A review by bgg616
The King of Lies by John Hart

3.0

This was John Hart's first novel. It was set in North Carolina, but almost completely lacked any sense of place. The narrator of the audiobook read in a "standard" American accent which was a disappointment. This is an overdrawn saga of a brutal father, Ezra Pickens, whose body is discovered 2 years after his disappearance. Suspects are his son, "Work" and his daughter, Jean. Progress is slow. In the middle of the book, it is revealed that one character is using a false name and possibly fake identity. However, nothing is investigated until much later in the story. Work Pickens isn't a particularly likeable or compelling character. His motives aren't always clear. He's a lawyer, but doesn't want to be a lawyer. His father's wealth and large estate don't interest him. But we don't know why.

Hart's [b:Redemption Road|26883206|Redemption Road|John Hart|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1452743616s/26883206.jpg|45785424] was a 5 star read for me. I am glad that he developed into a top crime novel writer. [b:The King of Lies|82375|The King of Lies|John Hart|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1388265682s/82375.jpg|15682244] is a satisfactory read, and some readers will certainly like it more than I did. I will read more John Hart such as [b:The Last Child|5556466|The Last Child|John Hart|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1312058481s/5556466.jpg|5727588] which won an Edgar for best novel of 2010.