MaryJanice Davidson (The
Love Scam) writes romance across genres, from comedy to horror to
paranormal. In Truth, Lies, and Second Dates, she incorporates
elements of a thriller. Ava Capp is a snarky, flawed heroine with an unresolved
past. Not yet 30 years old, Ava is already an accomplished pilot for a
commercial airline. Her need to fly away began years before. As a teenager, she
and her best friend, Danielle, were inseparable--until Danielle was brutally
murdered when the girls were 16. The tragic loss of Danielle and her unsolved
murder led Ava to abuse drugs and alcohol, until she dried out, turned her life
around and became a pilot--one plagued with romantic commitment issues.
One day, on a routine flight, she crosses paths with
Danielle's twin brother, Dennis, who invites Ava to a 10-year memorial service
for his sister. The invitation brings Ava back to her hometown, Minneapolis, Minn.,
where she's welcomed coolly by Danielle's family--especially by her mother, who
still suspects Ava killed her daughter. When things go dreadfully awry at the
service, and Ava leaves abruptly, she meets Dr. Tom Baker. When Baker was 13,
the grisly murder of Danielle intrigued him so much that it launched him into a
career as a medical examiner. As Ava and Tom strike up a friendship (on the way
to romance), mysterious happenings resurrect the past and begin to threaten
Ava's sanity and safety.
Readers will root for the flawed heroine and the pull of
romance. However, they'll be more apt to keep turning pages, eager to solve the
suspenseful whodunnit embroiled in the midst of it all.
Truth,
Lies and Second Dates: A Novel by MaryJanice Davidson
St. Martin’s
Griffin, $16.00 Paperback,
9781250053176, 320 pages
Publication Date: December 15, 2020
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NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted
with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (December 29, 2020), link HERE