Please Don't Lie
- Judith D Collins
- 12 hours ago
- 4 min read
Crystal River #1
By: Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt
ISBN: 978-1662524417
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication Date: 09/01/2025
Format: e-book
My Rating: TBR
In this stylish, twisty thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christina Baker Kline and award-winning author Anne Burt, a young woman heads to the Adirondacks with her new husband for a fresh start—but the past won’t let her go.
Two years ago, Hayley Stone lost everything. First, her parents died in a devastating fire. Then, her sister overdosed, leaving Hayley alone and hounded by a media circus that turned her family’s tragedy into tabloid fodder. When her new husband suggests a fresh start in the Adirondacks, the promise of anonymity in an isolated mountain town feels like salvation.
But the mountains hold darker secrets than she ever imagined.
Her once-loving husband grows distant and volatile. The widow down the road keeps spewing vague accusations. Not even their new friends—a free-spirited couple living on the property—can help Hayley shake the creeping sense that something is off.
As winter edges closer, Hayley discovers that her sanctuary is anything but safe. Trapped and isolated, she faces a terrifying truth: in trying to escape her past, she may have run straight into something far more dangerous.
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Praise
“Getting away from it all has never looked more sinister or ill-advised than in this deliciously dark version of the small-town idyll.”
—Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in Suite 11
“Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt take suspense to the next level with a creepy small-town setting, shady characters, and an unpredictable, twisted web of deceit. Lock the doors, grab a blanket, and settle in—you won’t be able to put this one down anytime soon. Please Don’t Lie is unsettling, atmospheric, and propulsive.”
—Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of Local Woman Missing
“Psychologically rich and bone chilling, Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt’s serpentine and timely thriller Please Don’t Lie will make you question everything you think you know about those closest to you, and make you wonder how vulnerable we all are—in our weakest moments—to deceit, manipulation, and a surrender of control.”
—Megan Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of El Dorado Drive
“This twisty-turny tale spins the riveting story of Hayley Stone, a newlywed who leaves New York to move to the idyllic Adirondacks with her husband Brandon. But what happens there plunges her into a mystery underlying her marriage, as well as her tragic past. It kept me breathless until its surprising ending. I loved it!”
—Lisa Scottoline, #1 bestselling author of The Unraveling of Julia
“Please Don’t Lie ratchets up the tension, twist by twist, until the suspense is almost unbearable. It will make every woman ask herself: ‘Do I know who I really married?’”
—Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Guests
“Please Don’t Lie is a nail-biting, fast-paced thriller that had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish! Just when I thought I had it all figured out, another shocking twist caught me by surprise! I highly recommend.”
—T.R. Ragan, New York Times bestselling author of Best House on the Block
From the Publisher
#1 New York Times bestselling author Christina Baker Kline teams up with Anne Burt for a masterfully crafted psychological thriller perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley. When Hayley Stone flees to the Adirondacks for a fresh start with her new husband, she discovers her dark past has followed her to the mountains. As secrets and lies unravel in their seemingly idyllic rural retreat, Hayley must uncover the truth about those closest to her before it’s too late. With claustrophobic tension and jaw-dropping twists, Please Don’t Lie peels back the layers of deception to reveal the deadly consequences of starting over.
—Selena James, Editor
About the Authors
Christina Baker Kline is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including The Exiles, Orphan Train, and A Piece of the World. Her novels have received the New England Prize for Fiction, the Maine Literary Award, and a Barnes & Noble Discover Award, among other prizes. She has authored and edited five nonfiction books, including About Face, with Anne Burt. Published in more than forty countries, Christina divides her time between New York City and Maine. Though this is her first thriller, she has a penchant for writing characters who meet untimely ends.. WEBSITE
Anne Burt's debut novel, The Dig, was an American Booksellers Association Indie Next pick, the Strand Book Store's top mystery selection for spring 2023, and Indie Next's lead "Thrills & Chills" reading group title for summer 2024. Anne is the editor of the essay collection My Father Married Your Mother and coeditor of About Face, with Christina Baker Kline. A past winner of Meridian literary magazine's Editors' Prize in Fiction, Anne lives in New York City, Connecticut, and the dark corners of her own imagination. WEBSITE
