Did you get it?

Come on, you had plenty of time, opportunity, and you knew exactly where it was, so you don’t have a lot of excuses here. Either you got it, or you didn’t — and if it’s the latter, as in the new novel, “First Lie Wins” by Ashley Elston, you’re gonna wish you weren’t you.

Evie Porter wasn’t surprised at her boyfriend, Ryan’s, friends. She had them pegged the minute she walked over to their table: frat-boys and gossipy, entitled women who’d tear her apart by text the minute she and Ryan walked away.

And that was fine, whatever. Evie wasn’t there to impress his friends. She was there to somehow “accidentally” meet Ryan, and become a part of his life. She was there to collect data about his across-the-border Texas business for her boss, Mr. Smith, who’d dispatched her to Ryan’s Louisiana hometown a few months ago.

She was not there to fall in love.

That had never happened before, not once since she was a teenager in trouble with the law and Mr. Smith offered her a job with big money — but it happened now: Evie. Ryan. And an unseen boss who made Evie into a first-rate con and who didn’t seem to notice when she bent his rules once or twice. Mr. Smith played games, she counteracted. Tit for tat.

Would that come back to bite her later? Maybe. For now, though, she lied about her background and her life, watching Ryan’s friends and watching Ryan, waiting for further instructions from a boss who seemed to be dangerously edgy lately.

And then Evie met Ryan’s old pal, James, and James’ girlfriend, Lucca Marino.

The minute Lucca introduced herself, Evie knew she was in trouble. Lucca Marino was Evie Porter’s real name. “Lucca’s” hometown was Evie’s real hometown. Her story was Evie’s real story, and Evie knew she was on notice. Had the job on Ryan suddenly changed?

Or was this another game Mr. Smith was playing?

Just one more chapter. Keep telling yourself that.

Also say, “I can quit reading any time,” though you won’t. “First Lie Wins” is one of those tight-as-a-drum, stay-up-all-night, grip-with-your-fingernails kind of books that you love, and you won’t quit it. You can’t. You’ll need to know if you’ve got it all figured out (you haven’t), so get cozy. You’ll be awake for a while.

This isn’t the kind of book you want if your heart is weak, or if you’re used to silly little made-for-TV kinds of novels. No, this is a whip-smart, curled and coiled thriller set in a world in which truths are lies, lies are lifesaving, fast thinking is mandatory, and dummies need not apply. Be warned that author Ashley Elston plays with her readers. Be warned that you’ll love every minute of it.

There’s a lot of winter left to read, plus that spring vacation you’re eager for, and this is the book to take — if you can manage to wait that long. Just find “First Lie Wins” and get it.

“First Lie Wins: A Novel” by Ashley Elston
c.2024, Viking
$28.00
352 pages