One Perfect Lie

Having stabbed a man to death, a seemingly damaged, deranged Chris Brennan plans to attack a small Pennsylvania town. Or will he? This loner certainly is a liar: he lies about his name, his background, and his experience to gain a teaching and coaching position at a high school where he urgently pursues a teenage boy to assist him with his scheme. Chris succeeds in finding a ten-foot box truck that can hold 50 bags of fertilizer, enough to cause deadly destruction. After putting readers on edge with the development of this unlikable character as a would-be domestic terrorist, Scottoline (Most Wanted; Every Fifteen Minutes) slams the plot into reverse at midpoint and accelerates at full speed. Throw in sexting, cheating, drinking, and grieving to draw in the other protagonists, including teachers, three mothers, and their teenage sons.