{"product_id":"beautiful-lies-isbn-9780307336828","title":"Beautiful Lies","description":"If Ridley Jones had slept ten minutes later or had taken the subway instead of waiting   for a cab, she would still be living the beautiful lie she used to call her life.   She would still be the privileged daughter of a doting father and a loving mother.   Her life would still be perfect—with only the tiny cracks of an angry junkie for   a brother and a charming drunk with shady underworld connections for an uncle to   mar the otherwise flawless whole. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e But that’s not what happened. Instead, those   inconsequential decisions lead her to perform a good deed that puts her in the right   place at the right time to unleash a chain of events that brings a mysterious package   to her door—a package which informs her that her entire world is a lie.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Suddenly   forced to question everything she knows about herself and her family, Ridley wanders   into dark territory she never knew existed, where everyone in her life seems like   a stranger. She has no idea who’s on her side and who has something to hide—even,   and maybe especially, her new lover, Jake, who appears to have secrets of his own.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Sexy and fast-paced, \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Lies\u003c\/i\u003e is a true literary thriller with one of the   freshest voices and heroines to arrive in years. Lisa Unger takes us on a breathtaking   ride in which every choice Ridley makes creates a whirlwind of consequences that   are impossible to imagine . . . .“A stunning, powerful novel! Lisa Unger’s taut prose grabs the reader from word one and never lets go. In this tantalizing tale of family suspense, beware of who you trust and be forewarned about what might happen next.” —Lisa Gardner, author of \u003ci\u003eAlone\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A tense exploration of what lies beneath the white picket fence of ordinary life. Harlan Coben has a new rival for his thriller crown.” —John Connolly, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Black Angel\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eBeautiful Lies\u003c\/i\u003e is a heartfelt thriller full of twists, turns, and truths. . . . Lisa Unger writes with precision and insight—she’s a welcome new voice in suspense fiction.” —Jeff Abbott, author of \u003ci\u003ePanic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“At last, a riveting suspense novel filled with psychological insight and amazing wisdom. Lisa Unger is a literate, savvy writer, and \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Lies\u003c\/i\u003e is a find! Read it now!” —Margaret coel, author of \u003ci\u003eEye of the Wolf\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Suspenseful, sensitive, sexy, subtle . . . The best nail-biter I have read for ages.  Highly recommended.” —Lee Child, author of \u003ci\u003eOne Shot  \u003c\/i\u003eLisa Unger is an award-winning \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003eand international bestselling author. Her novels have sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. and have been translated into 26 different languages.Chapter One\u003cbr\u003e    \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    It's dark in that awful way that allows you to make out objects but   not the black spaces behind them. My breathing comes ragged from   exertion and fear. The only person I trust in the world lies on the   floor beside me. I lean into him and hear that he's still breathing   but it's shallow and hard won. He's hurt, I know. But I can't see how   badly. I whisper his name in his ear but he doesn't respond. I feel   his body but there's no blood that I can tell. The sound of his body   hitting the floor minutes before was the worst thing I've ever heard.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    I feel the floor around him, looking for his gun. After a few seconds   I feel the cool metal beneath my fingertips and I almost weep with   relief. But there's no time for that now.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    I can hear the rain falling outside the burned-out building, its   loud, heavy drops smacking on canvas. It's falling inside, too,   trickling in through gaping holes in the roof down through floors of   rotted wood and broken staircases. He moves and issues a low groan. I   hear him say my name and I lean in close to him again.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    \"It's okay. We're going to be okay,\" I tell him, even though I don't   have any reason to believe this is true. Somewhere outside or up   above us a man I thought I loved, along with other men whom I   couldn't identify, are trying to kill us, to protect an awful truth   that I've discovered. I am hurt myself, in so much pain that I might   pass out if I didn't know it meant dying here in this condemned   building on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. There's something   embedded in my right thigh. It's possibly a bullet, or a large spike   of wood, or maybe a nail. It's so dark I can just barely see the   large hole in my jeans, and the denim is black with my blood. I'm   dizzy, the world tilting, but I'm holding on.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    I hear them up above us now, see the beams of their flashlights   crossing in the dark through the holes in the floors. I try to   control my breathing, which to my own ears sounds as loud as an   oncoming train. I hear one of the men say to the others, \"I think   they fell through. They're on the bottom.\" There was no answer but I   can hear them making their way down over creaking wood.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    He stirs. \"They're coming,\" he says, his voice little more than a   rasp. \"Get out of here, Ridley.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    I don't answer him. We both know I'm not leaving. I pull at him and   he tries to get up, but the pain registers on his face louder than   the scream I know he suppressed to protect us for a few minutes more.   If we're not walking out of here together, we're not walking out at   all. I drag him, even though I know I shouldn't be moving him, over   behind an old moldy couch that lies on its back by the wall. It's not   far but I can see his face white and gritted in terrible pain. As I   move him, he loses consciousness again and in an instant feels fifty   pounds heavier. But I've seen all four of his limbs move and that's   something. I realize that I'm praying as I pull him, my leg on fire,   my strength waning. Please God, please God, please God, over and over   again like a mantra.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    The way the couch is lying, it forms a crawl space against the wall   just big enough for the two of us. I pull him in there and lie on my   belly beside him. I pull an old crate over toward the edge of the   couch and look through the wooden slats. They're closer now and I'm   sure they've heard us because they've stopped talking and turned   their flashlights off. I hold the gun in both hands and wait. I've   never fired a gun before and I don't know how many bullets are left   in this one. I think we're going to die here.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    \"Ridley, please, don't do this.\" The voice echoes in the dark and   comes from up above me. \"We can work this out.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    I don't answer. I know it's a trick. Nothing about this can be worked   out now; we're all too far gone. There have been plenty of chances to   close my eyes and go back to the sleep of my life as it was, but I   haven't taken any of them. Do I wish now that I had? It's hard to   answer that question, as the wraiths move closer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    \"Six,\" he whispers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    \"What?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    \"You have six bullets left.\"New York Times Bestseller; Author of Sliver of Truth","brand":"Crown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46303103221989,"sku":"NP9780307336828","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780307336828.jpg?v=1767722316","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/beautiful-lies-isbn-9780307336828","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}