Book Review: An Army of Lies, by Ryan Spell

Guest review by: Becki Bayley

My night hadn’t gone as I expected, but I now knew for sure that we were on the right track. Grant’s phone call confirmed that something bad was going on in that company, and he wanted to make a huge profit off the public offering before anyone found out. He was willing to tell lies and conceal information to protect himself and his company. What else was he willing to do?

As for Vanesa, as long as she continued to text, at least I knew that she was OK. She was conflicted about something, and I thought it had to do with my wife’s murder. I wanted to talk to her, but she would reach out when she was ready, I guess. Besides, I had another murder to solve first.

I called Lewis and filled him in on the fun phone call I received the night before. He asked, “How are we going to handle Grant Dogon? I got your back, Boss, but we need a plan.”

Angelo Barsotti and his best friend Lewis are tenacious and have unique resources between them for solving crimes.

Official synopsis:

Private investigator Angelo Barsotti is just getting by, moonlighting as a bartender at a cop bar and obsessing over the murder of his wife, which he’s been unable to solve for two years. When tech giant Grant Dogon tries to hire him to get his best friend and former platoon comrade, Craig, out of jail, Angelo wants nothing to do with the case. Craig Mazer, who is accused of killing his wife, Helen, has no alibi. But Grant comes bearing a briefcase of cash and a refusal to take no for an answer.

As Angelo reluctantly investigates the case, with his enthusiastic associate and friend, Lewis, all roads lead to Dogon Tech, where Craig works for Grant. Why is a tech security firm having so many security breaches of its own? What is Grant hiding before the company’s public offering? As Angelo tries to uncover these secrets, he’s met with lie after lie. Is he putting himself and others in danger by pursuing this angle?

While working this case, new clues about Angelo’s wife emerge from an unexpected source, but he must solve who killed Helen Mazer first. Will Angelo be able to see through the lies to find the truth and finally solve what happened to his wife?

Angelo’s heart isn’t in much since his wife was murdered. He’s been successfully completing investigations since elementary school, but is struggling with the one which would mean the most—his own wife’s murder. He’s reluctant to take on a new case, but Grant Dogon keeps coming back with a briefcase of cash. Dogon’s convinced the police have arrested the wrong guy for another murder. 

While Angelo finally works the case like he does all the cases to which he commits, it soon becomes apparent that the guy with the money only wants one crime solved, and no more uncovered. Unfortunately for him, that’s not how Angelo and his crime-solving partner work.

Along the way, Angelo and Lewis are introduced to an attractive attorney who was also working for their client. It’s almost too much distraction when she leads Angelo to believe she may know more about his wife’s murder as well. But no one will know how that plays out until the next book in the Angelo Barsotti Novel series!

This engaging read offered quick chapters, fun and intelligent characters, and a mystery without an obvious solution. The ending could have gone a few different ways, any of which could have made sense. The tangled web played a lot on the back stories of the characters, which only seems right since the back story of the main character may be the next mystery to solve. This novel earned 4 out of 5 stars and would be recommended for those who enjoy contemporary mysteries and private investigator stories.

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Check out Becki Bayley's other book reviews at her blog, SweetlyBSquared.com.