Liars' Paradox

By: Taylor Stevens

Narrated by: Jennifer O'Donnell

Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

A master of international intrigue, New York Times best-selling author Taylor Stevens introduces a pair of wild cards into the global spy game - a brother and sister who were raised to deceive - and trained to kill....

They live in the shadows, Jack and Jill, feuding twins who can never stop running. From earliest memory, they've been taught to hide, to hunt, to survive. Their prowess is outdone only by Clare, who has always been mentor first and mother second. She trained them in the art of espionage, tested their skills in weaponry, surveillance, and sabotage, and sharpened their minds with nerve-racking psychological games. As they grew older, they came to question her motives, her methods - and her sanity....

Now 26 years old, the twins are trying to lead normal lives. But when Clare's off-the-grid safe house explodes and she goes missing, they're forced to believe the unthinkable: Their mother's paranoid delusions have been real all along.

To find her, they'll need to set aside their differences; to survive, they'll have to draw on every skill she's trained them to use. A twisted trail leads from the CIA, to the KGB, to an underground network of global assassins where hunters become the hunted. Everyone, it seems, wants them dead - and, for one of the twins, it's a threat that's frighteningly familiar and dangerously close to home....

Filled with explosive action, suspense, and powerful human drama, Liars' Paradox is world-class intrigue at its finest.

©2019 Taylor Stevens (P)2018 Recorded Books

fantastic

Unbelievable plot twists, great characters. Decent narrator but could be better on differentiation of characters. Have loved all the characters Taylor Stevens creates.

If you love Tom Wood's Victor

and other 'smart', well trained assassin/spy novels, Taylor Stevens is a master. Great character development, as well as great fight scenes, and no picking out the end right away. Was so happy to see this release after a series of boring, unfinished 'thrillers' that were only psychological in the sense that I felt psychopathic rage at the authors (editors?) at marketing such crap so well as to bypass my discretion...

Twins who kick ass

Story: This was the first time I’ve read something from this author. I enjoyed the twists and the main characters. The author is economical with setting information and offers quick, natural with dialogue. There are several action sequences. My only wrinkle was that based on the twin’s childhood experience, I probably wouldn’t have tried to help this woman in the first place. But the author makes that woman interesting and somewhat likable too. I’m invested and will get the next book.

Performance: I enjoyed the narration until the last couple of chapters. Her cadence and phrasing became noticeably repetitive. Pausing every 3-4 words and using the same tonal pattern was distracting, I still enjoyed the story very much.

Subpar

I've listened to Vanessa Monroe series and loved it . This one, not so much.

Pure adrenaline!

Absolutely loved this book. In keeping with the genre she writes, Taylor Stevens has once again given readers a thrill of a ride. Complex characters with an inner need for love & acceptance, but putting their feelings on hold to catch the bad guys. Can't wait for the next one to come out.

True...Liars’ Paradox Is Good

If you are familiar with Taylor Stevens’ work (Vanessa M Monroe) you already know she is a master storyteller. And if you’re not familiar with her, you have some catching up to do. Liars’ Paradox will not disappoint.

4/5 Stars Thriller

4.25/5 Stars Liar’s Paradox by Taylor Stevens
Summary:
Jack and Jill get mysterious calls from Clare (their mother, trainer, task master, etc). When they rush over to her off-the-grid house, it explodes. The trail weaves in and out as a oddball cat and mouse game where they’re not sure who to trust and what to believe.

Additional Comments:
- Characters 3.5/5: The characters are realistic in some senses and not in others. They’re also mostly annoying. The feuding and one-upmanship thing between Jack and Jill gets old. That makes it hard to like them. Holden’s okay. Clare’s complicated. Bad guy is suitably bad guy-y. I even liked Frank. Robert was just annoying too. Poor guy. Was kinda rooting for somebody to off him.
- Plot 4/5: Fun but it occasionally gets bogged down in history. It’s simple really. If you get rid of the flashbacks, I’m not sure this book would top 150 pages.
- Action 4.5/5: The fight scenes are well-described and thrilling.
- Closure 4/5: The way Clare chooses to end things with the bad guy is kinda awesome and makes her a heck of a lot more likable in my book. It’s definitely open for more. So, I guess if you want the whole family saga you’d have to read book 2 as well.
- Performance 4/5: Jennifer O’Donnell does a solid job with a performance. I played it faster than normal, so I’m not sure if all the male voices sounded fully distinct, but they were distinct enough.
- Unlike the Munroe series, the main characters don’t do much traveling in the present. In the past, sure, but not the present, so the reader misses out a bit on the authentic feel of unique culture immerse-ment that the Informationist had in spades. It’s been a while since I read a Taylor Steven’s book. Mostly, I listen to her podcast with Steve Campbell. She’d got a lot of great insights into the traditional publishing world.
- There are a LOT of flashbacks. Some are necessary, some probably not. It slowed things down quite a bit.
- Content Warnings: Pervasive swearing. Adult situations implied without being really described. Lots of violence.
- Favorite part: Clare’s solution.
- Cover is okay. A tad cheesy but fits the genre.

Conclusion:
A meandering, history filled, yet still satisfying action-packed thriller.

Annoying narrator

Good story ruined by the narrator constantly taking sharp breaths in before EVERY sentence. And trying to read in a "tough " manner. I get the attempt due to the story line but......I had to stop listening and buy the real book to read it as I couldn't listen anymore.

Family Thriller Meets Spy Intrigue

Taylor Stevens knocks another international thriller right out of the proverbial park. But this time, she's wrapped her story around a fascinating pair of feuding twin assassins and a dangerous woman who may or may not be the worst mother in history. Quick paced, high action, complex relationships: Taylor Stevens keeps her readers spellbound from the first word to the last. Nicely narrated by Jennifer O'Donnell.

The New Master of Modern Thrillers

From the first sentences of The Informationist, I knew I was in the presence of a wonderfully powerful writer with all the purity and pain of Alan Furst and the reality and flavor of the modern complex world we live in. Trying to fit a spy into the tightening panopticon of our surveillance society is hard enough but to keep the power and fear of a real spy thriller intact is the work of a true master. Taylor Stevens has it all in spades.
Read her. Listen to her. Support her on Patreon.com. Rejoice in a new writer and a great new pair of characters.