White Lies

Although written in 1988, this story grabbed me from the start,full of unexpected twists and turns. The H and h are strong, interesting characters caught up in an exciting and unusual situation. Both characters are so believable and likeable. I rated the story overall at 4 and would assign a sexy rating of 4.5. Good, growing sexual tension and some good, but not graphic, sex scenes. Well worth reading.

This book was exceptionally well written. I have truly enjoyed reading Miss Howard's novels, and plan to read as many of them as possible. Her scenarios are believable, and she takes the time to make sure that your interest is sparked from the first page to the last.

The voice was calm and infinitely tender. He didn't understand the words, because unconsciousness still wrapped his mind in layers of blackness, but he heard the voice, felt it, like something warm touching his skin. It made him feel less alone, that tiny, dim contact. Something hard and vital in him focused on the contact, yearning toward it, forcing him upward out of the blackness, even though he sensed the fanged monsters that waited for him, waiting to tear at his flesh with hot knives and brutal teeth. He would have to endure that before he could reach the voice, and he was very weak. He might not make it. Yet the voice reached out to him, pulling at him like a magnet, lifting him out of the deep senselessness that had held him.

WHITE LIES by Linda Howard is an engrossing romantic suspense of epic proportions! I literally inhaled it, loving both the characters and the settings. The story is passionate, compelling, emotional and riveting. You may be interested to know that while the audio was recently released in 2015, WHITE LIES was first released in print in 1988. Therefore, if you are familiar with modern day crime solving techniques, the premise of this book would not hold up to the light-of-day today. If you cannot overlook the time period differences, do yourself a favor and don't read this book. BUT, just know that you will be missing out big time! Even with the 1980s references, the suspense and the romantic aspects held my rapt attention. WHITE LIES was such a fantastic listen that I would not hesitate to enjoy it over and over again! Yes, it was that good.

Lesa Lockford utterly nailed the narration. Her voice was clear. She differentiated between the characters with realistic-sounding voices. Her performance was so spot on that it gave me chills as I listened, laughing, crying, yearning and trembling along with the characters. I credit Lesa's dramatization with exponentially increasing my enjoyment of the book. This marked the first time I'd ever listened to any of Lesa's works, but it won't be the last as I will most assuredly be picking up more books that she's narrated.

WHITE LIES is the fourth book in the author's Rescues series. I can attest that WHITE LIES works very well as a stand-alone and, while I do plan to check out the rest of the series soon, there's no need to enjoy this series in order.

WHITE LIES is nothing short of a classic and will be a keeper on my bookshelf! There's absolutely nothing that falls short in this book. If you enjoy excellent romantic suspense, I dare you not to love it! It mesmerized me from the very beginning, holding me under its spell straight through to the edge-of-your-seat finale. Romantic suspense doesn't get better than WHITE LIES!

My full review is posted at Reading Between The Wines Book Club. Please check it out there!

Lovers of old-school romance alpha heroes will be the most enthralled with White Lies. Featuring a bossy, and yet delicious in his own highly protective way, alpha hero and a good side dose of suspense; White Lies kept me fully enthralled in its plot throughout the entire story.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this title, White Lies was first released in print by Linda Howard in 1988. Therefore it should be no surprise that some of the subject matter seems a little dated. For example, there is a reference to a pay phone, and a reference to the woman being “in charge of the cooking”–though in all fairness, the hero does offer to help with the cleaning of the dishes, and the heroine is an investment banker. So, while not an ancient feel, it still very much has a 1980s feel to it.

Additionally, to believe in the suspense angle of book, you will have to suspend all recent science/technology knowledge in more current crime solving techniques (for example, a big premise of this book is that the only means of identifying a man who had been disfigured and his fingerprints removed is by individual identification by someone who knew him). But putting all that aside, I still have to admit that the suspense held my attention and the romance seemed genuine and emotionally charged.

Jay Granger is already having one of the worst days imaginable having just learned that she is being pushed out of her investment banking job to make way for the much less deserving son of one of the firm’s partners. Her only fault having been to outperform her successor in every way. It is amidst this backdrop that she gets quite the unexpected call letting her know that her ex-husband may have been involved in a terrible explosion, and they need her to come to the Naval hospital in Bethesda to identify him.

Even though they have not been in contact for years–due to his carefree ways and her nearly total dedication to her job–Jay rushes to the hospital, and thus begins her vigil. Once there, Jay feels such a strong connection to this man, who she identifies as her ex-husband, Steve (the authorities explained that the only other person in the explosion was an FBI agent and they needed to know which man lay in the hospital), that she determines to stay by his side until he recovers. Given his extensive injuries, and the fact that the authorities explain that Steve has no other family or close friends, thus begins a several month period in which Jay and Steve bond first by touch (due to vocal damage) and then slowly by speech and lastly by sight after Steve has surgery to recover his eye sight.

However, even after Steve recovers, all is not well as he has amnesia, and the authorities believe that he is not safe from the man who masterminded the explosion. Moreover, by association, Jay is also equally in the cross-hairs. Thus begins the race against time to find the bad guy while Steve and Jay hide, and slowly little by little Steve begins to recover his memory. Can a HEA possibly flourish from such unlikely circumstances?

Further enhancing this audiobook is the above-average narration by Lesa Lockford. Showing an ease with creating multiple different voices for the many characters, I never needed to rely on dialogue tags. Moreover each one of the characters was perfectly in tune with the personality characteristics that Miss Howard had written for them.

Additionally Ms. Lockford impressed me with the expert care she took at noting additional details, such as varying the tone or sound of the different characters voices depending on the particular scene being enacted. For example, during the hero’s recovery, his voice is characterized as sounding particularly hoarse and Ms. Lockford did an expert job of making him sound just like Miss Howard had described him, and then slowly improving the sound quality of his voice as he slowly recovered.

All in all, I really enjoyed the magnetism of the delicious alpha hero (though I have to admit that at times he bordered close to the bossy, machismo that dominated my parents’ generation) and the strong heroine. The characters truly fit well with one another. Although the suspense was a much more minor part of the book, and required suspension of current DNA knowledge, I also appreciated trying to sleuth what “white lies” Ms. Howard was keeping hidden throughout the scenes that ultimately lead to the attraction and joining of the hero and heroine.

Source: Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review.

I'd been putting this one off because, in general, I'm not a fan of Linda Howard's writing style. Add to it that it's a 10-year-old reissue of a 16-year-old category romance, and I'd have been content to let it just stay in the TBR pile forever.

But it pushed my guilty pleasures buttons, and I'm glad I read it.

Jay is a divorced woman (yes, it was written in 1988, and this book follows the convention of giving the heroine's masculine names. I think the idea was to show how manly... er... strong and independent they are. I've always found it irritating.), on the verge of losing her job to nepotism, when government agents approach her regarding her ex-husband Steve.

Seems Steve and one of their agents were in an explosion. One died, and the other's in a coma. Both bodies are too damaged for the agents to identify them, so they ask Jay to help. The injured and unconsious man responds to Jay's presence, and she gives them a tentative "well, it might be Steve" and they're very eager to accept that as a positive identification.

The agents are also eager to keep Jay by his side, and the doctor agrees, as her presence positively affects his vital signs (lowers his blood pressure, I'm guessing). They give her an offer she can't refuse: they'll provide an apartment for her and pay her a salary so she can quit her job and devote her time to "Steve."

When he wakes up, he has amnesia.

I think that's as far as I'll go--there are more developments, but we're getting into spoiler territory here, and even though the developments are pretty obvious, I don't want to ruin them.

White Lies is in some ways a quintessential romance, especially of its time period. The situations are unbelievable even to the most credulous, and border on the ridiculous, and the romance itself is rather naive, fairy-tale-ish. For example, Jay's willing to ditch her entire life based on the fact that she's been told that the injured man's eyes are brown underneath the bandages, and she's unwilling to peek under the sheets even once, because that would be violating his privacy (???).

But here's why I enjoyed reading it: I'm a sucker for secret agent intrigue, and for amnesia stories. I think it's the mystery about it that grabs me. I got sucked in wondering why the agents were so eager to have her identify the man as Steve, and of course the falling in love with someone you can't see is hugely romantic, like the story Gwen tells about herself and Newton in House Sitter.

Even more fun is when... okay, it's a spoiler, but if you didn't see this coming, I worry about you... both of them realize that he's not Steve, but each decides to keep the truth a secret to protect the other.

I had so much fun, I didn't even notice the problem I've had with Howard's writing style--maybe it wasn't there, or isn't present in all her books, or it developed later. Anyway, I'm glad I read this, but it's not going to convince me to look for more.

The main character, Jay, she loses her job and is feeling at a loss. She isn't sure what to do but needs to figure something out fast. She's got only a few weeks and bills will start to be due and she might lose her apartment. Some Government officials come knocking on her door. They say her ex-husband was involved in some top secret mission, and got hurt badly and they need her help. She isn't sure what to make of it, but wants to be there for her ex-husband if she can since he has no family.

As the weeks pass by and the man lying in the intensive care seems to slowly but surely making recovery, and some long- seeted feelings start devoloping for the man in the casts, she starts double guessing herself. What is she getting herself into? Can she really trust this process the government has chosen is the right thing to do by keeping her around while her ex-husband recovers? And can her heart handle the consequences this time around?

Ms. Howard keeps you guessing as you turn each page. The storyline develops at a rather mild momentum. I think by the middle of the book things start to happen at a faster pace, as that is where most of the tension and action occur. Definitely worthwhile to pick up from the local bookstore.

WHITE LIES is an earlier novel by Linda Howard and for those of us who are avid fans, it shows. About half way through the book, I looked at the publication date (1988) and realized why it lacked the zing present in her recent books.

WHITE LIES opens with Jay Granger being fired and later that night a visit from the FBI is paid to her. What could she have done to warrant this visit? Well, seems her ex-husband was in an explosion and they want her to identify him. He's alive, but in a drug induced coma. She goes to the hospital only to see a man resembling a mummy. How could she identify him since the features she could see were either swollen or bruised, or had been put back together by plastic surgeons? But FBI agent Frank Payne pushed for a positive identification and she said it was Steve Crossfield, her ex-husband.

When Crossfield responds to her touching his arm, Payne persuades her to stay with him until he's completely recovered, which could be a few months. With her there, Crossfield struggles to regain consciousness only to realize he has amnesia. So it's a bit convoluted and far-fetched, but remember he was in a massive explosion and wasn't supposed to live. Ok, so it's pure fiction, but it's enjoyable!

WHITE LIES is not one of Howard's best pieces of fiction, but true to form (even in the early stages) it's fun to read and at times you will chuckle out loud. There are way too many coincidences in the book to be of the mystery genre, so I guess it could be labeled strictly pleasurable romance.

Another fantastic story by Linda Howard! We are dropped into the middle of a story and have to work our way backward with Jay (and then Steve) to figure out whats happening and who to trust.
Jay is taken to the hospital bedside of her ex-husband, who she hasn't seen in 5yrs, and asked to identify him. He has been hurt in a bomb explosion and has his head and hands bandaged. She is uncertain if the man is Steve, but after a discussion with FBI agent Frank Payne, they determine that he is Steve and he is going to need her help to recover. So begins a series of questions and events that keep all the characters off balance. The one stable force for Jay and Steve is their growing connection to each other. It is instantaneous and powerful! Steves' iron will and determination in the face of overwhelming odds; loss of speech, sight and memory; inspire awe from Jay. She is completely commited to aiding him, and protecting him if necessary. Their bond is beautiful to watch as it is based on senses other than sight. Really compelling!!! One of Ms. Howards BEST!

Linda Howard is undoubtedly one incredible writer who sculpts her characters to finesse - and White Lies is no exception. Jay Granger is a compelling character who is strong and independent, reluctantly drawn into a web of turmoil when her erstwhile "husband" returns abruptly. Streaked by amnesia, the man lying in her bed claims to be her husband but what lies beneath is a conspiracy that will threaten to explode. However, Steve falls unexpectedly in love with Jay and his protective instincts drive him to riveting passion with Jay - and both of them are tangled in a web of passion that is under threat by white lies....
Linda Howard is sheer escapism and a real treat for romance fanatics. Her brand of searing passion and perfect heroes makes her books unique - which is why the trilogy (Midnight Rainbow and Diamond Bay) is that much a sensation. Ms. Howard never loses steam and the emotional intrigue envelops in the exciting story. This is Linda Howard at her best and definitely not to be missed.

My first Howard book was Mr. Perfect....then on a whim I picked up this older book (1988 ish) and totally loved it! WoW...what a surprise!
This is the story of Jay....she has just been fired from her well paying job and is at home in her New York City apartment thinking about what she's going to do for work/money when two FBI agents knock on her door. They need her to go to Washington DC and indentify the man they believe is her ex husband Steve.
The catch is that when she arrives at the hospital the man she is purpose to indentiy is so badly injured and in a coma....he is so bandaged you couldn't tell anything! She knew that something is fishy but when the man in the coma begins to react to her voice they want her to stay and help him in his recovery. But is this man really Steve?
What a fabulous book!! I loved the story idea and the characters were very well written....I gotta pick up some more of her older books!!!!

Linda Howard has obviously developed greatly as an author since this book's original publishing in 1988.

I liked the concept of the story. Jay is a woman who is devoted to her work and little else. She was married once, to the adventurous (yet wishy-washy) Steve, and thinks of him very little...until the FBI shows up to announce that Steve is critically injured, and that Jay is needed to identify her comatose former husband. As Steve recovers his strength but not his memory, Jay begins to fall in love all over again-with his bravery and spirit, and eventually with his intensity and desire. He is nothing like the Steve she used to know...so who exactly IS he now?

I was compelled and fascinated with the development of the story, even though it doesn't contain the raw sexuality and character interest of Howard's later works. This book is okay, and you'll enjoy it for a light read on a Sunday afternoon!

I borrowed this book from the library recently based on reviews that I read here. Although the book was reasonably interesting and the storyline was good, I thought that the book didn't go into enough depth and didn't do justice to the potential of the storyline. I would have liked to have been given more details about what happened prior to where the story started. I would have liked more details on the villain and the circumstances. I also felt that the book skipped a lot of details at the end of the book by skipping what should have been the climax of the book. I've read other reviews on here and it seems that Linda Howard can write some really good books. Based on the fact that this book was written in 1988, and that I found it to be reasonably enjoyable, I will try some of this author's newer books and see if I enjoy them. If you're looking for a quick, light read with plenty of steamy scenes, you might enjoy this book.

My second Linda Howard book and although the plot was intriguing and kept me reading just fit all the pieces together, I thought that story was pretty thin and full of holes. The focus was in the relationship tension and build up between the two main characters, so that was good. The book rather reminded me somewhat of Sandra Brown's The Witness (another hero with amnesia) and Chill Factor (set in a secluded cabin in the mountains during the winter), both are much better romantic suspense thrillers in my view.

This is a Linda Howard prime book. However, just because it is out of print, doesn't mean the the store's book dealers can ask outrageous prices for a used book. WisePenny Books and Daily Deal USA are selling a "new" hardcover copy of this for $685!!!! Get real .... Others that would like to read this try the store's Prime Lending Library or a regular public library.

This is THE book ladies and gentlemen,which will certainly get you off your ground and look for something to hold onto before lift off.... My gosh, yes this book took me off my senses for its suspense, beauty, and romance, for it took me far from reality. Just as I would say to all the other books i thought were excellent, I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN... Have you ever parted with someone for a long time when you still in a way loved that person? And then SUDDENLY see that person lying down all covered with bandages that you could hardly recognize him or her? This is it... the moment of holding on and helping that person through, the moment of truth and of love... but then after falling forever in love you stop and stare at the eyes that you dont recognize at all and realize that the person you have been falling madly in love with is not the person you had loved long ago... should you run? or should you stay and help that person through his or her darkest times, especially when he or she lost his or her memories? SHE stayed on and guided him but then will she find the strength to carry out her love for him even if it risks losing him in the end??? Her white lies are the only thing that could help him through safely without the knowledge of his enemies, but will he realize that later? TAKE THIS BOOK and READ!!! One of the most magnificent 'love-on-dangerous-grounds' book!!!!

This is THE book ladies and gentlemen,which will certainly get you off your ground and look for something to hold onto before lift off.... My gosh, yes this book took me off my senses for its suspense, beauty, and romance, for it took me far from reality. Just as I would say to all the other books i thought were excellent, I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN... Have you ever parted with someone for a long time when you still in a way loved that person? And then SUDDENLY see that person lying down all covered with bandages that you could hardly recognize him or her? This is it... the moment of holding on and helping that person through, the moment of truth and of love... but then after falling forever in love you stop and stare at the eyes that you dont recognize at all and realize that the person you have been falling madly in love with is not the person you had loved long ago... should you run? or should you stay and help that person through his or her darkest times, especially when he or she lost his or her memories? SHE stayed on and guided him but then will she find the strength to carry out her love for him even if it risks losing him in the end??? Her white lies are the only thing that could help him through safely without the knowledge of his enemies, but will he realize that later? TAKE THIS BOOK and READ!!! One of the most magnificent 'love-on-dangerous-grounds' book!!!!

I enjoyed their meeting and development of the relationship, but I hated her lying during the 2nd half. I did not like her reasoning.

CAUTION SPOILERS: They fell in love with each other but she refused to have sex with him for reasons I didn't understand. Later she said yes to sex. I disliked even more that she lied to him when she didn't need to. He had amnesia and didn't know his name. She knew he wasn't Steve but pretended to him that he was. As long as the bad guy thought he was Steve, he was safe from being killed and her presence was the cover. She feared he would send her away if he knew she wasn't his supposed ex-wife so she kept up the pretense to keep him safe. I believe she should have told him the truth. I know he was smart enough to keep up the cover without sending her away. Besides he was already in love with her. The lie was a crime to me and hurt the story. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: six. Setting: current day New York City, Washington DC, and Colorado. Copyright: 1988. Genre: contemporary mystery romance.

I really enjoyed this book. The relationship develops between the couple in the hospital without either seeing the other's face. That alone is unique in today's age of instant video and information--even 1-hour photo developing! Everything wasn't perfect for them just because they loved each other. They had some stumbling blocks that were certainly "different" from other couples in recent books. The plot was a bit far fetched, but that is why I enjoy reading so very much! Do I really want to read something that sounds like it could be my cousin's love life--I don't think so! Thanks, Linda, I read it in super sonic time!

I love the bond that develops between the couple before they physically even knows the appearance of the other. The passion of sensation that focuses on them...WOW!. He is an alpha male through and through, but is completely devoted to her. This was a page-turner and you will be at the edge of your seat at the last part! Great book!!!

This was a wonderful book. It was really cool what the Steve character had to deal with, a terrible accident, a new face, a ruined voice, and a lost memory. I could not wait to see what happened and was not disappointed. After reading this book, you will want to read everything she's written!

I really enjoyed this novel, though I could only give it 4 stars because I thought it could have been LONGER! :) I love a good long story & Ms. Howard could have gone into more detail about the bad guy & why they were after Steve & the other agent...But, it was a good one, I just finished it too soon!

This is typical Linda Howard writing, am easy read, with just the right amount of suspense, sex appeal and wit to grab the reader and hold them captive through the entire book. I sat down and read this book over to cover in just a couple of hours!
Enjoy!

even when steve was in a coma, somehow Linda Howard's book captures simmering passion between him and jay. this is a slower book to get into for some i suppose but it's worth reading on to the end, which is very gratifying.

USA Today & New York Times bestselling author Linda Howard brings to the table another romantic suspense that doesn't disappoint. It's a must read!........Terminated from her job, Janet "Jay" Granger was not only furious of what just happened, but she had the overwhelming desire to strangle her boss. Realizing she had to find another job as quickly as possible, she had no idea that her life was about to take a drastic change of events when she was approached by the FBI on her very front doorstep requesting her help. After being divorced for five long years, Jay was shocked to learn that her ex-husband, Steve Crossfield was now lying in a hospital fighting for his life. As all the painful memories of their marriage resurfaced while staring at his sleeping face as he lied in a coma, Jay tried desperately to conjure up the happy times, except there weren't any, but the moment he woke up, she couldn't explain it when she felt the spontaneous magenetism, and their instant connection to each other causing her to remain by his bedside and refusing to leave the hospital. With his extensive injuries not to mention his amnesia, Jay found herself as she spent each day with him that she was beginning to fall in love with Chris all over again, a vow she swore she would never break, but the worst of it all, she was starting to have self-doubts if this man was even her ex-husband, especially when he seemed to be just the opposite to the man she once knew. This man was not only compassionate, kind, and powerful in everything he said, but each day, she was becoming more and more attracted to him. Jay also knew that while he recovered, he was attached to terrifying secrets and a dangerous past, but what? What was Chris up to for the last five years when they were apart? Feeling closer to him that she never once felt in their entire marriage, Jay's fears that their passion for each other will eventually be over just like it did in the past, causing her to have overwhelming anxieties and insecurities of losing him all over again, but when unforeseen circumstances occur, she realizes it will be all her white lies that could very well destroy them both for the second time in their lives!.....thank you..