Get ready for a fast-paced chase through the streets of Venice and immersion into a world of spies, intrigue, and action in Proof of Lies.

Anastasia Phoenix has always felt special, but not in a good way.  Her family moved more times than she could count before high school.  Which is great for language building skills, but stinks for friendship building.  Just as they begin to settle in what her parents have promised will be the last move, Anastasia and her sister Kiera are abandoned when mom and dad die in a car crash.

After a night of drunken debauchery by Kiera, Anastasia’s world is once again tossed upside down.  Keira is murdered…or is she?  This sets Anastasia and her band of close friends off on a wild chase through the streets of Italy in a search for a sister who may or may not be alive.  In the process, all sorts of secrets and lies are revealed.  Anastasia has no idea who to trust and must become the one thing that she was convinced at the start was completely mythical…a spy.

This book is a fast-paced mystery full of plot twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end–and then some.  Readers will be happy to know that the second in the series is already available, so even though the end is a cliff-hanger, you can keep right on reading into the second book to find out what happens.

Mystery readers will love this one.  The cast of characters is limited, so it makes it easy to follow allegiances and who’s who.  The characters are relatable and believable, and the language used is simple and straightforward.

Overall a great read for those looking to add a little intrigue into their page-turning endeavors.

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  13 religious exclamations, 19 mild obscenities; 12 derogatory names; 14 scatological words; 6 anatomical terms; 1 F-word derivative.

Violence and Gore:  Reference to parent’s death without any detail; remembrance of father killed by gunshot without detail; boy hit by another in back of head without injury; girl trips boy resulting in fall without injury; recall of being told about fiery crash that killed parents; 1 ½ page description of bloody bathroom murder scene without body; chicken wing (food) thrown at boy’s head; recall of bar fight; dead body shown in news clipping; 4 verbal threats of bodily harm or death; 2-page fight scene with minimal blood, but man does cut girl’s arm during process; man threatens teens with gun pointed at heads; picture of kidnapped character in trunk of car (still living); man pushes another down during chase without injury; girl smashes window with brick; playful punches to shoulder; 5 page graphic fight scene with profuse blood, broken bones and injuries; character found gagged and tied up.

Sex and Nudity:  Hug; hand on butt (clothed); reference to affair with married man; man repeatedly adjusts and grabs crotch while leering at teenage girl; woman heard having sex; five instances of hand-holding; hands on shoulder twice; caress of face; kiss; teens sleep in same bed with no detail twice; 2 page heavy make-out scene with graphic detail and sex implied; crude reference to infidelity.  

Mature Subject Matter:

Socioeconomic conflict, death, infidelity, depression, abandonment, computer hacking, kidnapping, espionage, murder.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Drunk driving accident; alcohol use by adults during party; references to adults drinking; woman drugged during kidnapping.