Liar

Liar is author Jan Burke’s sixth in her series about newspaper reporter Irene Kelly. In this outing the plot revolves around past events in Irene’s own family, as first she learns that her estranged aunt has been murdered and then finds out she is the prime suspect.

In an intricate story of family scandals, alienation and secrets, Irene decides the best path for her to clear herself is to first locate her cousin, Travis whom she hasn’t seen since he was a young boy. As her husband is out of town, she turns to her friend, Rachel, a private investigator, and together they track the missing relative. They soon realize that bringing Travis home could be a mistake as someone is out to remove all the family members in order to keep their show more secrets from surfacing.

This was a well plotted thriller full of family grudges and feuds. Irene is smart, tough, sensible and an extremely likeable heroine. I really enjoyed the women’s camaraderie and how capable a team they were. Liar was not only a great suspense read, it also helped to fill in much of Irene’s family background and help define this character. I am looking forward to future books in this highly readable series. show less

Investigative reporter Irene Kelly hasn't seen her aunt in twenty year. So she is surprised to learn that she has died, actually been murdered and that Irene is a suspect. Brianna is Irene's deceased mother's sister. There was a family falling out and then Irene went away to school and to work in another city and mostly forgot her aunt and cousin.
Since Brianna wrote a will leaving her estate to Irene, the Los Angeles Police consider her a suspect. Since Travis, Brianna's son cannot be found, they are even more interested in Irene, even though she is a respected journalist and the wife of a police detective.
Irene, never one to take a pass on a challenge, begins to look into her aunt's murder and the whereabouts of Travis. She finds show more Travis and then accidents start happening to her, to Travis, to people connected to both of them.
Together Travis and Irene unwind the mystery of his parent's marriage, his father's first wife's death and why someone really wants to see the remaining members of the Kelly family dead show less

As good as any other books by Burke that I've read, and while I won't give it a 4 or 5, because none of them are on course with a book like The Lovely Bones. But they don't have to be. This author writes intriging mysteries very well. I reccomend.

Irene Kelly #6