The Two Lila Bennetts

By: Liz Fenton, Lisa Steinke

Narrated by: Karissa Vacker

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

"One fateful decision. Two unexpected endings. A perfect summer read!"--Wendy Walker, bestselling author of The Night Before

Lila Bennett’s bad choices have finally caught up with her. And one of those decisions has split her life in two. Literally.

In one life, she’s taken hostage by someone who appears to be a stranger but knows too much. As she’s trapped in a concrete cell, her kidnapper forces her to face what she’s done or be killed. In an alternate life, she eludes her captor but is hunted by someone who is dismantling her happiness, exposing one secret at a time.

Lila’s decorated career as a criminal defense attorney, her marriage, and her life are on the line. She must make a list of those she’s wronged - both in and out of the courtroom - to determine who is out to get her before it’s too late. But even if she can pinpoint her assailant, will she survive? And if she does, which parts of her life are worth saving, and which parts must die? Because one thing’s for certain - life as Lila Bennett knew it is over.

©2019 Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

“Intriguing...Chapters headed ‘captured’ and ‘free’ alternate, each describing a parallel reality...Along with two perfect endings, this satisfying thriller offers food for thought. Flawless pacing will keep readers on the edge of their seats."--Publishers Weekly

“The Two Lila Bennetts is heart-pounding action from start to finish. It’s Sliding Doors with a killer twist. I couldn’t put it down!”--Aimee Molloy, New York Times bestselling author

“The Two Lila Bennetts, by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke, begins with one of the most intriguing premises that I’ve encountered in a novel and ends with two jaw-dropping conclusions. In Lila Bennett, Fenton and Steinke have created a tough, complicated character whose life splinters into two very different directions the moment she makes a life-altering choice. Toggling back and forth between each of Lila’s fates, Fenton and Steinke masterfully blend both threads together, propelling the stories forward with hand-wringing tension. Clever, unpredictable, and obsessively unputdownable, The Two Lila Bennetts is psychological suspense at its finest."--Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and Not a Sound

Such a thrilling read!

This story was perfectly written! With notes of Taylor Jenkins Reid's Maybe in Another Life, Lila's choices in life have consequences, and her future unfolds depending on her choices and actions.

Lots of twists and turns. With a cast of characters that make the reader continue to analyze the "whodunit", this story will keep the reader on edge and the pages turning.

I really enjoyed Karissa Vacker's performance as she narrated the many characters in this story. She truly was able to bring each of them to life in this story.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Good but a little long.

worth listening to. a little long but the self examination while doing so was cleansing.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Holy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What an amazing twisted mind-bending tale. i absolutely loved it The characters were so interesting. Highly recommend

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I wanted to like this

Good story, but the dialogue with Q was just eyeroll worthy, and I never could really empathize with the main character. I wanted to...and I also was expecting the 2 stories to converge rather than leaving me feeling like this was some parallel universe stuff. What bothers me is that the decisions she makes in the turning point moment aren't different enough to justify such different stories. I don't know...great idea, but the execution didn't fire off for me.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

So Clever!

4 - 4.5 Stars

"I might be a terrible person."

SO CLEVER! My first book by this author duo and I loved it. Smart and perfectly paced! Lila Bennett is a smart yet ruthless criminal defense attorney who has made some questionable choices in both her job and her personal life. The story takes place in alternate timelines, between two parallel worlds much like two of my favorite books, 'Dark Matter' and 'Maybe in Another Life.'

I alternated between the audio and Kindle version and the audio narrator did an OUTSTANDING job of bringing the character of Lila to life. Lila has just finished a huge trial and must now face the consequences of her past actions. She is kidnapped in one timeline, but her captor demands something very unusual from her.

“Life can change in an instant, Lila. One decision. One wrong turn. One missed opportunity. That’s all it takes. And everything you had could be gone."

Although I figured out who was behind the kidnapping, it was SO much fun going along for the ride. Would Lila do the right thing with her clients, boss and husband? There were so many people she had wronged in her life, including her best friend and her mother. This story had me on the edge of my seat! I highly recommend the audiobook version for this one, the narrator was fantastic.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable thriller with a clever and creative plot. As the book raced towards a surprising conclusion, I did not want it to end! This was my first book by Liz and Lisa and I can't wait to read more.

"Maybe all we are is the sum of our choices, each one leading us down a different path, each with its own unique outcome."

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Amazing twist in this Book

This is an edge of seat book. The storyline is interesting and Karissa Vacker is the Narrator who maintains your interest till the end of the book. The characters are believable, likable and interesting. This story is based off Lila, you have the two personalities the one that is "Free" and the one that is captured. the free one I feel is in her head and her thoughts to keep her sane. The captured is able to apologize for wrong doings and rethink her life. It is written in such a way you know when free or captured. It is a good book that l recommend it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Outstanding

I flipped between reading and listening to this book. The story was great and the narration was fantastic! I loves being able to listen in the Audible app and pick up in the Kindle app at the spot I left off.

The way the authors made both parts of the story converge and come to a similar conclusion wrapped it up nicely.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Almost speechless

There is so much wrong with this story,where to even start?! After the first couple chapters it went to hell pretty fast. The writing was really bad, sophomoric at best. The most inane, needless things were drawn out in detail or she tried to “word” you to death. If it took a couple words to describe something or a feeling you get 20. The “captured”and “free” back and forth got confusing because the author got confused herself. Things that had happened in a “free” chapter were forgotten in the next “free” chapter. This is just one big MESS! I skiiped ahead every few chapters, didnt miss a thing! Seems it tried to be a deep introspective story but fell very flat. Musings of protag in captivity, “will i ever get to brush my teeth again” deep stuff like that. After 4 days in captivity (no torture,no beating,) our heroine is done, just ready to be killed, can’t take it anymore. When you stop in the middle of an “escape for your life” scene to describe the color and shapes homeless ppls TENTS as you are flying by, well, thats pretty bad. This book is FULL of these ridiculous bits of forced “prose”. Glad this thing was free, would be getting my $ back.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Better than expected!

Full disclosure, I only listened to part of this because I also have it on my reading app and ended up reading most of it, so I can't review too much of the narration. The part I did hear seemed great though.

When I first started this book, I saw that a lot of reviewers mentioned the movie Sliding Doors, which I believe is what the authors were inspired by. Admittedly I did not see that movie and some of the wording that people used gave me the impression that there was an element of supernatural or that it was perhaps a sci-fi type novel, which is not at all my taste. I was pleasantly surprised that it really just a straight thriller about a woman getting kidnapped and the realization that her poor choices in life may have led her to her current situation.

Lila Bennett is a ruthless attorney who will stop at nothing to advance her career regardless of who she hurts. Honesty is kind of a grey area to her. As someone who is honest to the core myself, I have to admit I did not like her as a person one bit. But major life circumstances tend to change a person and Lila finally starts to wake up so to speak, to how her behavior has impacted her life and those around her. I do love how the characters are built, if not a few cliches but overall a well-woven story. The fact that the main character was such an unlikeable person, in the beginning, made it hard to settle into this but the compelling story actually kept me engaged. In reality, Lila really is just a flawed human and after many twists and turns, we finally breathe a sigh of relief as she redeems herself and the story wraps up, but not without unexpected twists that you do not see coming. A suspenseful read with a lot of build-up and a satisfying surprise ending! If you like crime dramas or psychological thrillers this one delivers!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

novel novel

story line developed in two parallel stories that fork at one point ie same story told with two different paths. basic who done it keeps reader guessing as focus moves from one possibility to another and back. underlying premise is sappy but story is well told. performer is mostly excellent

1 of 1 people found this review helpful