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Why She Lied

Julie Coons (Goodreads Author)

4.21 · Rating details · 42 ratings · 22 reviews

Will she have to lose her child to save her child?

The day she tells her boyfriend she’s pregnant, is the same day he tells her he’s been accused of molestation. His trial is set to begin the following day.

She needs answers…

To get them, she tricks her boyfriend into signing a release form, giving her full access to all of his legal documents. She uncovers the truth, he’s ...more

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Kindle Edition, 170 pages

Published March 3rd 2019

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Apr 06, 2019 Vishnu Chevli rated it really liked it

My teammate read the first book of Julie Coons, which was a memoir/autobiography and he really liked it. He recommended me to read the same. At that time I was busy so didn't get time to read it. But last month when I saw her upcoming book, and I took time and decided to read the book. It was indeed a correct decision.

The protagonist of our story is Julie (I am not sure whether she is the author herself or not). Julie, the character, had an abusive past. When the story started, she was living wi My teammate read the first book of Julie Coons, which was a memoir/autobiography and he really liked it. He recommended me to read the same. At that time I was busy so didn't get time to read it. But last month when I saw her upcoming book, and I took time and decided to read the book. It was indeed a correct decision.

The protagonist of our story is Julie (I am not sure whether she is the author herself or not). Julie, the character, had an abusive past. When the story started, she was living with her daughter. She was working in a hospital's emergency ward. Due to her troubled past, she was more of an introvert and reserved. She worked on her gut feeling most of the times. Recently a guy name James was visiting the hospital frequently due to his mother's health. He liked Julie and wanted to date her. But Julie was ignoring her. James made many people convince Julie to date him. She went against her gut feelings. though she was getting negative vibes from James, she started dating him. Things were going okay (though vibes she was getting never dissipated), one day when James self-invited himself for a night out at Julie's place, things started horribly wrong. Read the book to know more.

My observation about the book. Starting with positive points
1) A pure work of a psychological genius
2) Dark and mysterious till the end
3) Limited characters.
4) Properly focused on the development of Julie's character and her mental state
5) Good suspense building over James' character and surrounded incidents
6) Shocking revelation
7) If it is a true story then I would salute that lady

Now we will start with points of improvement
8) In the first half every alternate page Julie would talk about her gut feeling which became redundant after the first few pages.
9) Though revelation Julie found was at a very big level, people behind the scene didn't hide anything to get away before actions were taken. Seems unrealistic to me
10) Julie's single-handed surveillance. How could she go unnoticed?
11) Frequent narrations of Julie's past, some of them could have been avoided.

Overall a nice psychological dark tale.

Detailed Review Will Follow Shortly - https://chevusread.blogspot.com/2019/... ...more

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Jul 15, 2019 Dianne rated it liked it

Shelves: 07-read, author-review, abuse, own, psychological-thriller, rape

He had a lot of people recommending that Julie date him, but there was something that left Julie uneasy. Perhaps if she had followed her gut, her life would not have become even more of a nightmare than it had been. Then again, maybe she never would have found the strength to fight evil at its roots.

Julie Coons’s WHY SHE LIED is a jagged and heartbreaking tale of abuse, lies, deceit and the determination of one woman to protect her child at any cost. Told in the main character’s voice, this read ...more

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Jun 25, 2019 Jody ~ Reading To Live A Thousand Lives rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019-goodreads-challenge, hard-copy-from-publisher

Gut wrenching and honest- A BOOK YOU NEED TO READ

I have not cried this much reading a book like I did when I read Julie's story. When I first agreed to read this book I was told how it actually read, and when I mean by that is Julie tells her story of bringing down one of the biggest human trafficking rings ever. I can't believe everything this woman went through to bring these people to justice. To me she is a hero and I would love to meet her personally and just give her a hug for saving all t ...more

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Jul 03, 2019 Frank Frisson rated it really liked it

People who find it difficult to deal with bad things in life tend to mentally conjure up other or imaginary worlds to escape into. Living in something akin to a war zone can be tough for anybody. It can make you see things that you're mind might find difficult to grasp as it can only take so much. This is where a wild imagination and daydreaming skill comes in for the main character in Why She Lied, a psychological thriller by Julie Coons which is based on a true story. This is the second book t
People who find it difficult to deal with bad things in life tend to mentally conjure up other or imaginary worlds to escape into. Living in something akin to a war zone can be tough for anybody. It can make you see things that you're mind might find difficult to grasp as it can only take so much. This is where a wild imagination and daydreaming skill comes in for the main character in Why She Lied, a psychological thriller by Julie Coons which is based on a true story. This is the second book that I get to review by this amazing author. The first, a great read by itself, was a novel titled This Does Not Leave This House.

Julie lives in Oregon. Since her breakup with a man named TJ, someone who cheated on her for eight months during their relationship, she had a drop in self-confidence and self-esteem. An admitting clerk in the busiest trauma centre on the West Coast, Julie started dating a man named James, but if this man was right for her was a question that nagged at her from the very beginning. One night, he raped her and got her pregnant. After luring a little girl under the age of twelve out of a daycare center and sexually abusing her, he gets convicted. Can she move forward knowing that the man she fell for is a convicted child molester?

Julie is introduced as a single mother and an empath who has a daughter that nearly lost her life due to an illness called spinal meningitis. She is also portrayed as a hardworking woman that is glued to her job because of her daughter's deadbeat father's unwillingness to support her financially. Her portrayal is that of someone who can become quickly sad and depressed. Her history with guys isn't great. Her rape experience with James is only the second. She was also raped in college. Her childhood experience wasn't a favorable one: she learned rather to doubt than trust herself. But her strong motherly qualities allows her to tackle her life's obstacles head on.

Coons writes in the first person narrative. The first scene vivifies a pretty hectic day in Julie's life as it gives us a glimpse of what it's like to work in a trauma centre. On this day a teenage boy looses his life due to a motorcycle accident; this boy's brother is distraught to the point where he ends up running through her work station and jumping over her counter with one major leap. A short moment later a baby gets abused and flighted to a different hospital for a better chance to survive. She also describes the hospital environment in great detail. She explains, for example, what phone in the ER is meant for multiple trauma. This shift she works ends with her encountering a serial killer.

There are a lot of scary things that happened in Julie's small town. Back in the 60's, a serial killer named Jerome Brudos - he lived on a street not far from where Julie worked - was responsible for the deaths of several woman. He was known as "The Lust Killer". Oregon sounds like a really creepy place to live in. One night, while driving home, she would spot a man in a hooded jacket that would show up on the evening news as being captured for questioning in relation to a recent murder.

While the author strives for an informative beginning, readers might feel that the details are a bit too much. The author focuses a lot on what life is like working in an ER department. The benefit of it is that getting this illustration out of the way is making it easier for readers to familiarize themselves with Julie Coons as an admitting clerk and showing readers all of the different things that she has to deal with for the day.

Ordered by the court to stay away from all children, James is a pretty misguiding character. I didn't like the author's initial lack of effort when it came to describing James physically. The author describes him only as not being a bad looking guy that is tall, dark and a little bit handsome. His friends view him as this really stand up guy whereas Julie knows what a monster he is. James has this friend that Julie ends up conversing with named Mike who is a father of four. Julie thus has a substantial reason for worrying about the safety of Mike's children. James has this innate talent for getting people to both trust and speak highly of him.

Making matters worse is that James eventually makes it to Oregon's top ten most wanted list by the FBI. I couldn't help but notice that Julie's empathetic personality makes it unable for her to see that James even made it to the list. The guy that Julie ends up crossing paths with is a detective named Joe, a man who turns out having an extremely gigantic heart inside him. Someone had been watching Julie and her daughter when she drove up to a secluded trailer in the woods one day. Quite a hair-raising moment during the story. Another is a sure threat that was made on her life through a phone call. "I'm wondering if this could be a lot bigger than just James being a wanted fugitive."

The author writes that she used to think that the worst monsters were religious monsters and that priests and nuns are like wolves hiding behind habits. Though religious sexual predators are not unheard of, I thought this view of hers to be harshly worded and I saw it more as an attack on religion.

This is one of those stalker novels that gets your heart beating pretty darn fast every time you hear the phone ring. Julie Coons offers something indispensable, pummeling through this flyblown business that is child abuse and human trafficking. She inspires readers to stand up against these horrifying monsters that live among us. ...more

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Jun 30, 2019 Lauren Jones rated it it was amazing

Do you follow your gut instincts? What do they tell you when you meet people? Do they guide you in relationships or at work? These questions are ones that Coons brings up throughout this story. It is so important to follow those signs that really warn you about those you run into contact with. This story will pull readers in from the shear psychological aspect and the gripping terror that accompanies the main character in her journey to find peace AND justice from those who wish her harm.

Julie Do you follow your gut instincts? What do they tell you when you meet people? Do they guide you in relationships or at work? These questions are ones that Coons brings up throughout this story. It is so important to follow those signs that really warn you about those you run into contact with. This story will pull readers in from the shear psychological aspect and the gripping terror that accompanies the main character in her journey to find peace AND justice from those who wish her harm.

Julie works in the hospital and has a job that pays the bills, but it isn’t ideal. The things that she sees can really get to a person…but she trudges on through it all because she has a daughter that needs her more than anything else. She has made it this far, after finally escaping an abusive family situation with her mother, and she is determined that she can definitely be a better mother. Upon pressure from coworkers and friends, Julie starts to see a man who has asked her several times on a date, but something just hasn’t felt right. Instead of going with that feeling and denying him yet again, she goes and ignores all of the signs that something is dreadfully wrong with this man. After things progress with the relationship, she becomes pregnant and decides to tell him, but then the ball drops. James informs Julie that he has been accused of molesting a child and has to go to court, the very next day. Struggling through her emotions and trying to find the truth, Julie knows that this may be the beginning of something much bigger, especially after she begins digging through James’ past and the charges that he faces. Little does she know that her past may be intermingled with his and a much greater evil.

Coons has a hair-raising novel that is very quick in pace, which makes it a little easier to read (even though some of it was difficult to read through due to content). Julie reaches her readers with raw emotional turmoil, grabbing the reader with fear, anxiety, and determination. The story is very well written, with little to no spelling or grammatical errors. Everything was vivid, even though some things were more painful to envision than others—our final thought on this story is that is credible and very enlightening to the darker aspects of society. The criminals that still hold ranks in this country go to lengths that will terrify almost anyone and awareness holds a lot of power. Unfortunately, it is difficult to understand something so traumatic if one hasn’t found themselves in the same situation; however, this story feels real and will give the reader goosebumps from the author’s intense descriptiveness of every scene. If you are a reader of organized crime, true crime, and psychological thrillers, this one should be in your hands next.

A copy of this book was provided to Turning Another Page by the author and in no way affects the honesty of this review. We provide a five-star rating to Why She Lied by Julie Coons. ...more

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Jul 18, 2019 HeidiLynns BookReviews rated it it was amazing

First, I want to thank Julie Coons for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

Julie Coons is an incredibly strong and brave woman to share her very intense and powerful story with the world in Why She Lied. This book is not only on my must read of the year-but-my all time favorite read of the year. It is one of those psychological thrillers that will totally shock you, blow you away, make you cringe, make you cry (at least I did), but then you have to remember-this is someon First, I want to thank Julie Coons for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

Julie Coons is an incredibly strong and brave woman to share her very intense and powerful story with the world in Why She Lied. This book is not only on my must read of the year-but-my all time favorite read of the year. It is one of those psychological thrillers that will totally shock you, blow you away, make you cringe, make you cry (at least I did), but then you have to remember-this is someone’s true story! This actually happened to someone!! Then all I wanted to do was hug Julie and never let her go.

I will be blunt this is a dark and twisted book. This is not a feel-good book at all! It is a book with a lot of issues that I feel need to be discussed in the review in case it is a trigger for the readers. This book deals with pedophile, sex and human trafficking, rape by nuns and priests at a Catholic School, Abortion and the aftermath of it, narcissistic parents, murder, lots of secrets, molestation, etc. This is not a book for just anyone. This went beyond any #MeToo book I have ever read before.

Julie blew me away with this book. Right away she captured my attention with the book. She mentioned she is in an Em-path and has a caring heart. This is why she went into the medical field. I too have that trait and I too was in the medical field. In the beginning of the book she discussed many medical cases she worked on. This part of the book very much intrigued me to no end. I love medical themed books as well. So I was loving this book.

She continued to capture my interest throughout the book. Why She Lied was one of the books with the most secrets, shockers, twists and turns. This was the first book I was ever truly scared to death for the character and cried my eyes out at the end for her. I wanted to hold her and be there for her at the end of all this.

Single ladies be careful who you choose to date!!! Not everyone is who you seem!!

Julie Coons Why She Lied needs to make it to the big screen or even NetFlix Original! This movie has to be made. I am so incredibly passionate about this book and this author!! This has blockbuster written all over it!! You just have to read the book to see what I am talking about.

I honestly hope by writing this that she was able to heal from all of this. I also hope by writing this that it could help someone in this situation.
...more

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Mar 16, 2019 Lisa rated it really liked it

Very compelling subject matter

Like Julie herself admits, she's not a writer, she's a story teller. Her writing isn't very polished and she jumps from the first to the third person very throughout the book, so it doesn't read professionally at all. She could polish her writing up just by paying attention to that single detail. As it is, it's kind of sloppy to read her talking in the first person in one paragraph, then skipping right to the third in the next, and back to the first in another. Even Very compelling subject matter

Like Julie herself admits, she's not a writer, she's a story teller. Her writing isn't very polished and she jumps from the first to the third person very throughout the book, so it doesn't read professionally at all. She could polish her writing up just by paying attention to that single detail. As it is, it's kind of sloppy to read her talking in the first person in one paragraph, then skipping right to the third in the next, and back to the first in another. Even sentence to sentence.

But, I noticed no typos and no editing errors so there were no bothersome mistakes there. And her character development was good (she's the main character) although I'd have liked to have seen Det. Joe built up a bit more.

This book was "based" on a true story, so I'm not sure how much of it was actually true, but did recognize some of the scenes from her other book about the abuse in her childhood. Some of that is touched on in this book, but it's not necessary you read the other book first

Julie does take the matter of human trafficking and being it to the forefront, showing that even in a smaller town in America, not coming in through the borders, but just state to state, humans are being used as commodities. The women are used as "breeders" to continue to produce children to be sold to the highest bidder to be either used for their own sick fantasies, for domestic slavery, for the "owner" to abuse, or to use as human sacrifice in satanic rituals. Even if sold for a less nefarious purpose, the selling of a child is just wrong.

I'm not sure if Ms Julie did any research for this book. There is one statistic listed that she obtained from one other book, but it would have been nice to see a list of maybe some help lines in the back, since she also seems to be interested in advocating to stop this from happening, and states such at the end near, or on, the "About the Author" page.

This book reads more like a memoir than a fictional psychological thriller, so it would probably attract readers who are interested in those, or in her first book.

It's an interesting and well thought out book, but her writing style needs some polish... then again... she does say she's not a writer, so I'll cut her some slack on that ...more

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Jul 04, 2019 Pallavi Sareen rated it it was amazing

Why she Lied is a book that intrigued me because of the human trafficking part. I have read plenty of such books and keep an eye on others that revolve around the same theme. The problem with such books is that they often end up being completely gruesome while not giving much details about the chain of events, how it happens, how can you recognize a trafficker because let’s be honest, one can’t assume such a horrific thing about anyone. Yet, knowing that your boyfriend (even if it is ex) is invo ...more

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Jul 13, 2019 Heena Rathore P. rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime, mystery, thriller, psychological-thriller, adult, review-requests, dark-fiction

Why She Lied by Julie Coons is a refreshing new dark psychological thriller with a great concept, a nicely executed plot and decent characterization. This book had just the right amount of complexity to make it an engaging read without being too overly complex.

Overall, this book was a gripping thriller. The characterization wasn't exactly spot on, but I cared for the main character, Julie, enough to read through the entire book with interest. The layers of background made her a likeable lead an ...more

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May 31, 2019 Beth rated it really liked it

I was contacted by the author to please check out this read, I really appreciate when authors do that ...that they will connected me directly .. or have one of their peeps do that. SO COOL. I did reply with I have KU ... I would be happy to see if it was a fit for me. I love a good mystery ... u know that. Whatever makes you happy, I am sorry I had to laugh at another reviewer ... pure fiction .. i think the point was it was based on a true story .. not a word for word truth??! u have to be look ...more

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Jun 10, 2019 Energy rated it really liked it

What drew me to Why She Lied was the fact it was based off a true story, the author's life. The writing is simple, but the subject material is not. We follow Julie as she navigates a relationship she should have never been in and all the horrors that follow. When you think things can't get worse, they do, and so much more so.

I think it would be easy for a reader to judge Julie for her mistakes, but a person that has been raised in such an abusive atmosphere tends to repeat their mistakes because ...more

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Mar 27, 2019 Amy Shannon rated it really liked it

Interesting premise

Coons tells a good story, and Why She Lied is definitely a thriller. I like Coons's writing style, and have been drawn to her words and style before. I liked the backstory, and how not only the author weaves an interesting story, the story's character, Julie, is trying to make a new life, while a past life haunts her. A seemingly simple story premise grows and develops with those twists that not many see coming. It's a well-deserved read, and it definitely is a thrilling, and ...more

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Mar 13, 2019 Robin rated it it was amazing

This was an Excellent Book and Julie Coons is a Extremely Good Writer. The fact that the Story was True Floored me. She truly is a Brave Person. The twist was nothing I expected. I knew it was a Sex Traffickting Ring, although not to the point of being a Worldwide Ring. Was not even expecting her own Family being Involved. These Sinister Elements against Childern and Adults must be Eliminated. Should not be here in the 20th Century. Thank You for bringing this Heinous Story to Light. Bless You.

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Mar 05, 2019 Kelly Shade rated it it was amazing

After I loved the first book by Julie Coons, it was a no brainer to read the second one- and I'm happy I did!!! Amazing! I highly recommend it! I love how she writes, I love the story and I love the cover! Amazing read - compelling, intriguing! When you read "Why she lied" you will feel the emotions behind every word... For me - it is a must read!!!

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Apr 08, 2019 Brandi rated it it was amazing

Heart wrenching

Very greatly written. Heart wrenching. Bravery ....selfless....amazing read. Looking forward to reading more books from Julie Coons. Knowing what she went through and how she overcame all her life obstacles is truly truly satisfying.

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Jun 30, 2019 CR rated it really liked it

This was a dark and mysterious story that I could not put down. It did have a few issues as I think it could have been longer but other than that it was a great story. If you are looking for a short story with great characters and an even darker story check this one out.

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Jul 07, 2019 Suraj Kumar added it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

DNFed after reading more than 100 pages.

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Mar 05, 2019 Jeff Miller rated it it was amazing

Very well written. I highly recommend this book. It was a riveting page turner.

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Mar 06, 2019 Wayne Jackson rated it it was amazing

Awesome!!! Incredible book!
I just couldn't stop reading it! It is a real page turner!
Quality writing, awesome storyline!
I surely recommend it!!!

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May 20, 2019 Kate rated it it was amazing

What a powerful book. Based on reality it is not for the faint hearted and contains some nasty descriptive
situations. Very good read. And. I hope it helps the cause.

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Mar 21, 2019 Ankita rated it it was amazing

When your life is full of twists and drama, you do not need to write fiction. Julie Coons’ life fits perfectly in this category. As if her previous memoir wasn’t heartbreaking enough, this one left that part of her life appearing like a walk in the park. Working in a hospital, Julie had seen enough trauma, blood, and miseries in life; however, she did not know that the same hospital would introduce her to the most despicable man. Under a lot of peer pressure and after a lot of persuasion by her ...more

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About Julie Coons

Julie Coons

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JULIE COONS lives in a small town in Oregon. THIS DOES NOT LEAVE THIS HOUSE was her debut memoir. Amy's bookshelf reviews awarded it the #1 position for top 10 books of 2018. Her second book WHY SHE LIED is based on a true story. Her books are written to lead a movement toward positive change. She tells the stories of her life with honesty and strength.
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