Private Lies

Hush Money Mystery Series, Book 3

By: T. E. Woods

Narrated by: Xe Sands

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

All her life, Midwest restaurateur Sydney Richardson has been searching for answers about her past. Now, in this riveting thriller, the truth hits home - with a vengeance.

Billy Tremble thought he had finally made it out of the skids. He was happy to share his good fortune with his less fortunate friends...and that's why he ended up dead.

Sydney Richardson's enjoying a rare night out in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, when she learns that one of her friends has been shot. Rick Sheffield thought he was staking out a drug deal; turns out he had a front-row seat to a million-dollar cash drop gone wrong. Meanwhile, at a construction site across town, a young vagrant is killed execution-style after spreading some serious wealth among his street friends.

Sydney sees no reason to link the shootings - until the money disappears from the evidence locker, resulting in the release of the suspect in the first shooting and the suspension of the detective investigating the second. Determined to connect the dots herself, Sydney uncovers evidence of a massive conspiracy tying a respectable local family to the Chicago underworld. But what frightens her most is the fact that the trail of blood leads to the decades-old cold case that has haunted Sydney's every move: her father's murder.

©2018 T. E. Woods (P)2018 Tantor

Slow to start.

I almost stopped listening to this about half way through it got better. Person reading was boring.

Left me with an unfinished sense.

This book left me with an unfinished sense. As far as the main character’s relationship with the man she’s been seeing for at least 2 and a half books. She really disappointed me with her mixed feeling about the second man. I felt like she really loved and should be with the first and the second man would just be a sec only thing. The first man was right about her not being ready for what he was ready for. I felt like this series deserved one more book where she goes to Ireland and resolves her issues and in the end comes back ready for what the first man has to offer! Sorry! I’m a sucker for a happy ending!!!!

Sometimes you're better of not knowing...

I really enjoyed TE Woods new book in her Hush Money series.
This book has Sidney Richardson looking for her birth parents, looking for who killed her adoptive father, helping to find out who is framing one of her police friends and a few other little things. Everything converges for an explosive ending that from about the middle of the book was a little predictable for me but still a fun story.
Woods writes a solid book but her series tend to start "normal" and end up kind of "out there". I can see this series taking the same route as her FIXER series, the first few believable but the second half of the series required a complete suspension of reality...
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
This series should be read in the order it was written.
Xe Sands does an excellent job narrating.
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Thank You.

There's a lot to like about the Hush Money series.

This book, Private Lies, is the third in the Hush Money Mystery series. I really like them and I like the narrator, Xe Sands. It's about a world of money and intrigue and it's easy to quickly get involved in the books. My only problem is that I'm beginning to find the main character, Sydney, increasingly annoyin. She owns a very classy restaurant and bar and is surrounded by people that love her. It's becoming hard to believe, though. Her bar was specifically opened to attract first responders and give them a place to blow off steam after a hard shift. Sydney is heavily involved with the police department. Her father was killed on duty, she's on a first name basis with many cops. But more and more Sydney has become Nancy Drew. She questions the cops who are her friends to the point that if I were a cop, I'd start steering clear of her, regardless of friendship. She not only questions the cops, she expects them to answer and will climb up on her high horse when they don't. This is all unbelievable. Cops just don't give civilians the level of information she expects. If there was another Hush Money book, maybe she'll be brought down a level or two. This is the last of the Hush Money series, but Woods writes a Justice series that I expect I'll read. Sydney won't be in them. At least I don't think she will.

Great listen!!!

Love this series. Such an entertaining story. Make you want to continue listen. Can't wait for next installment.

Interesting

If you can get by the terrible narrator and her propensity toward dramatic pause, and slow speed drawn out words from every single character, the book itself is interesting.
Not as awesome as the Fixer series, but still interesting.

loved it!

good story, good narration, loved the immediate friendship between Sydney and Leslie and the vibrational emotions she felt for a few characters

math challenged

Enjoyed the story and it was very well read/performed. However the details around numerous characters ages doesn't add up. Best to ignore the gaps and just enjoy the story.

Wanted to love it but ...

I've read everything from T.E. Woods but for some reason I couldn't get through this one and its because of the narrator. I listen to 2-4 books a week so i hear a lot of different styles and for some reason I cannot tolerate her anymore. I think its because she makes all of her characters sound nonchalant in speaking if that makes sense. I was so dissapointed because I've read everything else and it never bothered me before. I'll keep it in my library as a back up and maybe it will sound better at another time.

Preposterous story Line

Loved the performance but it is the weakest of the trilogy. She should have stopped after the first. Any research would have informed her that law enforcement does NOT let third parties tag along and help in a murder investigation