Book Review: The First to Lie

Lies, coverups and deception run riot in investigative reporter and author Hank Phillippi Ryan's The First to Lie, an intriguing if preposterous thriller that will have you guessing and guessing again. Talk about a case of one twist too many. The story, about a big pharmaceutical company pushing its dangerous fertility drug to the masses and the devastating consequences, is a deftly orchestrated tale of revenge that arrives at its destination through a twisty, winding road of secret identities and hidden motives. At times frantic and juggling too many threads, nothing in the story is by accident, even as it teeters on the implausible by the end of it all. Thus when lies, lies and more lies are unmasked and darker truths emerge, the novelty wears off and the narrative flounders after a point. Weaving journalism ethics with corporate sabotage in a tightly focused plot filled with twist-after-twist, this is an ambitious thriller practically bursting with so many ideas, the actual story takes a backseat.