Please Don’t Lie: A Thriller (Crystal River Book 1) by Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt

We use affiliate links on this website, which means that when you click a link, we may earn a commission if you place an order, at no additional cost to you.

About Please Don’t Lie: A Thriller (Crystal River Book 1):

Recommended Age Group: Adults

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.

How to buy the book:
Buy the Book Here

Looking for more?
Check out one of our featured posts!
Free Book: 12/27/2025 Confessions of A Charismatic Christian by Rick Dewhurst

Free Book: 12/27/2025 Confessions of A Charismatic Christian by Rick Dewhurst

A memoir high-lighting a 40-year spiritual journey in the Charismatic Movement, including first-hand accounts of John Wimber's Vineyard, the Kansas City Prophets, MorningStar Ministries, and the Toronto Blessing. A review for those who were there, and a few insights...

read more
Featured Book: The Munich Girl by Phyllis Edgerly Ring

Featured Book: The Munich Girl by Phyllis Edgerly Ring

Phyllis Edgerly Ring’s novel, The Munich Girl: A Novel of the Legacies
That Outlast War, explores the enduring effects of a woman’s secret
friendship with Hitler’s mistress, Eva Braun. Phyllis is also the author
of the novel, Snow Fence Road, and of the nonfiction works, Life at
First Sight: Finding the Divine in the Details and With Thine Own Eyes:
Why Imitate the Past When We Can Investigate Reality? She studied plant
sciences and ecology, worked as a nurse, taught English to
kindergartners in China, coordinated programs at a Baha’i conference
center, and returns as often as she can to her childhood home of
Germany.

read more
Featured Book: Completely Opposite by Nellie Holloday

Featured Book: Completely Opposite by Nellie Holloday

Later, after the dishes are done and the house falls into that soft, sleepy hush, I step out onto the porch. The air smells like pine and a hint of grilled corn, and somewhere a coyote yips into the night before settling back into silence.
I sink into the porch swing, pulling my knees close, and stare out at the stars. They’re sharp and scattered tonight, like someone flung a handful of diamonds across black velvet.
Emma’s words from earlier echo in my head: “You can’t outrun something that’s already in your heart.”
I think about Maisie’s tearful eyes, the way Jack’s voice cracked just a little when he said don’t leave us, and how his hand brushed mine when he helped clear the table, quick, accidental, but enough to make something deep inside me ache.
I close my eyes, and in the silence, the truth settles heavy and sure.
I want to belong here, more than I should, more than I planned.
But wanting something this much only stirs the fear that surrounds me. And I can’t help wondering… am I strong enough to face it?

read more
Category Spotlight

Our Sidebar Features

Our Network Features