Truth Stained Lies (Moonlighters, #1) by Terri Blackstock

Truth Stained Lies (Moonlighters, #1) Reviews

• 
  Hannah

  Not quite five stars because I spotted whodunnit almost right off the bat, but otherwise I really enjoyed this story of three sisters—lawyer-turned-blogger, housewife, and taxi driver—who become PIs to help prove their brother didn't kill his wife. I also really appreciated that the story is ultra low on the romantic side! Barely any at all.
  
  Note: looking back on yesterday's reaction... I liked that Christianity is spoken of a lot...but, in retrospect, it makes me uncomfortable how many times the characters questioned God with questions such as "Why is God doing this to me?" and "What did I do to deserve this?" Both questions never got a solid, Biblical answer. Questions such as this are misleading as to the meaning of the Christian life and experience. Obviously, people are going to ask, but the fact is that we live in a fallen, sinful world, and some of the consequences to others may easily snarl us up in bad occurrences. It's much too self-focused to assume that because someone gets accused of crime, God is tormenting that person. Instead of assuming all "bad" happenings are a form of punishment, Christians should also look for the blessings in each situation, and also understand that the situation may not be about them at all, but may be about someone else's actions and choices...
• 
  Christine Indorf

  Excellent. But everything my Terri Blackstock is excellent. 3 sisters and a pi try to free their bother for am murder he didn't commit. I love how Terri puts faith in her books. Esp when the sisters struggle with their face during this time of trouble. I love the sister who become PI so they can help catch the real killer. I have not read one Terri Blackstock book I haven't liked. If you are looking for high suspense and faith I highly recommend it!!
• 
  Oceana

  This was so good!!! Terri Blackstock can write a good story! And for having so many characters I still cared about each one! I can’t wait to read the next one!
• 
  Christian Fiction Addiction

  Truth Stained Lies offers up a wonderful blend of nail-biting suspense and strong characterization, making for a thoroughly entertaining read! I literally read through the novel in one sitting because I couldn't wait to see how everything would resolve. Would Jay's innocence be proven? Would his son Jackson be reunited with him? Would Cathy, Holly, and Juliet be able to find the killer? Terri Blackstock did a fantastic job of leading me from scene to scene, unfolding the truth one step at a time, all while causing me to fall in love with a family of characters I hope to meet again in future books! The characters are complex and realistic, with much to admire while still being completely human, people every reader can relate with. I also loved the overarching themes of the book, that God has a plan for our lives, that good triumphs evil, that forgiveness deals bitterness a blow, and that we are destined to do great things for God. Elements of faith are woven into the book in an utterly natural way without coming across as preachy, something that isn't always easy to do.
  
  Terri Blackstock is at the top of her game, and Truth Stained Lies is not only a masterfully told suspense story, but beautifully showcases deeper themes of life as well. It is quite a ride, and I know you are going to love it! So grab a copy and dive in - but be prepared to lose sleep before you can finally put the book down! I highly recommend this book, and award it 5 out of 5 stars.
  
  Book has been provided courtesy of publicist Ashleigh Martin from HarperCollins, Canada. Available at your favourite bookseller from Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins.
• 
  Melanie

  Truth Stained Lies is the first book in Terri Blackstock's Moonlighters series and released back in 2013. I've had this on my TBR basically since its release and have no excuse for not reading it sooner, but I'm so glad that I finally got around to it.
  
  
  
  The story deals with a man being set up for his wife's murder. He saw a clown leave the house right before finding her body, but when he tells the cops this they basically think he made it all up and that he is the culprit. This is just the beginning of the story!
  
  
  
  I loved the cast of characters and I can't wait to continue the series to see what happens next with them. I think my favorite character was Holly, but I really liked all three sisters a lot.
  
  
  
  All in all, Truth Stained Lies was a thrilling suspense. Even though I guessed who the true killer was early on, that didn't stop me from loving the mystery. I definitely recommend this book if you like Christian suspense.
  
  
  
  *Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*
• 
  Amanda (BookLoverAmanda)

  Terri Blackstock does it again! Another enjoyable Christian Suspense Mystery! :)
  
  Cathy is a former lawyer and investigative blogger who writes commentary on homicides. She finds a threatening note on her car but doesn't seem very concerned....until her brother's wife is murdered and all eyes point to him. Jay and his wife Annalee are going through a custody battle for their son Jackson but he receives an email from his wife saying to come over and discuss things....he comes over but finds a man dressed as a clown leaving the house. When he walks in the house, he finds his wife has been murdered. He calls the police but his story is so unbelievable, they think he is the one who did it. Jay's siblings work together to try and clear his name. Everything takes off from there...
  
  This was such a great Christian Suspense read! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and the writing style Terri Blackstock has always keeps you interested to find out what happened. This is part of a series but this story is thankfully wrapped up by the end and doesn't end on a cliffhanger.
  
  I enjoyed the faith content in this story and the characters. Overall, 4 stars for me! :)
• 
  Jerry

  Exciting and gripping! Can't wait to read the sequel!
• 
  Joleen

  Three sisters Cathy, Juliet and Holly, just find out their sister-in-law was shot and killed, and their brother, Jay (estranged husband to murder victim) is the prime suspect.
  Cathy's fiancé, Joe, was killed not long ago. Joe's brother, Michael, who was a cop at the time, is now her friend and go-to person. She received a threatening note, which instantly had Michael at her side, along with her sisters, but their brother being arrested threw them all in a tail spin of action to find out who was the true murderer, because there's no way it was Jay.
  This was a good book! For a while I've been reading books that were categorized Christian fiction, but often had nothing particularly Christian about them, other than maybe someone prayed under their breath, or some folks went to church.
  This book almost made up for the others. Christ was evident often even though some character's lives were falling apart. Of course you have several people wondering what on earth God was doing when He allowed the tragedies to happen around them, but the author's way of dealing with this near the end was so refreshing and well told.
  It was a legitimate who-done-it, and surprisingly I didn't know who the murderer was until the end. Loved that.
  
• 
  Carol - Reading Writing and Riesling

  This description captivated my attention. I was really looking forward to this read – what I thought to be a good crime fiction, a riveting read. I was wrong.
  I found the plot formulaic, the characters weak and predicable and worst of all I guessed the villain quite early on in the piece. I was very disappointed, more so because my expectations were so high. I took the synopsis provided by the publisher at face value, I read comments other readers made about the author on the web, they said things like “ how her books kept me awake at night”, how “I could not put them down”. I did not bargain on getting a religious fiction either. I feel I have been misled. I actually I feel stronger than that, I feel I have been conned – there are so many others book that I might have enjoyed, that I could have read instead of this one. I wasted precious reading time on a book that was wasted on me.
  Now not wanting to be totally negative – I do see how this type of narrative could /should be branded as crime and religion meets Mills and Boon (no offence intended to Mills and Boon readers, romance does have its own place in fiction). I tried hard to enjoy this book but failed.
  
• 
  Maureen DeLuca

  I thought that I would like this book - plus with so many good reviews.... well - I hate to give 2 stars for a book - so , once again - read the reviews and judge for yourself. Sorry, that is the best I can do.
• 
  Deborah

  This was a really fast read and very enjoyable. Truth Stained Lies is the first book in Terri Blackstock's new Moonlighters series, and she gets things going with a bang ... or rather, a murder.
  
  The reader very quickly becomes involved in the Cramer family's drama when a veiled threat is left for ex-lawyer turned crime blogger Cathy Cramer at almost exactly the same time as her brother, Jay, is about to walk into his worst nightmare. From that point on, the family (Juliet, Cathy, Jay and Holly) come together to uncover the truth and see justice is done--before another murder happens.
  
  Throughout their sleuthing, the three sisters (who are all dramatically different and at different stages in their spiritual lives) are assisted by the ex-detective (now private investigator) brother of Cathy's deceased fiance. (Don't worry ... the relationships aren't as hard to follow as I'm probably making them sound.)
  
  Terri does add a bit of misdirection to throw readers off the trail; however, anyone tuned in will probably suspect the culprit fairly quickly after they appear on the scene. Even so, picking the murderer won't spoil the enjoyment of the story because this murderer is not satisfied with only one victim.
  
  Although the murder is, obviously, the foundation for Truth Stained Lies, the central focus is, most definitely family, faith and forgiveness. That is the heartbeat of this book, which is why the story continues on for a little longer than normal once the murderer has been revealed. All the loose ends in the family were tied up and relationships restored.
  
  Although I am a Christian, I sometimes feel Christian authors feel obligated to tie things up with some type of Gospel message, even if communicated through the characters' own revelations, repentance and growth. Terri did a quite good job at keeping it believable (she didn't resort to altar calls and the sinner's prayer, as some authors do), but even so, it still felt a tiny bit obvious in those final pages. Having said that, I thought Truth Stained Lies was brought to a really satisfying, uplifting conclusion.
  
  If you are looking for a drawn out thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final page, this won't do it for you. However, if you like some thrills combined with a good, clean, family story, then Truth Stained Lies should suit you perfectly. I finished it in a day (thanks to voice over on my iPhone--perfect for listening to Kindle books while doing housework or driving) and enjoyed it very much. I immediately pre-ordered book 2 in the series--Distortion--which is due for release in March 2014. Looking forward to the next installment.
  
  
  
• 
  Kristina Hall

  Characters: For some reason, I enjoyed reading Juliet's and Holly's perspectives more than I enjoyed Michael's, Cathy's, and Jay's. Maybe because Juliet and Holly had more unique personalities? I'm not sure. But I liked that all the characters had flaws, and I enjoyed how the siblings (Juliet, Cathy, Holly, and Jay) were all close to each other.
  
  Language: Clean. A mention of a character using a certain word, but the word in question wasn't written out.
  
  Moral: This book had a lot of morals. I'll try to remember them all. :) One of the morals was that God is still sovereign even when things aren't going well in our lives and we can't understand His plan. Another moral was bitterness isn't a good thing. Also, I appreciated the pro-life moral.
  
  Plot: The author kept the plot moving! Although I'd read this book a few years ago, I didn't remember most of it, and the plot kept me entertained.
  
  Romance: Clean. Just a couple kisses at the end. I appreciated that romance wasn't a major plot in this book. Quite refreshing!
  
  Writing: I liked how the author's writing style was easy to read. She didn't get tied up in needless description. I do wish she'd gone into the characters' emotions a little more instead of just saying they were mad or upset or happy.
  
  Overall: I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys Christian fiction and suspense. Also, I really liked the author's note at the end. In a lot of Christian fiction, the authors seem to be afraid to make their books actually Christian. Terri Blackstock isn't like that, and I could tell she really put a lot of time into writing her author's note.
• 
  Erika Hayes

  Another great series start. I had to place a hold on the next book so of course, I am going to move on to another of Blackstock's series. I can tell you I really did enjoy this book. It was a little sad and happy and touched on some real issues. It was well written and honestly, gives you something to ponder. I mean many hurt Christians struggle with real issues like Holly has in this book. I love how Blackstock shows how actions can wound and even destroy another's walk, BUT God is always there to help us find our meaning, worth and way back home! Well written and exciting to read!
• 
  Beth Brekke

  When you're in the mood for a non-blood-and-guts, uplifting mystery, try Terri Blackstock. She is one of my (many) favorite Christian authors as she keeps romance to a minimum and develops believable, likable characters. It wasn't hard to guess the who or why but I think this novel was more about setting up the story arc for the rest of the series, which I hope to read.
• 
  Miranda A. Uyeh

  Haven’t read a cosy mystery in a long time and this book was a nice one to start with after my break.
  
  This story is one of the simplest mysteries I’ve ever read. It wasn’t so much about the twist and turns, and the complexities attributed to a typical mystery weren’t present. This however didn’t stop the story from being engaging and interesting to follow.
  
  The character with the strongest and best developed personality was Holly. Her brokenness and need for redemption was so well illustrated it wasn’t so hard to relate to her and understand her as you would a real person.
  
  By the end of the story, I still couldn’t figure out what Max’s problem was with his brother, Michael. All that kept going in my head was, “Hey, what gives?” It was quite clear it was a case of an unhealthy mix of pride, insecurity, anger and jealousy. That made me disappointed with his character—yes, didn’t like him much.
  
  Juliet was strong, and I wish her family issues—specifically the ones between her and her husband were brought more to light, since the author went ahead to hint that there could be something there.
  At the end of the day, after gathering everything that the story has to offer about Cathy, the one word that I can ascribe to her character is, determined. Nothing more. There were other hints as to what more her character could be, but not much.
  
  Michael had the tendency to be sweet. One thing he definitely was—dependable.
  
  There was back-story in the lives of each character that affected their present issues. I only wish it were more explicit. Enough however was laid out to understand each character’s point of view and where they were coming from. For instance, it was stated what led to Michael’s problem with his family but not why they chose to believe and act the way they did towards him. A little peek into Max’s head would have probably solved that problem. I can’t help but be curious about it. It just seems absurd to me. Some mistakes can clearly be seen as what they are—a mistake. Simple. Didn’t make me like that family much.
  
  Also, the romance in this story is the lightest I’ve ever seen. It was only stated and referenced to in not more than three scenarios, which left me disappointed. I get that it’s a cosy mystery, but it should have been more. The main characters, Cathy and Michael were introduced and presented in a manner that would cause a reader to anticipate so much more than what was offered.
  
  The end was not dissatisfying per say, but it could have been worked on more, unless of course Cathy’s and Michael’s story continue in the series.
  
  Overall, it was a good book. Not over the top, but enjoyable and engaging. I can’t say I’m disappointed.
• 
  Joan

  The novel got off to a start in such a way that I thought I had missed a previous one. Finally, on page 168 the back story is told and the rest of the novel was a pleasure to read. Having that information at the beginning of the novel certainly would have made reading the first half of the book more enjoyable. There is lots of action and the suspense intensifies as we get near the end. This is not Blackstock's best but it is still a pretty good novel. See my full review at
  http://bit.ly/17alvFa.
• 
  Haley Annabelle

  Terri Blackstock is such a talented writer! I listened to this whole book in about a day and a half. I was definitely on the edge of my seat for most of it.
  
  This one was definitely more predictable that other books of hers but still good. My favorite thing is that she weaves Christianity throughout it.
  
  I recommend for ages 14 and up. Contains discussions of death, murder, cruelty, and contemplated abortion.
• 
  Victoria

  I have a plan. Read all the books that I don't want to keep forever, but want to read/re-read before booting them out the door. The list is fairly long... Off to a good start with a Blackstock! Not sure I buy the "moonlighter" premise -- these DIY PIs pull off waaay too much. But it's good for a page-turner that I knocked out in a day.
• 
  Nathalie Bakelandt

  Een beetje te weinig spanning en sterk christelijk gericht. Toch op naar deel 2
• 
  Kathleen Robison

  A good mystery with family drama. I loved the opening and it's what kept me listening (audio book). I thought the clown ploy was genius. There were so many characters, but Blackstock did a nice job having them all interact well. Because they were all somehow related, it was a bit confusing. Once I got them straight, I enjoyed each role and their involvement in the developing plot. I'm still not quite sure who the main character was, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment. A good, fast-paced suspenseful tale.
• 
  Nola Lorraine

  When a man is framed for killing his estranged wife, his three sisters and a friend join forces to find the real killer before it is too late. This book has many of the trademark elements of a Terri Blackstock book, including characters you care about, some good action and suspense, and a little romance (though not as much romance as some of her other books). There are also some ethical dilemmas as lead character Cathy Cramer starts to wonder whether she has put her family in danger by pointing the finger at criminals in her popular blog.
  
  However, I felt there was a little bit too much "tell" rather than "show" in this novel, which is uncharacteristic for Terri Blackstock. I think one of the problems is that she tries to establish five main characters in a relatively short space and so there is a bit too much information dumping at times. The killer is also revealed about two-thirds of the way through the book, which isn't a problem in itself. However, if you like to work through all the clues and have the killer revealed in the climax, it's not that type of book.
  
  Even though the killer is already known, the last 100 pages were still page turners as the group tries to avert a serious scenario involving the brother's young son. The conclusion was satisfying. This is Book 1 in The Moonlighter's Series and there was enough appeal that I'll be tuning in for Book 2. It was just a shame that the writing wasn't quite as good as some of her other books.
• 
  Stephanie Berman

  I felt the resolution was a little far-fetched.
  
  It also felt like we were dropped in the middle of a story that had started a book earlier than what Terri was actually writing. There were many details about characters and their (prior to this book) relationships that Terri alluded to, with the tone that made the reader feel like we should have known about it. I didn't like that.
• 
  Hannahlovesbooks

  The audiobook was bad, the story itself was okay, but only just okay. I wasn't extremely impressed.
  
  
• 
  Judy Piasecki

  Nice easy reading mystery with morals & Christian values. I enjoyed this one; will try more of her books
• 
  Madeline

  Really high paced book with a few major plot twists. A whole bunch of thick romance too which I LOVE! ❤️💕
• 
  Joey

  Possible rtc
• 
  Mary-Faith

  4.5 / 5 stars
  
  

  "We don't have any idea how much of a fight He's putting up."

  
  
  My mom has been a huge Terri Blackstock fan for years. So, naturally, I spent most of my life thinking that I didn't want to read her books because they were "those books my mom reads." But I'm always looking for audiobooks to listen to when my head and eyes can't handle looking at pages, which is how I ended up reading the
  If I Run trilogy earlier this year. I decided to give this trilogy a chance as well. I am coming to realize that my mom has incredible taste and I basically need to read every book she has ever mentioned.
  
  I loved this book! It was a really strong start to the series. The plot was twisty and interesting and just bizarre enough. This is such a fast read because a) it's not that long and b) you literally can't put it down. I definitely recommend this one.
• 
  Loraine Nunley

  Okay, a murder involving a clown? This promised suspense and it delivered. It was a fast paced page turner that I had trouble putting down until the end. The clown could have made things creepy but it was not. Without spoiling the story, things were not as they seemed.
  
  There was a great spiritual thread throughout without being preachy or tying human emotions up in a tidy bow. People are messy. There was even a minor bit of romance which I just loved.