One Perfect Lie

Finished May 24
One Perfect Lie by Lisa Scottoline, read by George Newbern

This suspense novel takes some time to let the reader into what is truly going on. It starts as Chris Brennan is starting as a teacher and coach at a high school in small town Pennsylvania, not far from Philadelphia. We know that Chris is not who or what he says he is, but we don't know what his real identity is, and we don't find out for a while.
He is interested in a particular group of high school boys, those on the baseball team. He is looking for one that he can get close to, and influence in some way. He has his eye on three particular boys, and those three boys we learn more about, primarily through their mothers.
Raz is the son of Susan Sematov, an executive at the nearby outlet mall. Raz's father died recently and it has affected his normally easygoing and outgoing personality. Susan is worried about him, and his future. They were all hoping that he's be drafted by a good college for his pitching expertise.
Jordan has just made the varsity baseball team after working hard over the summer to improve his skills. His mother Heather Larkin has raised him on her own, working hard at the local country club. But the new ownership is changing the way she feels about her job, and she regrets not being able to go to any of Jordan's games. She worries about the effect some of his friends have, especially those that come from wealthy backgrounds. Evan is one of those kids. His dad bought him a new BMW that cost more than Heather made in the last year, and he seems to throw around his money recklessly. He's always on his phone, and is a boy that likes to party. His mother Mindy Kostis is worried about him and about her marriage. She'd caught her husband cheating before and they'd started fresh after therapy, but he's acting odd again, and she's scared it's starting again. She's afraid that Evan has grown secretive too, and she wonders what he's up to. She's determined not to use alcohol as a coping mechanism like she did during her earlier marital crisis.
As a reader, I wondered what effect Chris would have on these boys, and I didn't like some of his methods to find out more about them.
This is a novel of secrets, of people pretending to be something they aren't, and about families and their ways of communicating with each other. It's about learning to look for the good in people and doing the right thing regardless of what others might want you to do.
I enjoyed it.