I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Please Don't Lie
by Christina Baker Kline, Anne Burt
Series: Crystal River #1
Series Rating:
Published by Thomas & Mercer on September 1, 2025
Genres: Psychological Thrillers
Pages: 259
Format: Audible Audiobook, ebook, Hardcover, Kindle, Paperback
Source: the Publisher
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In this stylish, twisty thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christina Baker Kline and award-winning author Anne Burt, a young woman heads to the Adirondacks with her new husband for a fresh start—but the past won’t let her go.
Two years ago, Hayley Stone lost everything. First, her parents died in a devastating fire. Then, her sister overdosed, leaving Hayley alone and hounded by a media circus that turned her family’s tragedy into tabloid fodder. When her new husband suggests a fresh start in the Adirondacks, the promise of anonymity in an isolated mountain town feels like salvation.
But the mountains hold darker secrets than she ever imagined.
Her once-loving husband grows distant and volatile. The widow down the road keeps spewing vague accusations. Not even their new friends—a free-spirited couple living on the property—can help Hayley shake the creeping sense that something is off.
As winter edges closer, Hayley discovers that her sanctuary is anything but safe. Trapped and isolated, she faces a terrifying in trying to escape her past, she may have run straight into something far more dangerous.
Please Don’t Lie by Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt is a story of grief, mourning, and lies.
Will the banking heiress figure out what happened to her family?
Hayley Stone’s family is all gone, but she has her new husband and the life that they are building together. She also has a couple of friends, but they aren’t as close as they once were. Hayley’s new husband, Brandon, has secrets of his own. He gives off a strange, unhealthy vibe. But Hayley seems to be all in with the new life that Brandon wants.
I like Hayley. She is a little naive, but her instincts are good; she needs to trust her intuition. It felt like most of Hayley’s issues were caused by greedy men.
The Mystery
The mystery was well planned, and I enjoyed the twists and turns the authors put in there. I wasn’t really sure who Hayley could truly trust. I could have used a bit more thrill. The suspense is there, but it’s really only a short thrill ride. The main culprit was sneaky; it took me a bit to figure it out. I figured it out with one move, and I would say, but then you would know without reading, and there is no fun in that.
I also enjoyed the way the authors took us through the steps to the end, and that Hayley was able to find closure to move on.
Four Stars
My rating for Please Don’t Lie by Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt is four stars. The story is well written. I love the setting, and the characters spoke to me. I do recommend it and look forward to the next book in the series.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Please Don’t Lie by Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt.
Until the next time,
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About Anne Burt
Anne Burt is the coauthor with #1 New York Times bestselling author Christina Baker Kline of the thriller PLEASE DON’T LIE. Anne’s debut novel, THE DIG, was an American Booksellers Association Indie Next Pick, the Strand Book Store’s mystery selection for spring 2023, and Indie Next’s lead “Thrills & Chills” reading group title for summer 2024. Anne is also the editor of MY FATHER MARRIED YOUR MOTHER and co-editor of ABOUT FACE. Her essays and fiction have appeared in numerous publications and venues, including Salon, NPR, and Working Mother, and she is a past winner of Meridian Literary Magazine’s Editors’ Prize in Fiction.
About Christina Baker Kline
A #1 New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including The Exiles, Orphan Train, and A Piece of the World, Christina Baker Kline is published in 40 countries. Her novels have received the New England Prize for Fiction, the Maine Literary Award, and a Barnes & Noble Discover Award, among other prizes, and have been chosen by hundreds of communities, universities and schools as “One Book, One Read” selections. Her essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in publications such as the New York Times and the NYT Book Review, the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle, LitHub, Psychology Today, Poets & Writers, and Salon. Born in England and raised in the American South and Maine, Kline is a graduate of Yale (B.A.), Cambridge (M.A.) and the University of Virginia (M.F.A.), where she was a Hoyns Fellow in Fiction Writing.
Kline lives in NYC and Southwest Harbor, Maine. She serves on the advisory boards of the Center for Fiction (NY), the Jesup Library (Bar Harbor, ME), the Montclair Literary Festival (NJ), the Kauai Writers Festival (HI), and Roots & Wings (NJ), and on the gala committees of Poets & Writers (NY), The Authors Guild (NY) and Friends of Acadia (ME). She is an Artist-Mentor for StudioDuke at Duke University and the BookEnds program at Stony Brook University.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2025 Cloak and Dagger JEN
- 2025 Goodreads RC JEN
- 2025 Medical Examiner Mystery RC JEN
- 2025 Thriller RC
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