| Title | : | Lies She Never Told Me (Michael Gresham, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 292 |
| Publication | : | First published May 17, 2018 |
Michael is a successful trial lawyer who’s been placed on medical leave. But he sorely misses the courtroom battles, where he excels. When Michael receives a call from the local jail he comes to life and knows he cannot resist getting involved. For it’s a case of Murder One.
Before jumping right in, he stops and thinks about what his watchful wife will say if he goes to the jail. Every day he’s feeling stronger, working out and jogging. But the call makes him feel more alive since before the stroke. Almost before he realizes what’s happening he finds himself driving at high speed in the direction of the jail.
He accepts the case and begins investigating. Then a jury is picked and Michael holds his own at trial. His client is looking more and more innocent with each witness Michael cross-examines. However, there’s a hitch: his investigator and best friend, Marcel Rainford, has disappeared. The police ask Michael what he knows. Then, late one night, the police are pounding on his front door, demanding to talk. They have a written confession they want him to read.
He reads. His knees buckle when he reaches the bottom.
He’d know that signature anywhere.
Lies She Never Told Me (Michael Gresham, #1) Reviews
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You'll love this author.
Have been one of my top ten author, since Chase, The Bad Baby. That book was part of the Thaddeus Murfee series. Michael Gresham is the other series. This book goes way back deals with the depression, before and after. Michael's children, good times and the all the tragedy he has been facing and how some of his relationships started. Like the all the others, do recommend this book. -
This book is awful! Every major historical tragedy that happened in Chicago was squeezed into the story! Come on! This book is all hype and zero substance! The s!
This book is awful! Every major historical tragedy that took place in Chicago in a generation was squeezed m into the story! The book is all hype and zero substance! Completely unrealistic!!! Characters were not fully developed or connected at all. The story is absurd and ridiculous. -
If I could give it lower stars I would.
I don't know how this book has 4 stars. It is poorly written with clearly little research done. Timeliness don't add up, people live exorbitant amounts of time (108+ years REALLY? and still fully capable of conducting extreme experiments like creating poison?)
This author tried way too hard to get his characters to live and be a part of such significant times of history that he didn't think about his time lines and how obtuse it all was. Part one could have been eliminated entirely. There was no emotion and it read like a poorly written news article. Half of the details he did give either didn't add up or were such pointless amounts of information that NO ONE needed to read. This was honestly a STRUGGLE to get through and I would never recommend it to anyone. The only reason I finished it was because I hate to leave a book unfinished. But honestly I think I regret that rule after this book.
Do yourself a favor and don't waste shelf space with this. -
I had the absolute BEST time reading this book. Genius!! Loved it from start to finish. I have nothing but the highest praise for it.
I thought I'd have to wait until this geniur author wrote another book, but on following him on Amazon I see he has gobs. Why have I never heard of him? Why?
Anyways, great book. -
Compelling story so badly written that I barely got through the novel. Good writing exemplifies “show don’t tell,” which is what is wrong at the core of this “tell-type” book. I cannot believe he is a successful author. He should stick to law. Perhaps a ghost writer would help.
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I think this is the worst book I've ever read.
I've always put a lot of weight into the Goodreads rating, knowing it's fellow book-lovers who are sharing their opinions. And I always pay attention to HOW MANY reviews make up that rating (is it just the author's friends and family chiming in and rating it highly?) While this book doesn't have as many reviews as most books I read, it does have almost four thousand, with a current rating over 4 stars. This is sadly making me lose faith in Goodreads reviews. (Did the author create 3,000 fake profiles to give himself 5 stars over and over?)
Based on the terrible formatting, changes in font size, lack of page numbers, etc., I would guess this book was self-edited and self-published. There is a reason it was self-published. And he could really use an editor, even if it is just a friend or colleague looking it over. This sad thing is the story had potential, but the end result is awful. What bothers me most is how lazy this author was in putting this book together.
1. The number of times he gets his own facts and timelines mixed up boggles my mind. I could cite many examples (though it's hard without page numbers to refer to)... but I'll stick with a few notable ones. The murders. Were there nine victims, or were there seven? Depending on which page you read, this varies throughout the book. And it wasn't just one typo. It's the author literally forgetting what he wrote a couple pages earlier. And when did Michael and Marcel meet... was it during Operation Desert Shield in 1990, like it says on the back of the book? Or was it when they were in Iraq in 2007 (since Marcel only joined the Army because of 9/11... so how could they have met in the Army ten years earlier)? Again, this jumps back and forth throughout references to their relationship. There are times it seems they met in Kuwait when Michael was young, and there are times it seems it was more recent and in Iraq. LAZY.
2. The beginning of the book references a few different famous events/people in Chicago... and when he got to the section with the nurses getting killed, clearly that too was based on the Richard Speck murders. So why not go with it, and pretend your characters were involved in those well-known killings (like he pretended the grandfather knew Al Capone)? No, instead he creates a "fictional" killer... but with the exact same MO, victims, date, location, and first name as a famous mass murderer? LAZY. How about I write a book about a handsome, charming rapist/murderer named Ted Mundy?
3. Speaking of famous events, I actually found the very first page enlightening, since I'd never heard of that Chicago ship disaster. I googled it right away to find out if it was real, and it was! But the first article I clicked on was from Smithsonian magazine... written by a different journalist... yet this book matches the beginning of that article word for word in several places. Plagiarize much? LAZY.
4. There were so, so many weak plot points in the book. And it's like he knew they were weak-- so he'd address them-- but not take the time to come up with a good explanation. He'd just write some unsatisfying sentence like "And for many reasons, they decided they would never win a case against him, so they dropped the charges." Oh, OK. That makes total sense, I see now why they let him get away with it-- there were "many reasons." LAZY.
5. His writing drove me crazy. He overexplained fairly simple things, really talking down to the reader or repeating himself, just to make sure we got his point. One quick example was something along the lines of, "When I was a young kid, I went to the store with my mother because I wanted to buy caps for my cap gun. Like I said, I was young... cap gun age." The whole book had instances like this. But then he would also mix in the occasional word I've never heard of before, like he had a Word of the Day Calendar and was trying to work some in. I read a lot of books, and I read all styles of books. It is rare for me to read a word and feel the need to look it up to ascertain it's a real word. I did that more than once with this book. To his credit, they WERE all real words. Just completely out-of-place and unnecessary (unless he's trying to show us all how smart he is.) OK, this wasn't lazy... just irritating.
6. There were also times the author would call attention to something that didn't even need to be brought up, only to say/do the exact opposite thing a page or two later.
Example: Michael brings up the taped confession in his opening statement. But by the next page, he has apparently decided he can't use it... he is going to "sh#tcan" the confession because of potential problems. Yet a couple of pages later, he plays the whole confession. (And don't even get me started on how stupid that entire confession scene was anyway!)
Or how about this one: When Marcel was tracking down Richard, he has a conversation like this--
Woman: I can place a call to the ship and let the passenger know someone is here waiting for him.
Marcel: No, please don't do that (gives reasons why.)
Woman: OK, I won't say anything.
*Next page*
Same woman: "The ship called in with a status update, so I let the passenger know you were here waiting for him." Truly... why?? Why even have that first conversation?? If it's crucial to the plot that this woman tips off the passenger, why can't it just be something she unknowingly does? Why include a conversation about how she's NOT going to do that, and then by the next page, she decides to go ahead and mention it anyway? Again, this happened repeatedly throughout the book.
7. The plot was a real mess. So many bizarre and meaningless tangents. And the ridiculous idea that they would allow a well-known DEFENSE attorney - who also has connections to key witnesses - to PROSECUTE this horrid criminal accused of murdering 7 (or was it 9) women? Are you kidding me?? Oh, but the author again gave one of his pat explanations of why this made sense (He used to be a prosecutor in the Army, and his dad was the DA when the original crime took place, so, simple as that, he was the prosecutor.) I'm sure any DA's office would be cool with that - someone outside their office, who defends criminals, steps in to take on a huge notorious case? I can't even.
8. The conversations between characters... oh my goodness. The few mother-son conversations he wrote were painful. Or how about when Knowles' long-lost love shows up on his doorstep? What a heartfelt reunion that was! "I'm sorry, I thought you were dead, so I married someone else. But I have great news for you! We had a child and named him after you!" Yes, "great news" indeed for any woman who just learns the man she loves is remarried, to hear that he also had a child with her. I pretty much despised every character in this book.
My review of all the reasons you should avoid this book could be as long as the book itself, so I'll try to stop myself here, with just two more things worth mentioning. The first demonstrates again his laziness and complete lack of attention to detail - his BIO page. He clearly intended to include a picture of himself above his bio, but instead there is a line that says something like
[imageJohnEllsworth.jpg].
Oh author, please pay attention!! If you're going to take the time to write a book, why wouldn't you PAY ATTENTION?! To your timeline, to your plot details, to your format, to the fact that instead of your picture, you included a broken link to a jpeg file! Don't your readers deserve better?
And finally, as if this entire book wasn't painful enough, it also happened to include one of my biggest storyline pet peeves: a married woman who selflessly encourages her husband to sleep with another woman. (I always suspect those books were written by chauvinistic and delusional men.) -
I liked this one, but didn't love it. The language is a little over the top at times and it felt like it was trying to cover too much (three generations) in one mystery. Still, since it's first in a series, maybe it's just attempting to set up the background. I am tempted to try out the next one in the series and see how it goes.
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Just !like every John Ellsworth, unable to put down. He is a master and is at the top of my !ist.
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Author discount 99
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“Lies She Never Told Me” by John Ellsworth – Heritage of Deceit
John Ellsworth Begins a Saga
Ellsworth takes us on a journey through the man's heritage, going all the way back to his grandfather and the times of 1920s Chicago mob wars. We follow the various people in his family throughout history, visiting the Second World War, prisoner-of-war camps and the mass murder in Chicago just to name a few events, leading up to the birth of Michael himself. We follow with an examination of his childhood and his growth from a young boy into a promising lawyer. Perhaps most importantly in his personal growth, we see him dealing with the final request of dying grandmother: she asks him to murder a man responsible for heinous crimes.
A Worthy Origin Story
Despite taking a little while to get to the actual character, the author does a remarkable job at capturing our attention with the first chapter, breathlessly galloping around the place and dragging us along by force. He also bases much of the fiction in this book on real events and accounts, lending them a noticeable air of authenticity and palpable gravity.
When we finally arrive to Michael's story, it doesn't feel like the novel has been dragging on by any stretch of the imagination. Rather, it feels like a logical event which itself is part of a bigger story. As we see him grow from a baby the focus of the story is aptly shifted towards him until he himself becomes the plot. The story truly gets fascinating when we arrive at the part where he makes the half-promise of killing the man, not knowing himself what to do or how to go about it.
The Gravity of Death
All too often death in novels doesn't feel like it's portrayed with the appropriate gravity, its presence swiftly swept away without a second thought. In this story we get to witness the contrary with the important and profound consequences taking a single life can have for everyone involved. We never lose focus of the burden Michael must untangle, and we're coming along with him for the whole ride, and I feel Ellsworth's prowess really shines in this aspect.
While the plot does focus on Michael's dilemma in large part, Ellsworth never loses sight of the supporting the characters, the people who influence and mould him as much as his tenuous confrontation with death. I find it commendable for Ellsworth to achieve a notable level of depth in his development of the surrounding cast without any fluff or wordy descriptions; the people are largely developed through their actions, dialogues and others' opinions on them.
The Final Verdict
With all being said and done, Lies She Never Told Me is an engaging thriller in a historical setting delving into the life of a fascinating character as he must struggle to make some crucial decisions which will change his life one way or the other. I highly recommend it if you enjoy historical thrillers in any capacity and want to see what John Ellsworth is all about.
This was an abridged version of our review. If you'd like to read the full one you can do so here:
https://bookwormex.com/lies-she-never... -
Lies she never told me by John Ellsworth
The book covers the story of the Gresham Chicago family over three generations, starting with the S.S. Eastland naval accident on July 25, 1915, when a young Knowles G. Gresham saves many lives and ends up in jail with Al Capone because of police brutality.
It covers their lives and his children, Roland Knowles and Cincy, born from the nurse who was taken care of Natasha Young who was in an iron lung. Knowles remarries Janice after Natasha dies and Martha was interred in a Japanese concentration camp and feared dead. Janice and Knowles have a son, Cleveland.
The book ends up with Michael Gresham, a lawyer, son of Cleveland.
It is narrated mostly from the third person point of view, but at times it changes to the first person point of view (Mostly Michael and Marcel.)
The book is a mess. I'm surprised it was published. It's in great need of an editor. The characters are two dimensional, they are not believable and I never cared for them. The author likes to go on tangents, most of which should have been cut off. I was fascinated by the tidbits of Chicago history it reveals, but the characters feel as if they are an excuse to tell Chicago's history. They were in the way and add nothing to it.
I definitely recommend you stay off this book. No redeeming quality. -
This book reminded me of those 1980s movies where the story and the acting were unremarkable, but the soundtrack was really good, and played really loudly over those great cinema speakers, so people would come out and say, "Oh, that was a really good movie!" "What did you like best about the story? Or was it the acting?" I would ask, flummoxed by why people thought it was not a complete piece of trash. "Oh, I dunno. Neither, I guess. But the soundtrack was great. I haven't heard those songs in ages. It was like hanging out with old friends." That cinematic style morphed into Forest Gump type movies, where the old friends are actual historical figures. And that's what you have here. A lame Forest Gump thing, relying on famous figures to carry the story. It's a gimmick, and not even a new gimmick, and while Forest Gump manages to use this gimmick to its advantage and augment an already decent story, the gimmick here is about all that this novel has going for it, and that is just not enough.
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A “legal thriller”?! The blurb could be about a different book. This was no thriller and barely any legal content. It started dramatically, with the tragic sinking of the Eastland and a stint with Al Capone in prison, but this lead nowhere. The character Knowles was being well developed but suddenly we were subjected to tales of the next two generations of the Gresham family. Eventually we were introduced to the crime, but the story had lost its way by then and there was no overlooking the ridiculous plot holes (the parentage issue and ending being the most unrealistic!). I won’t be reading another by this author.
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a sad ending
I do not see how the grandfather could keep a secret for that long, but I see why he and his wife did what they did. it is a sad ending, but I see why martha killed the killer and herself. I believe it not only for her benefit but michael and marcus would not get in trouble too. -
I kept reading thinking there would be a point or culminating event - not so much. The entire story was not only improbable - some parts were just really strange (I've yet to figure out how the crippled wife could simply say a baby was 4 or 5 years old and nobody noticed). In several parts of the story, he takes actual historical facts and weirdly changes the outcome. His relationship with time and the calendar is also quite odd - lots of jumping around the timeline. I don't recommend this book, unless you like being confused.
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Another first in a series. Different in that it does not introduce a lot of recurring characters. Instead it traces the main character's lineage back to his grandfather. The backdrop is Chicago, so we get a look at some of the more notorious events (fictionalized) in it's colorful history. Looking forward to future stories from this author.
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Great melding of world history and family story
I love it when a good tale keeps me interested and i learn a bit more about events from the past. Very enjoyable. Not a Pollyanna head-in-the-sand version of history, but also not so horrible and gruesome as to take over the main story. -
Excellent read
Another great read from John!! Martha is such a strong woman. She is able to change her life for who/what she needs to be! You can really get into this book quickly. Couldn't wait for the next twist & turn. -
Excellent Beginning
I am trying a new author for the first time in ages. Excited for a new series!
Okay, I don't know (yet) who the hero is in the first chapters, but I do know Alphonse Capone took an interest in him. Whether that accounts for what happens is yet to be seen.
This book, which of course starts the series, is well written. It explains what each character's role is; from the early part of the 20th century forward. Some of it is absolutely heartbreaking. All of it is enough to make me want to continue.
Fourteen year old Michael, the protagonist of the series, is something altogether different from any other 14 year old.
Yes, there is a murder trial involved. The author schools the reader very well on what is meant when a trial attorney stands up and, "Objection. Foundation." However, there is a major mistake made less that two pages later.
Another thing he teaches is what "hearsay" means and and why lawyers try to break the opposing lawyer's rhythm by objecting to it.
And so my jaw dropped. I was a fish. Jaw drops, closes, drops again. Mercy!
All in all, a wonderful family story, setting Michael up for the rest of the series. The way several story lines came to conclusions, except Michael's, was superb storytelling.
Eagerly waiting for the next book in the series. -
A new book from a favourite author, John Ellsworth.
It is in this book that we first meet Michael Gresham who appears in several other Ellsworth book that I have reviewed.
This is authentic Ellsworth as he sets the scenes. We are introduced to the Gresham family, the patriarch Knowles Gresham, his sons, Roland and Cleveland and his daughter Cincy and grandson Michael.
We follow Knowles as he progresses to becoming a Senator, his sick wife Natalia with him all the way, to the birth of his two children Roland and Cincy and his relationship with his wife’s nurse.
Then we follow Cleveland, His second son born to Knowles’ second wife, A lawyer who was indicted into JAG duty with the military and later, becomes employed in the county’s State Attorney’s Office. Married to Wendell, a teacher who gives birth to Michael.
Michael gains his law degree and is settling into his life when he is approached by Martha his grandmother’s nurse. She is the only survivor of a horrendous event that resulted in the death of seven student nurses and she wants the murderer apprehended. She looks to Michael to find and to kill, the perpetrator.
The book is full of happy and unhappy events, laughter and joy, and some sadness. But you must read it for yourself to appreciate it.
Note – I was given a copy of this book to read prior to its release and choose to make this review. -
A journey with the Gresham Family - Loves & Legacies
This is a beautiful story. From the very beginning I felt connected to the characters - a silent observer on their very personal journey . The Greshams were not just any family. Their lives overlapped from one generation to the next, nothing lost along the way. Accomplished, professional and respectful of each other, the Gresham name was not lost to the common or elite. But unspeakable tragedies created obstacles & family dynamics did not go untouched. As a reader, I became so enthralled with the story that it became my personal experience. How fortunate was I to be trusted and treated like family, too. Because that's how you will feel. I cannot share specifics of their lives ; I want you, the reader, to behold the Gresham kindness, love, compassion and family dynamics from a special place in your heart. And along the way, as secrets unfold and a single sacrifice becomes too much to bear alone, think of Martha Batista; Nettie, Natalia , Roland, Cincy, Michael & Knowles; and Marcel is a hero to the end. -
Fine Damn Book
Since I read my first John Ellsworth book I have avidly read every one of his books I could get my hands on. He is a gifted writer and storyteller, and I enjoyed each and every book.
I think this one may be his masterpiece. It is a prequel to his Michael Gresham series and explores Michael’s family history
from WWI onward. It really helps you see why Michael is what he is and why he does what he does. This is accomplished by very vivid descriptions of previous relatives as well as associated characters. The historical aspect gives the characters and the story even more depth. Marcel makes his first appearance in this book as well. We learn how Marcel and Michael first met and enough about his experiences to add great depth to his character.
As for the writing it as as smooth as butter. There are rich descriptions which are never wordy or overwritten. I think this might be his finest book yet - although I think I have said that about some of his other books. This one is a superbly written masterpiece.
This novel would be an excellent one to begin with if you have decided to begin reading John Ellsworth. If you do you won’t be sorry. -
I loved this book..The book starts out with the main characters grandfather in the 1915. Tells the story of what happened to him when he rode into a town in Chicago, on a motorcycle. In those times, people didn't except motorcylce riders and thought they were evil. His grandfather was followed out of town, beaten up, and jailed.
This does go into the background of his grandfather, his marriage and ultimately, Michael's father. The story concerning Michael is late coming, but I loved the way you got to know his heritage.
This delves into the serial killer, who in Chicago, killed 8 nurses in their dorm. One survives, who is Michael's Aunt. When she approaches him years later, she asks that he find the killer, and kill him. But, Michael wants to help, but only to bring him to justice.
I really enjoyed this story and will read the next in this series!! -
Very Intriguing Book
This book is very different from many other books I have read recently. The complex story of this family held my attention from the beginning to the end of the book. Could this be any American family with their loves, lives and lies, I wonder. Perhaps if we were all in the upper income of this family? Probably this is simply a new escape for the average reader, but regardless of a reader's reason for reading the book, I highly recommend it as a good few hours of escape. -
The author has done a wonderful job of creating a fascinating historical plot that weaves interesting events into a clever plot spanning generations. However, one consequence of covering so much territory in one book is the difficulty of getting to know any one character. Readers are just getting to know the strengths and weaknesses of one character when we jump to a new generation and new characters. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable read because of the strength of the plot and the excellent historical research.
