer to keep you reading. Thank you so much for being on this tour! Sara @ TLC Book Tours