#LIEINPLAINSIGHT  4 STARS  AVAILABLE 3/15/16  GREAT READ!!!  @MaggieBarbieri

@StMartinsPress  

By Maggie Barbieri 

Series: Maeve Colon #2

ISBN: 9781250011701

Publisher: St. Martin's Press 

Publication Date: 2/17/2015 

Format: Other

My Rating:  5 Stars 

A special thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Witty and talented Maggie Barbieri returns, with her second installment of suspenseful and humorous (Maeve Conlon series), with LIES THAT BIND, where Maeve discovers some dark family secrets.

In Once Upon a Lie (Maeve Conlon #1) , we met Maggie, a single divorced bakery owner with two teenage daughters, and a former husband now married to a younger woman with a baby, and her retired cop father, Jack with Alzheimer’s, and a childhood of abuse from a cousin, now dead.

The drama has not slowed down, as Maeve still harbors dark hidden secrets within the walls of her suburban life and bakery, The Comfort Zone. Her dad, Jack dies of a heart attack and she is sorting out his affairs, when she discovers a shocking secret, she has a sister? Why would her father keep something like this from her? She has to find information from his friend. Someone has to know the whereabouts of her sister.

Of course, she is not thrilled with the Haggerty sisters, (some bad blood, and ill will since childhood) who happens to be hiding this information and she hates they know something she does not. She begins to search for her sister, and not stopping with blackmailing a cop to help with the search (Jo’s new husband has a wandering eye and she is pregnant).

There is always drama at The Comfort Zone, the bakery, when she learns her landlord is growing pot, raising the rent; she hates her daughter’s boyfriend and dislikes her secretive attitude, someone broke into the bakery and leaves a severed finger in the freezer, and her three thousand dollars has been stolen. (her insurance settlement).

She begins working with Cal, her ex-husband in trying to solve their daughter’s issues while continuing her search for her sister. She learns her sister, Aibhlinn was disabled and was placed in Mansfield, a mental hospital in the 60s, and was closed years ago, due to abuse and poor conditions. While she continues her search, she joins a support group, and of course, more drama and suspense. To make things more interesting the cop investigating her breakin, has a fondness for more than Maeve's muffins.

Maeve is a fearless, witty, edgy, and rebellious character, hiding behind her suburban lifestyle (she colors outside the line, which I love) with sarcasm and dark humor, making for an engaging read.

This was my first series by the author, and enjoy her style for an entertaining, mystery suspense series which will keep you laughing for hours. I will say, I missed Jack (as loved his character); however, it was fun catching up with his past and his friends.

A good exploration of life in the 60s with families of disabilities with limited choices and an emotional story of strong family bonds. Looking forward to reading more by this author, who seems to have real life experience with her own cop father!

 

 

By: Maggie Barbieri

Series:  (Maeve Colon #1).

ISBN:  1250011671

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Publication Date: 12/10/2013

Format: Audio

My Rating: 4 Stars

When reading an advanced reading copy of upcoming Lies That Bind (Maeve Conlon #2) Feb 17, 2015, by Maggie Barbieri, was so curious about the characters, and the intriguing back story, I immediately stopped the second book to purchase Once Upon a Lie (Maeve Colon #1).

Maeve is no ordinary woman. She knows pain and suffering. Currently her life is in constant chaos. The Comfort Zone, her bakery is barely surviving, her ex-husband, Cal and younger wife have a new baby, trying to balance home and work with two daughters, her father has Alzheimer’s and each passing day, slowly fading, and her evil cousin, Sean is dead (yeah, let’s celebrate). And she manages to keep her wit (she is hilarious), and her friendship with fellow employee and friend, Jo (kinda ditsy, divorced and cancer survivor) wants to speed date and get back on the horse.

Her father, Jack, a former cop, is a suspect in the murder, and currently living in an assisted living home love him, as full of dark humor with his friends and funny one liners. Some days he remembers, and some now. Is this for real or just a show?

Edgy! The audiobook was both witty and intense. Maggie Barbieri is an author I will be adding to my favorite list - love her style. The narrator, Kathleen Mary Carthy delivered an outstanding performance with her dark and mysterious sarcastic humor, keeping me entertained for hours.

Once Upon a Lie (Maeve Colon #1) is not a cozy simple mystery, it is engrossing, suspenseful, and complex keeping you on the “edge of your seat”, turning the pages to learn the fate of this colorful and eccentric cast of characters.

Loving this newfound author and cannot wait to get back to Lies That Bind (Maeve Conlon #2). An intriguing series of family, friendships, and lies . . Read them both, highly recommend!

 Lies That Bind

(Maeve Conlon #2) Feb 17, 2015

I love this series so opening this book was like visiting with old friends. Alison's sarcastic wit is always a winner with me and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The mystery was cleverly convoluted with no clear villain or really any serious contenders until Ms. Barbieri was ready for things to unfold (although I did peg one of the wrong 'uns early on, I had no idea how that character fit into the grand scheme of things).

This is a long book for a cozy mystery and while the dead body shows up right away, the story itself builds slowly, with a lot of sub-plots revolving around the lives of the characters and the changes taking place within the family/friends dynamic. It reads a bit like it could be the final book in the series, and while I'd very much like to see another one in the near future, if Ms. Barbieri is indeed retiring Allison and Bobby, she's at least leaving us in a good place.