Review: The Lies We Tell by Debra Webb

Sharon Long is here today to review book two in a dark series by Debra Webb.

The Lies We Tell by Debra Webb is the second installment in The Undertaker’s Daughter series. It was released on September 17, in paperback, by Harper Collins. Webb is an award-winning, bestselling author of more than 130 novels. I was intrigued by a character who was an undertaker’s daughter and was excited to read this one.

Dr. Rowan DuPont is a psychiatrist and former member of the Special Crimes Unit, and she is currently working as an undertaker. The book opens with her visiting 71-year-old Herman Carter in the county jail in Winchester, Tennessee. Carter was a family friend whom she once trusted but who had deceived her. He had been writing to Rowan for over five months and finally, she decided to visit. Her decision was largely based on wanting to know the truth behind her mother and her twin sister’s deaths; Rowan is sure Herman knows more about these deaths than he is letting on. She wants information where Herman wants forgiveness. Rowan agrees to write down her questions and let Police Chief Billy Brannigan give them to Herman.

After her visit, she returns to the DuPont funeral home, a business that has been in her family for 150 years. She has a body to prepare for burial. She begins the process and is startled by a vine tattoo that goes from the dead man’s neck down to the center of his back, where a wreath of thorns surrounds the name Norah. How could her mother’s name be on this man’s body? Rowan does not know this man and in Winchester, everyone knows everyone. Her search begins, she is determined to find out why her mother’s name is on this body, and more importantly, if that is what led to her mother’s suicide. What she doesn’t realize is that her former mentor-turned-serial-killer is waiting for her.

What I enjoyed most was the plot, or should I say plots, in this story. This book has three great things: an old Victorian house, a small hometown where the residents have secrets, and a serial killer. I loved the author’s character development of Rowan and Billy, her childhood friend who has always been by her side. These two characters are believable and likable; as I read, I could see being friends with both. This mystery also had a touch of romance in the storyline. I was a bit hesitant to start with book two in a series, but I felt that it read like a standalone.  

This book was provided to Mystery Playground by the publisher. The review was fair and completely independent.

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