Even with money, good looks, a loving husband and a beautiful stepdaughter, Ella Dalton suffers from severe anxiety and self-doubt. But, when her husband is the prime suspect in a murder investigation, she must find the courage to uncover the truth—no matter where it might lead.
Living on their six-hundred acres of land in southwest Minnesota, all Ella wants is to enjoy a quiet and secluded life with her husband, Matthew, and his daughter, Ava. However, with Ava's mother and stepfather living close by, Ella is forced to contend with hostility, fear, and harassment on her own property.
When Ava's stepfather is found murdered on Ella's acreage, Matthew soon emerges as the prime suspect in the killing. Even as she stands by her husband, protesting his innocence, doubts begin to creep into her mind as the evidence and secrets pile up.
Now Ella must use the strength she never thought she had to navigate through the lies and deceit, as she seeks to uncover the true killer and their motivation for the crime, and the prejudices held by the agent in charge of the investigation. Will her attempts to discover what really happened prove Matthew's innocence, or seal his fate?
Even with money, good looks, a loving husband and a beautiful stepdaughter, Ella Dalton suffers from severe anxiety and self-doubt. But, when her husband is the prime suspect in a murder investigation, she must find the courage to uncover the truth—no matter where it might lead.
Living on their six-hundred acres of land in southwest Minnesota, all Ella wants is to enjoy a quiet and secluded life with her husband, Matthew, and his daughter, Ava. However, with Ava's mother and stepfather living close by, Ella is forced to contend with hostility, fear, and harassment on her own property.
When Ava's stepfather is found murdered on Ella's acreage, Matthew soon emerges as the prime suspect in the killing. Even as she stands by her husband, protesting his innocence, doubts begin to creep into her mind as the evidence and secrets pile up.
Now Ella must use the strength she never thought she had to navigate through the lies and deceit, as she seeks to uncover the true killer and their motivation for the crime, and the prejudices held by the agent in charge of the investigation. Will her attempts to discover what really happened prove Matthew's innocence, or seal his fate?
If anyone watched her, Ella Dalton appeared to be singing the familiar birthday song. Her mouth moved along with the words, but no sound was exiting her mouth. Not because she didn’t want to celebrate the little girl’s birthday, but because she was uncomfortable in social situations. Ever since her father’s death when she was young, severe social anxiety had ruled her life. Convinced she was not attractive enough or smart enough to bring any value to a conversation, she did her best to avoid interactions with other people. Now, at the fifth birthday party of her stepdaughter, Ava, she was trying her best to pretend she didn’t want to crawl away and hide until it was over.
The song ended, and Ava happily blew out her candles with her beaming mother and father on each side of her. Ella looked at Ava’s father and felt her love for him overwhelm her. It wasn’t easy, though. She had married Matthew shortly after his daughter’s birth and always felt she was in competition with Ava’s mother, Adrienne.
Ella had tried to have a positive relationship with Adrienne, but felt the persona she presented to the world was completely fake. She was one of those people who tries to appear so friendly and sweet, but you know is insincere and talking about you the moment you turn your back. Unable to ever prove her theory of Adrienne’s duplicity, she had to accept her as part of her life. Everyone else seemed to adore and admire Adrienne; she had been raised in abject poverty to a drug-addicted mother but had managed to overcome her obstacles.
Today, she had extra attention due to the walker she had been using for the past few weeks. Adrienne explained to everyone, even if they already knew, that she had multiple sclerosis and was experiencing a severe flareup of symptoms. She hobbled her way to Ava to help her blow out the candles. Once the candles were successfully out, she yelled at everyone there, “Look at the beautiful baby Matthew and I made together,” before hugging Matthew to her. Ella saw Matthew nervously glance toward her and gently pry Adrienne away, sensing her closeness to him was making his wife uncomfortable. Once he freed himself, he walked to Ella and drew her close to him.
“I’m so proud of you for being here for Ava and me,” he told her before he placed a soft kiss on the tip of her nose.
“You know I love that little girl,” Ella replied. “I would do anything for her.”
“I know you do,” Matthew stated. “Will you be okay if I go mingle with some of my friends?”
Reluctantly, Ella nodded. “I won’t be gone long. When I get back, we can go home,” he promised.
Watching her husband move from person to person with such ease, Ella couldn’t help but feel jealous of his ability to be comfortable in any situation. They had been married a little over four years, but they had been together for five years. It might sound cliché, but the sight of him still took her breath away. Matthew had wavy chestnut hair and deep brown eyes. He stood six foot two inches, and his daily runs kept him in remarkable physical shape. Ella exercised to keep herself healthy, but she wasn’t nearly as diligent as her husband. She knew she had married above her station for looks and couldn’t believe someone who looked like him wanted to marry someone who looked like her. Ella had money, and she sometimes worried that Matthew had married her for that reason, but he had his own money. He was comfortable, but he was far from as wealthy as Ella. She couldn’t believe that he loved her for her. Why would this smart, handsome, sexy man want someone not as attractive as him and who suffered from social anxiety? Yet, despite her misgivings, when they were together as a family, without any outside influences, she sensed he loved her. When she was able to be herself and wasn’t worried about how everyone else saw them, she was able to believe every word he said to her. He laughed at her jokes, took care of her when she was sick, and was always interested in sex. She knew there was a genuine love between the two of them, despite their differences.
“Hi, Ella,” said a familiar voice.
Turning, she saw the face she was expecting. “Hi, Jeff, how are you?” she asked.
“Enjoying this as much as possible,” he replied honestly. “Are you as uncomfortable as I am?”
“I am,” she replied. “But I know you love Ava too much to miss this.”
“You definitely know me,” Jeff replied.
Ella was grateful for the one person at the party who she knew felt as uneasy as herself. Jeff was the brother of Adrienne’s husband, Jake. Neither Ella nor Matthew was particularly fond of Jake, but his brother was the complete opposite, soft-spoken and god-fearing. Jake never seemed overly bright or caring, but Jeff had always seemed to be intelligent and sensitive.
“Are you as anxious to leave as I am?” he asked her.
“I really want to be happy to be here, but I’m so uncomfortable. A small party would have been my preference.”
“Adrienne never goes small when it comes to making Ava happy. She would do anything for her,” Jeff replied with sincerity.
“Why are you keeping this beautiful lady all to yourself?” Jake yelled at his brother, inserting himself into their conversation. He walked to Jeff and faked a punch toward his crotch. Instinctively, Jeff moved his hands to cover his private parts. When he did this, Jake slapped his brother across the face and laughed. “You fall for that every time, wussy boy.”
An embarrassed Jeff shook his head as his older brother’s antics. “Come on, Jake,” he pleaded. “Can you not be that way on Ava’s birthday?”
“Aww, don’t be so sensitive,” Jake teased. “You need to man up and quit being such a pussy.” He wrapped his arm around Jeff’s neck and pulled him down into the familiar wrestling hold. Attempts to release himself failed as he squirmed and punched helplessly as his much strong brother, Jeff’s face grew redder by the moment.
Averting her gaze to try to spare Jeff the embarrassment being inflicted upon him, Ella ordered softly, “Just leave him alone, Jake.”
Surprised by her words, Jake released his grip on Jeff and shoved him away. His attention was now squarely on Ella. “Well, look who has something to say. Why don’t you come over here and give me a nice hello.”
Instinctively Ella stepped back in a futile attempt to avoid the unwelcome attention of Ava’s stepfather. He stumbled toward her before clumsily attempting to kiss her on the lips. Thankfully, she managed turned her face in time, so he missed and could only drool on her cheek.
“Hello, Jake,” she said as she wiped his mark off her face.
“That’s no way to greet family,” Jake exclaimed. He pulled Ella toward him for a hug, and she felt herself physically stiffen at his unwanted touch. The hug lasted much too long to be friendly. His hand caressed the small of her back before he moved it down to cup her buttocks.
“Stop it, Jake!” Ella yelled.
“Leave her alone,” Jeff yelled as he tried to push himself between them.
“Mind your own business,” he hissed at his brother as he pushed him away again. Jake’s fist was ready to strike at his brother, but a strong hand around his arm stopped him from striking.
“I saw what you did!” Matthew yelled. “Don’t you ever put your hands on my wife.”
“Matthew,” Ella said while gesturing toward Ava and the other children, “this isn’t the place.”
Through gritted teeth, Matthew glared at Jake and said, “In the house, now.”
Jake walked toward the house with his shoulder slumped, looking like a toddler about to be punished, with Matthew and Ella following closely behind. “What is going on?” Adrienne asked as she struggled to catch up to the angry group. No one answered; instead, Matthew pointed toward the house to instruct her to follow them.
Once the door closed behind them, Matthew immediately let his feelings be known. “I never want to see him come near my wife again.”
Holding her hands out in front of her, Adrienne said, “Can someone please tell me what happened?”
“Your pig of a husband felt up my wife,” Matthew replied angrily.
“I didn’t do anything,” a defensive Jake stated. “I just tried to give her a hug, but apparently, she’s too good for that.”
“It’s obvious you’re drunk. You promised that you were going to stop drinking. I never want to see you near my wife again. Is that clear?” he shouted as he moved closer to Jake.
“Is it clear to you I didn’t do anything?” Jake shouted back as he moved close to Matthew until the two men stood nose to nose, both with clenched fists.
“Everyone needs to calm down. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation,” Adrienne stated. Slowly moving to her husband, she put her hands on his shoulder and whispered in his ear. Jake nodded and took a step back from Matthew. “I didn’t want to tell you this today since it’s Ava’s birthday, but we received some bad news yesterday. Jake wasn’t taking the news very well, and he had a little too much to drink. I’m sure he didn’t mean to do anything to offend you or Ella.”
“What’s wrong, Adrienne? Is Ava okay?” Matthew asked nervously.
“Ava is fine,” she answered before her tears fell.
“Adrienne’s multiple sclerosis is getting worse,” Jake finished for her. “The doctor said it’s progressing faster than they expected and she’ll be in a wheelchair soon. She didn’t want to tell anyone because she wanted Ava to have her day.”
Adrienne squeezed a few words between her sobs, “Please… Jake is just having a hard time. Don’t take our daughter’s special day from her. I just want her to have as normal of a childhood as possible.”
Matthew and Ella looked at each other, not knowing what to say. She knew he was feeling the same empathy for Adrienne she was, but was still worried about Jake’s behavior. “Look,” said Matthew, “I’m sorry for what you’re going through. I’m sure we all agree that we want Ava to have a happy childhood and a great birthday, but we need to know that she is taken care of. We’ll agree to forget this ever happened only if Jake agrees this is the last time he drinks and he keeps his hands off of my wife.” Ella looked at Jake and could tell by his face that he was contemplating a retort that would lead to another argument, but Adrienne held up her hand to stop him.
“I think that’s reasonable. Don’t you agree, Jake?”
“Sure,” an obviously disagreeable Jake answered. “But…”
“But nothing,” Adrienne interrupted him. “Ella has every right to her feelings. If she said you made her uncomfortable, then you need to own that and apologize.”
“Daddy?” a small voice said in a whimper.
Ella turned to find Ava standing inside the sliding glass doors, her eyes widened in fear. Ava was a strikingly beautiful child, with her natural blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. She was tall for her age, with a slender build. She felt instant guilt when she saw the pain in Ava’s big eyes. She knew Ava didn’t need to see this, and she placed her hand gently on Matthew’s arm. “Honey,” she said and cocked her head toward the little girl. Matthew turned to see his daughter and instantly softened. He ran to her, scooped her up in his arms, kissed her cheek, then said, “Daddy loves you.”
“Are you guys fighting?” she asked in a scared voice.
“Of course not,” Matthew lied. “We’re just trying to decide which of us loves you more.”
“Which one of you loves me more?” she asked with an innocence only a child can have.
“We decided we all love you equally because you’re so amazing,” he replied.
Satisfied with his answer, a small smile formed on her lips. “Can you help me open my presents?” she asked.
“Of course I will,” he said as he grabbed her hand.
The two walked toward the door, but Ava turned back, “Ella, I want you to come too,” she stated.
“I will be right there; I just need to talk to your mother first.”
“Do you promise?”
“I promise.”
Appearing to accept her at her word, Ava nodded and happily skipped out the door with her father.
Ella focused her attention back to the couple in the room. She wanted to convey her sympathy for her plight, but she felt Jake’s behavior still required an apology. “Adrienne, I’m so sorry about your illness, but…”
Her demeanor changed now that Matthew and Ava were out of the room. She interrupted Ella’s sentence and snapped, “What’s the matter, bitch? Upset that you’re not the center of attention?”
“What?” Ella stammered.
“I know you want Jake,” she accused. “And I know you’re the reason this whole thing started. You think you’re so much better than everyone else, but you’re not. You’re pathetic.” Adrienne looked at Jake and said, “Let’s go.”
Jake followed his wife toward the door but stopped to grab Ella’s backside once again. “Someday, baby, you’re going to enjoy my touch,” he whispered in her ear menacingly before placing a kiss on her cheek. “Coming, babe,” he said as he hurried to assist his wife out the door.
Stunned at their actions, Ella stood in the room, unable to move. She was aware Adrienne did not like her; she obviously felt Matthew was the love of her life, and Ella had stolen her happily ever after. However, Matthew had clarified it was a one-night stand that resulted in an unplanned but much-loved daughter and Ella had not broken up anything. Adrienne and Jake had never acted this brazen before. How was she going to tell Matthew that Adrienne’s husband had threatened her? He was always defensive of her because she was the mother of his only child and Adrienne herself had experienced such a difficult childhood. For the time being, she did what she could, which was to paste a smile on her face and fulfill her promise to watch her stepdaughter open her gifts.
When they returned home after the party, Ella told Matthew about the threat and what Adrienne had said to her, but she did not receive the reaction she expected.
“Are you sure that is what she said?” he asked. “Is it possible you misunderstood what she said?”
“How can I misunderstand being called a bitch?” Ella shouted. “Why do you always defend her? She called me a bitch and let Jake threaten me.”
Taking her in his arms, Matthew said, “I’m not trying to defend her. Look, I know this can’t be easy for you, but Adrienne has to be a part of our lives because of Ava.”
Slumping her shoulders, Ella cried softly, “I know, but can’t you see she has an ulterior motive? She wants you for herself.”
Swallowing hard, Matthew whispered, “Even if she wanted that. I love you and I never want to lose you.”
Raising her eyes, she tried to catch his gaze, but she could tell he was deliberately avoiding looking at her. “Why won’t you look at me?”
“It’s been a long day and I just want to put this behind us. Can you do that?”
“What about what Jake said to me?”
“I will talk to Adrienne about it. Jake was drunk, and maybe he didn’t realize what he was saying. But if it makes you feel better, I will make sure that you’re never alone with him.”
“How can you guarantee that? They live in a house we own on the same property where we live, and there are nights that you’re out of town.”
“We’ll put in additional cameras and security equipment, okay? I promise you, I will never let anyone hurt you. Jake will never get near you again.”
“You just let Adrienne call me a bitch and you aren’t going to do anything about it.”
“That’s not fair, Ella. You know I have to keep a good relationship with Adrienne for Ava’s sake, and I can’t keep having this conversation with you. I love you, not Adrienne. I can show you how much I love you right now if you want.”
Ella couldn’t help but smile at her husband even though she felt this was his attempt to change the subject. Deep down, she knew he loved her and would do anything to protect her, but she couldn’t help but feel uneasy about another woman coveting him. Instead of prolonging the fight, she decided her anger belonged with Adrienne and Jake. She reached toward Matthew asked playfully, “What do you have in mind?”
“Let me show you,” he said as he lay her back on their bed. “I could never love anyone as much as I love you. You are my world, Ella.”
After they finished, Matthew left to go on his daily run. He planned to make it a longer run than usual so that he could work off the birthday cake Ava had insisted he eat. Ella stayed in their bed, still thinking of his touch before her thoughts returned to Adrienne. Ella couldn’t call her unattractive, but she also couldn’t call her attractive. Maybe her opinion of Adrienne’s looks was jaded because Ella didn’t like her as a person. One of those instances where the more you know someone, the more or less attractive they become. It was apparent that Adrienne would have a particular draw to men, though. She maintained a fantastic figure and dressed to show it off. She kept her hair long and blonde, which she claimed was her natural color, even though it was apparent she was born a brunette. She wasn’t a natural beauty by any means but did the best with what she had, and Ella had to respect her effort. However, there was one physical characteristic of Adrienne’s that Ella couldn’t get past: her thin lips. She often wondered how someone with such thin lips could have such a big mouth, but she pulled it off—always using her voice to make herself the center of attention. The two of them were so different, not just in looks but also in personality. Ella had once asked Matthew how he fell for her since she was nothing like Adrienne. Matthew’s reply was brief and powerful, “Isn’t that the point? If I wanted someone like her, I would be with her.” The response summed up why she felt as secure as she was capable of in their relationship. If Matthew had wanted Adrienne, he could have easily had her.
The sound of Matthew starting the shower startled her awake. She hadn’t heard him come back into the house when he returned from his jog. “Matthew?” she yelled.
“I took a long run, so I’m going to take a quick shower,” he shouted back.
Still naked from their earlier lovemaking, Ella crept into the bathroom and surprised her husband by joining him in the shower. She immediately saw the scratches on his body. “What happened to you?”
“I tripped over a root and fell into a bush,” he quickly answered. “I’m fine.”
“Are you fine enough for another round of showing me how much you love me?”
“Always,” he said before he leaned over to kiss her. However, before their lips could touch, Matthew’s phone rang.
“Don’t answer it,” Ella begged.
“It could be about Ava. I better see who it is.” He opened the shower door to step out to answer the call. Although she tried, she could not hear the conversation over the sound of the water. Suddenly, Matthew yanked the shower door open, and Ella knew something terrible had occurred.
“What happened?” she asked in a scared voice.
“That was Adrienne. Jake has disappeared.”
CW: sexual assault and violence.
Best Laid Lies is a brilliant and thrilling novel about murder, abuse, and deceit. Though there’s not too much mystery surrounding who the culprit is, there are plenty of shocking twists and turns that will keep you gripped in the story!
When his daughter Ava’s stepfather is found dead, Matthew is accused of the murder. Ella, Matthew’s adoring and anxiety-ridden wife, does everything she can to prove his innocence.
I enjoyed reading Best Laid Lies, and although it was fairly easy to guess who was behind things that doesn’t make the story any less intriguing! Ella is a great character, and I love her gradual transformation from a bit a of a nervous wreck to someone confident enough to track down and expose a murderer. Ella makes for an interesting protagonist, and I loved following her journey and seeing her develop throughout the story.
Other characters, however, failed to impress or interest me. Some of the characters seemed a little bit 2D, in that it was difficult to see them as real people as opposed to an archetype of the sort of person you’d find in this genre of story. For example the character of Adrienne (Ava’s mother). Though she is one of the key characters, it felt like throughout she was narrowed down to just one personality trait, which made it difficult to take any sort of true interest in her. The dialogue also sometimes came across as a bit stiff/unnatural at points, and I think if each character had a more unique and distinctive speech it may have made them feel a bit more ‘real’.
Despite this, the actual story is fascinating enough to keep you pulled in. Though you may guess the culprit quite quickly, there’s more to it than initially meets the eye! The ending is epic, and dramatic, and everything you could ask for from a thrilling crime fiction story. The ‘final showdown’ where the last of the details come to light will have you stunned; I ended up flying through the last few chapters because I couldn’t bring myself to put the book down!
Overall Best Laid Lies is a great book which I’d recommend to lovers of crime fiction looking for a quick and gripping story to get stuck into.