The King of Lies: A Novel

John Hart

Apr 2010 · Sold by Minotaur Books

About this ebook

John Hart creates a literary thriller that is as suspenseful as it is poignant, a riveting murder mystery layered beneath the southern drawl of a humble North Carolina lawyer. When Work Pickens finds his father murdered, the investigation pushes a repressed family history to the surface and he sees his own carefully constructed façade begin to crack.

Work's troubled sister, her combative girlfriend, his gold digging socialite wife, and an unrequited lifelong love join a cast of small town characters that create no shortage of drama in this extraordinary, fast-paced suspense novel.

Hart's mastery of prose and plot belie his newcomer status as he explores the true heart of a man. An illuminating anatomy of a murder and the ripple effect it produces within a family and a community, The King of Lies is a stunning debut.

Now with an excerpt from John Hart's next book The Hush, available February 2018.

Ratings and reviews

I really enjoyed this mystery. It kept me guessing until almost the very end! The writing was engrossing and I am certainly looking forward to reading his next book. I liked the setting, and Max's character in particular. A simple, but engrossing story.

Easily my favorite book ever, which after reading Iron House and other John Hart books, led to him being my favorite author and one of the best suspense/mystery authors ever in my opinion.

This is one of those books that you can't stop thinking about, and that you just have to keep reading until you are done.

About the author

John Hart is the New York Times bestselling author of Down River and The Last Child. The only author in history to win the best novel Edgar Award for consecutive novels, John has also won the Barry Award and England's Steel Dagger Award for best thriller of the year. He was born and raised in North Carolina. For a time he practiced criminal defense law, but left to focus on his writing.