Die Sängerin Tasia McFarland stirbt während eines Konzerts. Es ist unklar, ob es Mord oder Selbstmord war, da der Star eine geladene Waffe bei sich hatte und zudem manisch-depressiv war. Besondere Brisanz gewinnt der Fall dadurch, dass die ermordete Künstlerin die Ex-Frau des jetzigen US-Präsidenten war und eine seltsame Abschiedsbotschaft - ein Lied "Liar´s Lullaby"- hinterlassen hat, das auf den Präsidenten anspielt.
Liar´s Lullaby ist auch der englische Titel. Der macht Sinn- der deutsche Titel inklusive Titelbild hat mit dem Buch nichts zu tun.
Und das Buch? "Mei, die Amerikaner" - war mein beherrschender Gedanke. Klischees über Klischees, Waffen, Patriotismus, aufrechte Kämpfer. Dazwischen die unbestechliche und kluge Jo und der unbestechliche und starke Gabe, der neben seiner militärischen Karriere noch in Moraltheologie promoviert. Das ganze Buch ist wirklich dick aufgetragen- manches ist so unwahrscheinlich und unnötig (das Dekodieren der Lösung aus dem Liedtext etwa), dass es weh tut.
Aber trotzdem ist das Buch steckenweise sehr spannend. Gabe und Jo sind sympathisch, ich mochte sie gern und habe mit ihnen mitgelitten. Das Ende birgt eine zwar ebenfalls sehr unwahrscheinliche, aber doch überraschende Wendung. Wenn man keine Scheu vor amerikanischen Klischees hat, kann man das Buch schon lesen. Ich weiß aber nicht, ob ich nochmal einen Krimi der Autorin lesen möchte. ( )

An unusual cast of characters...from a country western star to the President. A very convoluted mystery..suicide ot terrorism? ( )

I had to start this book twice. I had the audio version, but the narrator really rubbed me the wrong way. She used the same amount of intensity for everything, and it made the book hard to follow. So I ended up getting an ebook and read it that way.

This was an improvement over the last Meg Gardiner I read (the previous book in this series). She still relies too much on similies, but it’s not as noticeable as it was in that book. I like Jo as a character, even if she does need to lighten up and let herself have some fun sometimes.

As far as the plot goes, I think there was a little too much going on. Mental health issues combined with government conspiracies and domestic terrorism makes quite the smorgasbord.

Gardiner does a good job with ramping up the tension and the action, and that’s enough to keep me interested in her writing. I’m sure I’ll continue with this series, as well as her Evan Delaney series. ( )

3.5 stars, actually. It may be a 4 star book, but it just wasn't what I was looking for.The book delivers on the thrills, the mystery, the twists and turns of the plot. The issues I had with the book could be plusses for someone else.The first problem is that this is the third book featuring Jo Beckett. There's no confusion over events missed in the previous books-- plot-wise, this novel stands alone. My issue was that I never had a chance to get to know Dr. Beckett. The character showed growth during the book, but I wasn't invested enough to care. I think this might have been different if I'd read the previous two books.The second problem is that this was a political thriller with layer after layer of conspiracy theory. These were woven together well (although there is one place where I felt the author tricked the reader), and made a thrilling, textured adventure that wasn't quite my style.The book was well written enough that I didn't notice the writing-- which is exactly how I like it!I've put the first book in the series, The Dirty Secrets Club, on my list of books I'd like to read. ( )

My usual measure of a book is that if my attention hasn't been fully grabbed by page 50, I cut it loose. Even went to page 149 with this one and couldn't stand anymore of it. ( )