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Tell Me Lies
by
Jennifer Crusie (Goodreads Author)
Maddie Faraday's life would be perfect--if it weren't for
her cheating husband
her suspicious daughter
her gossipy mother
her secretive best friend
her nosy neighbors,
and that guy she lost her virginity to twenty years ago...
In Tell Me Lies, Jennifer Cruise dishes up a funny, sexy, suspenseful novel about small-town secrets, big-time betrayals and the redemptive power of love,...more
her cheating husband
her suspicious daughter
her gossipy mother
her secretive best friend
her nosy neighbors,
and that guy she lost her virginity to twenty years ago...
In Tell Me Lies, Jennifer Cruise dishes up a funny, sexy, suspenseful novel about small-town secrets, big-time betrayals and the redemptive power of love,...more
Paperback, 464 pages
Published
March 30th 2010
by St. Martin's Griffin
(first published January 1st 1998)
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Community Reviews
(showing
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3,000)
Aug 04, 2012
Jane Stewart
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
romantic-mystery
I cannot enjoy a story where the major plot events are based on heroine stupidity.
Tell Me Lies had five major stupidities. Here are two of them.
Maddie knows a security guard watches couples having sex at a place called The Point. So why does she insist that CL take her there to have sex? When the guard sees them, she is horrified. She is worried that he will gossip and she may have trouble getting custody of her daughter in the divorce. Apparently I am supposed to believe she had been drinking...more
Tell Me Lies had five major stupidities. Here are two of them.
Maddie knows a security guard watches couples having sex at a place called The Point. So why does she insist that CL take her there to have sex? When the guard sees them, she is horrified. She is worried that he will gossip and she may have trouble getting custody of her daughter in the divorce. Apparently I am supposed to believe she had been drinking...more
May 06, 2008
Susan Kelley
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
those in need of a steamy romance with a plot!
Recommended to Susan by:
Yahoo's Bookcrossing Reading Group
This was my first Crusie book, though I do have at least one other in my TBR mountain. I read this one for the Yahoo Bookcrossing Reading Group.
I most likely wouldn't have picked this one up on my own, as I have a million and a half books to read. In fact, I almost didn't finish the book. I wasn't entirely overwhelmed in my first day of reading the book. I even posted that opinion in the group. Well, pardon me. The book turned around and slapped me silly! Within hours of my post, I was totally o...more
I most likely wouldn't have picked this one up on my own, as I have a million and a half books to read. In fact, I almost didn't finish the book. I wasn't entirely overwhelmed in my first day of reading the book. I even posted that opinion in the group. Well, pardon me. The book turned around and slapped me silly! Within hours of my post, I was totally o...more
4 likes · like · see review
Not my favorite novel by Crusie - but still an enjoyable read.
May 06, 2013
Lyn
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
romance,
mystery-thriller
Maddie Faraday discovers her husband, Brent, is a lying cheat when she generously agrees to wash his car for him. She finds a pair of black lace crotchless panties under the front seat. One of her first thoughts is that now she can leave him.
Leaving a man who doesn't beat you or drink up his paycheck isn't easy in the small town of Frog Point, and Brent is running for mayor so he's careful to keep his reputation spotless. Maddie needs to find out who the other woman is.
Before she can, Brent is m...more
Leaving a man who doesn't beat you or drink up his paycheck isn't easy in the small town of Frog Point, and Brent is running for mayor so he's careful to keep his reputation spotless. Maddie needs to find out who the other woman is.
Before she can, Brent is m...more
*Tell Me Lies* is one of the first full novel-length Crusies, the canonical Crusie texts, so to speak. It still carries the taste of small-town Ohio that slowly vanishes from the later and imho best Crusie books like *Fast Women*, *Faking It* and *Bet Me*, and it doesn't quite manage the totally brilliant wisecracking that appears in those 3 (like the exchange in *Bet Me* where Cal kisses Min in a (very) public bar for a bet, and the bystanders remark, among other cracks that "The Russian judge...more
Aug 04, 2012
Tasneem
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
contemporary-romance
I adored this book. I loved C.L. and I adored Maddie. They are such a wonderful couple. I did find her a bit stupid at the start, she was so obsessed about the town, about what other people thought about her, and she was so heavily influenced by her mother. But then as she started to break free, I began to like her more and more. She became someone I wanted to cheer for, someone who became important to me. In many ways I see how that kind of small town mentality could be so stifling for growth....more
This was my first Jennifer Crusie read, and I was pleased with it for the most part. Maddie is a pretty average mom and wife, living in a small town where not only does everyone know your business, but they’ll tell your mother too. Having grown up in a town of 1200 people (in a good year), I can relate. Maddie was a little flightly and irrational (throwing away the evidence of your husband’s infidelity? leaving suspiciously found cash where it can be found?), but likable enough. I also liked C.L...more
Dec 22, 2009
Kathryn
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
contemporary,
romance
This was the first Crusie novel I've ever read, after hearing rave reviews about her. The premise here was good, and kept my interest.
::SPOILER ALERT::
My complaint was in two parts:
One) while I liked hero and heroine and their chemistry, I'm not comfortable with adultery. Even if her husband is already an adulterer, that doesn't make it okay for her to do it too. This was the first romance I've ever read where someone commit adultery and was applauded for it by the author.
Two) I agree with the...more
::SPOILER ALERT::
My complaint was in two parts:
One) while I liked hero and heroine and their chemistry, I'm not comfortable with adultery. Even if her husband is already an adulterer, that doesn't make it okay for her to do it too. This was the first romance I've ever read where someone commit adultery and was applauded for it by the author.
Two) I agree with the...more
This book wasn't quite what I look for when I Jennifer Crusie's novels. That, in and of itself, could account for the relatively low stars I've given it in comparison to her other works. The dialogue was fun, as it is in every Crusie book, but there wasn't much else to recommend the story.
I'd say this book belongs in a special subset of chick-lit that I like to call "adultery-lit." These are the books wherein a spouse seeks and finds fulfillment outside of marriage. Maddie, our protagonist, has...more
I'd say this book belongs in a special subset of chick-lit that I like to call "adultery-lit." These are the books wherein a spouse seeks and finds fulfillment outside of marriage. Maddie, our protagonist, has...more
1 like · like · see review
I just finished this book and to me it was just okay as compared to her other books. This book was a bit more serious than her other books, which are usually very funny, and I suppose that makes sense as this was a bit of a more serious story. I found some of the scenes that followed the main character's daughter tedious. I just didn't care what a couple of kids (elementary aged kids at that) were planning and thinking. I loved all of the scenes with C.L., especially the ones with his uncle.
Madd...more
Madd...more
I would have proudly proclaimed that I'd never read a romance novel before in my life - and never imagined I ever would! In search of a new author, Cussler was suggested to me. On the shelf right next to Cussler was Cruise...and I confess it was actually the candy "Conversation Hearts" on the cover that caught my eye! I read the jacket and thought it sounded interesting. "Cute"..."Fun"..."Light-hearted", I thought! It was all of the above! It's been a long time since I sat up until Midnight to f...more
I love a lot of what Jennifer Crusie has written for funny, light reads -- my favorites are probably Bet Me and Welcome to Temptation, but a lot of the others are also very entertaining.
Tell Me Lies reads like a "proto-Crusie" -- a lot of her characteristic elements are there: fiesty heroine discovering her inner fabulousness, redeemable hero being redeemed, cute kid, even cuter dog, fabulous friends and/or family characters, mystery to be solved complicating heroine and hero getting together.
Bu...more
Tell Me Lies reads like a "proto-Crusie" -- a lot of her characteristic elements are there: fiesty heroine discovering her inner fabulousness, redeemable hero being redeemed, cute kid, even cuter dog, fabulous friends and/or family characters, mystery to be solved complicating heroine and hero getting together.
Bu...more
Mar 20, 2012
Nena
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
womens-reads,
2012-reads
Audiobook: I enjoyed this book so much and it made for a great downtime inbetween the heavy duty dramas and thrillers that I devour. I loved the characters and the story even though some of the story was a bit hard to swallow (alot of rolling of my eyes throughout and "Oh no she just didn't") but I think women who are creeping up on middle age will relate to the main character here especially because some of our generation still worry about what the neighbors will say.
I have a hard time finding...more
I have a hard time finding...more
I missed the point of this book if there is one. Basic story line: small town where everyone knows everyone else's business and/or is related to each other. Twenty years have passed since high school graduation and former 'bad boy' comes back to town, now a successful accountant, to investigate a prominent citizen's company's financial soundness. The prominent citizen happened to be former 'big man on campus' who married 'most popular good girl' who actually was attracted to 'bad boy' who it tur...more
Not a fav. This book was a real let down for me. C.L. was cute enough but didn't have the spark of some of Crusie's other men. Maddie just caused problems all round. That bit with the gun and the money was a step too far for me and at that point I basically kept reading out of my own commitment to finish every book I start. The adultery didn't bother me as much as the totally improbable string of coincidences that drove this story. The two stars is for the little bit of raunch in C.L.'s characte...more
Interesting storyline, definately kept me interested. I felt bad for the main character, poor lady. I did get so annoyed though by the "what will other people think". I kept hearing myself say "who the H cares!?!??!?" That being said, I wanted to slap Maddie's mother. wow she was annoying! And I didnt quite get how Maddie's grandmother told her not to care what others thought, yet then she was worried what others thought. I didnt know if that was intentional or an author error. it wasnt obvious...more
Ironically, I found this book in a thrift store in Ohio, and I purchased because I knew I would need something to read on my ride back to NC. It was in the $1 bin and the cover stated it was a NY Times best seller. (Note to self: stop reading books solely because they made that list.)
I was drawn to the story, and kept reading because I wanted to solve the mystery, or at least know what really happened. However, I found the main character unlikable and I was really unable to sympathize with her....more
I was drawn to the story, and kept reading because I wanted to solve the mystery, or at least know what really happened. However, I found the main character unlikable and I was really unable to sympathize with her....more
Jennifer Crusie is an author that I adore. I would call her a guilty pleasure, but that would be implying that her writing isn't quality... and her writing is quality. There's nothing guilty about that.
Her books are the good romantic comedies of the business. Laugh out loud funny, each and every one of them packs at least two moments that you'll find yourself shaking your head and relating to the protagonist. Her mysteries are good, and compelling. Reading through her back catalogue you can see...more
Her books are the good romantic comedies of the business. Laugh out loud funny, each and every one of them packs at least two moments that you'll find yourself shaking your head and relating to the protagonist. Her mysteries are good, and compelling. Reading through her back catalogue you can see...more
The first two books I read by Crusie were pretty funny but Tell Me Lies was a little more serious with no humor at all. I did like the hero and heroine and the mystery of who killed the heroine's husband but I don't like the adultery that was committed. I think that part of the story could have been a little different.
A cheater of a husband who also embezzled..a tight knit small town where you can't sneeze without the whole town knowing... A murder a set up...long lost
Love...long lived lies.... So much going on! A super fast fun read that got mind off my troubles so a few hours well spent. I liked the feisty funny gran, in the home, I liked the handsome hunk boyfriend from high school...who popped back into town after twenty years gone... Who had changed into a hard working decent man...it was a nice little r...more
Love...long lived lies.... So much going on! A super fast fun read that got mind off my troubles so a few hours well spent. I liked the feisty funny gran, in the home, I liked the handsome hunk boyfriend from high school...who popped back into town after twenty years gone... Who had changed into a hard working decent man...it was a nice little r...more
Eh, not Crusie's best work by a long shot. Had a hard time relating to the character. Maddie was wishy-washy and easily swayed by the opinions of others as the book begins. There is some nice character development along the way, but it took a long time for Maddie to get the sass out of her shell. The domestic abuse scene was confusing and I'm still scratching my head at what it added to the story. Other confusing plot developments abounded as the mystery unraveled, particularly Maddie's choices...more
Maddie's the "good girl" in a small busybody town. She's always done everything she was expected to do: married her high school sweetheart, had a child, calls her mother every day, and lives right down the street from her lifelong best friend just like when they were growing up together. All it takes is finding another woman's crotchless panties in her husband's car to get her questioning everything. When her old crush, the town bad boy, suddenly comes back after 20 years, Maddie's passions are...more
I'm torn on this JC. The first time I read it, I found it a real downer; this last time through, and I'm kind of impressed -- it feels more substantial in some ways than her other books. It does make me wonder about the pace of fictional relationships. A few days together, and the main characters are certain they're Meant To Be. I know we're dealing with Novel-World vs Real Life so it's not like this is keeping me awake nights, but it does make me wonder -- would I be any more happily married if...more
This one wasn't one of my favorite books by Crusie. I got kinda upset with the way everyone in the town always knew everyone's business. Maybe because that kind of situation would drive me insane. I mean, no one could do anything without everyone knowing something, and if they didn't know the truth they made things up! I know this is the concept of the book but it got to be too much. I did like the charcater of Maddie, however, C.L. was a tiny bit hard to believe that he so easily loved Maddie r...more
Jun 22, 2009
Wendy
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
jennifer-crusie,
contemporary-romance
This one wasn't one of my favorites of JC's. I've read several of her books and really enjoyed them, but this one had a small town gossip undercurrent that started to bug me fairly soon into the book. It bothered me that the characters were so worried about what the town thought that it effected everything that they did. Some of that is okay, we all live with it a little, but this went over the top. I really liked the characters and their relationships to each other, but the story seemed to drag...more
I'm disappointed. I love Jennifer Crusie, especially Bet Me and Faking it, as sh always made me laugh when her witty and funny stories but this was just a let down.
It was a bit slow pace and the development of the characters took a long time. The characters, especially the protagonist, were a little bit hard to like - Maddie, 38 was immature and sometimes stupid, and C.L was trying to better citizen but can't help to be old bad self with the still married Maddie.
Despite that, the mystery of th...more
It was a bit slow pace and the development of the characters took a long time. The characters, especially the protagonist, were a little bit hard to like - Maddie, 38 was immature and sometimes stupid, and C.L was trying to better citizen but can't help to be old bad self with the still married Maddie.
Despite that, the mystery of th...more
I think I liked the setting of this one, the vaguely-claustrophobic atmosphere that accompanies small town life, better than I did the actual romance. That struck me as oddly paced and more than a little unconvincing, and a strange accompaniment to the slightly darker themes Crusie touched on—Maddie and C.L. were perfectly likeable, but I'm still at a loss as to how they progressed so quickly from haven't-seen-you-in-twenty-years to love-you-let's-marry. Em was a cute kid, but her dialogue and t...more
Not a literary classic, but a fun read at a time when I really needed a diversion. I likened it to reading "Desperate Housewives" with more likable characters. The main character Maddie has grown up being the perfect small town girl. She finds her husband has been cheating on her, and her old high school fling shows up on the front porch. Lots of complications, a gossipy mom, a wild grandma, a dear best friend, many secrets, and some sexy bits, plus multiple laughs made this great fun. Jennifer...more
This is the story of a woman who finds out her husband is cheating on her, decides to divorce him, has revenge sex with a high school lover, only to have her husband find out and hit her a couple of times, finds out said husband is embezzling and planning on leaving her and kidnapping her daughter. Oh and... her best friend is being blackmailed, she's in a car accident and has to navigate town gossip all while attempting to maintain her reputation as the town "good girl." GAH!! I found the Maddi...more
Mar 01, 2013
Crystal
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
traded,
contemporary
Go me - I finished a book! Woohoo!
Ok...
I have come to the conclusion that Crusie's strong point is she's great at character studies; it's just that sometimes I really don't relate well to the character she's created.
Maddie is a respectable hobbit who never does anything unexpected - well, other than giving her virginity to the town trouble maker in revenge because her erstwhile boyfriend kissed some OTHER girl after the big game. Since then, she's married said boyfriend, had a kid, and behaved h...more
Ok...
I have come to the conclusion that Crusie's strong point is she's great at character studies; it's just that sometimes I really don't relate well to the character she's created.
Maddie is a respectable hobbit who never does anything unexpected - well, other than giving her virginity to the town trouble maker in revenge because her erstwhile boyfriend kissed some OTHER girl after the big game. Since then, she's married said boyfriend, had a kid, and behaved h...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To Romance or Not to Romance? | 8 | 40 | 10 nov. 14:26 |
Jenny Crusie is the NYT bestselling author of twenty some novels and lots of other stuff. Her latest novel, Maybe This Time, hit shelves in August, 2010.
Jenny lives on the Ohio River where she often stares at the ceiling and counts her blessings.
More about Jennifer Crusie...
Jenny lives on the Ohio River where she often stares at the ceiling and counts her blessings.
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updated 08 août 19:55
oooh. I didn’t do that well. Now that you two have mentioned it, I don’t like what I wrote so I changed it. Personally I value hone...more
09 août 05:59