Note: Spoilers for previous books in this series.

This is the third book in a series featuring 36-year-old Sydney Detective Inspector Harriet “Harry” Blue. It begins five weeks after the previous book, when Harry found out her wrongfully-convicted brother Sam had been killed in prison. Harry has been on the run ever since. She is determined to find and kill Regan Banks, the man responsible for the crimes for which Sam was accused, and therefore responsible for Sam’s death.

Meanwhile, Regan’s crime spree has continued. Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Woods comes in and announces to Chief Trevor Morris that he is taking over the case. Woods wants to take out both Regan and Harry, whom he refers to as “a rogue policewoman running amok.” He has no qualms about killing either one of them, but seems even more bent on eliminating Harry than Regan.

Harry’s partner Whitt (Detective Edward Whittacker) is told to keep looking for Harry, and he is teamed up with a new woman - Vada Reskit. We know something is off about Vada from the start, but only learn what as the story progresses.

Regan continues to evade the police, but he has gotten the number to Harry’s phone, and calls her to alert her to where his next victims are, who are related in some way to Harry.

Tension escalates, and pretty much almost everyone almost dies.

Evaluation: As has been the pattern with this series, the bad guys tend to be non-nuanced and caricatured to say the least. The book is definitely a page turner, however. ( )

Really had a difficult time rating and understanding my feelings about this book. Did like the ending as it tied up most loose ends. Unfortunately the journey to get to the conclusion was a mixture of 'so what' and 'this is tedious' with a shot of frustration thrown in. This is the conclusion of a story that started as a sidebar to Never Never and accompanied us through Fifty Fifty. In all of them was an unevenness that took the edge off the reading enjoyment.

Find Harriet Blue an intriguing character with interesting personality quirks and twists that create, to me, a very conflicted individual. She is good at her job but her methods are subject to question as she views it is her position in life to bring justice to those who harmed, abused and damaged the innocent.

Without a lead character like her these books would not have had any redeeming value. The writing was ok, the story was generally acceptable but beyond Harriet Blue the supporting cast of characters were cardboard and the story just did not draw the reader in. ( )

This is an okay story. Harriet Blue is a character I do not care about. The supporting characters of Whitt, Pops, and Tox are much more likeable. ( )

This is the third novel in the "Detective Harriet Blue" series and I thought it was going to be the last until the final chapter. Now I am looking forward to reading the next book. Harriet Blue is growing on me more and more and I get to know her better.

To be honest, "Liar, Liar" was rather slow and boring at the start but the second-half was action-packed, especially as the final confrontation between Harriet and Regan drew closer. Like the first two books, Harriet suffers from severe physical injuries - gun shot wound, malnutrition and dehydration - but still manages to battle Regan at the end. Overall, an enjoyable read. ( )

Harriet Blue was introduced to readers in a 176-page BookShots prequel entitled Black & Blue. Set in Australia this series has followed Harriet through the sex crimes unit, the outback searching for a serial killer, seen her brother jailed for a crime he did not commit and murdered while in custody. Now Harriet herself is on the run. She is determined to catch Banks and see that he gets what he deserves. She will avenge her brother and clear his name. The cat and mouse game between these two lead characters carry the listener to the brink of insanity. It is no wonder Harriet can no longer think rationally or sanely. All she can think about is making Banks pay. . .and pay he most certainly shall. The narrative rockets toward the ending. There was a good twist that caught me off guard and a few important questions left dangling in the breeze. Which lets me know there will be a book four (and a book five, but we will have to wait until next year for that).

Okay. Years ago I was a die-hard Patterson fan. Yes. Back before he was tossing out novels like fruit-cakes. He has turned his writing, more importantly, his name into a Brand. Now, I do not fault the man for using what he has to secure a wonderful life for himself, his family, and several generations after. But isn't there a way for us to have our cake and Patterson eat it too? I mean couldn't there be a sacred series (or two) with a strict, hands-off policy. No flunkies allowed to contribute. That would be great. I would happily wait a year, maybe longer to have Patterson penning stories solo, in the genre he once dominated. It saddens me that people make fun of him now. They use him as a literary pin cushion -- someone to poke fun at. Yeah, I know. He brought it on himself. But I ask that we be careful in our skewering. Are we faulting Patterson for poor quality writing or for having a system that allows him to sell millions of copies of it?

Happy Listening,

RJ

Quick history:
Set in Australia, this series actually began with a prequel titled "Black & Blue," (Dec. 2016) Only 176 pages long the Book Shots introduction to Harriet Blue was quickly followed by Never Never, a month later (Jan.2017). Fifty Fifty hit shelves in February 2018 and now Liar Liar was published January 2019. There were rumors this series would only run four books. But Harry fans rejoice, there are plans to release a fifth novel, Hush Hush in the fall of 2020. ( )