First Lie Wins: Reese's Book Club: A Novel

REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"This fast-paced read has everything you could want in a thriller: secret identities, a mysterious boss and a cat & mouse game that kept me guessing the whole way through." --Reese Witherspoon

Evie Porter has everything a nice Southern girl could want: a doting boyfriend, a house with a white picket fence, a tight group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn't exist.

The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she's given a name and location by her mysterious boss, Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job.

Evie isn't privy to Mr. Smith's real identity, but she knows this job isn't like the others. Ryan has gotten under her skin, and she's starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can't make any mistakes--especially after what happened last time.

Evie Porter must stay one step ahead of her past while making sure there's still a future in front of her. The stakes couldn't be higher--but then, Evie has always liked a challenge. . . .

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Published Jan 2, 2024

348 pages

Average rating: 7.59

5,412 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *First Lie Wins* is an engaging thriller featuring Evie Porter, a skilled con artist navigating multiple identities. Reviewers agree the f...

Janiceyweread
Jan 10, 2026
8/10 stars
Enjoyed this story and couldn’t put it down. Mr. Smith the mysterious boss gives Evia assignments targeting people for money, after he discovers she has been stealing jewelry at parties. After finding out that her mother was dying from cancer, Evia was trying to make money for her mother’s medicine. One of the jobs Mr. Smith gives Evia was to target Ryan Summer, who she falls in love with. As the story goes along we don’t know who we can trust. This book would make a great Bookclub read, with all the twist and turns you don’t know where the story will lead you. When you get to the end of the book you’re not sure you didn’t miss a crucial part of the story.
Ginac
Jan 07, 2026
3.7
maryaoshea
Jul 23, 2025
8/10 stars
Surprising twists for a book I almost didn't read. I ended up enjoying this very fast read!
SissyK
Jul 23, 2025
ok
Andrea-The Shelf Life Books
Jul 03, 2025
8/10 stars
Evie Porter appears to have a content life with her boyfriend Ryan Sumner. But no one knows that Evie Porter is a con women working on different marks she has been assigned to. 
 
Ryan has inherited from his grandparents and is living a comfortable lifestyle. When she meets Ryan’s female friends, she is out of her league with their inquisition and doubts about who she is. Rightly so, when one of Ryan's friends introduces his girlfriend to her using Evie's real name Lucca Marino.
 
Evie works for a mysterious boss, Mr. Smith. He has the most wealthy clients that need favors that no one will find out about.  Evie has never met Mr. Smith. She does not know what he looks like or really sounds like since he uses a voice distorter when they speak.  She is hired through his voice and instructions that are delivered by another employee. With each new assignment, she acquires a new name, location and a different job. She discovers a lot about herself, and her past she is running from. It is about to catch up with her.
 
There are only a few people who know Evie’s real name.  Now she must figure out while she is hiding under a different identity, why this woman is her impostor.
 
This is suspenseful, intriguing and super tense thriller. I thought that I knew who Mr. Smith was and what the long game was for Evie, but I was not close! I could not get this one out of my head. This one may be a top candidate for this year’s thrillers.

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