Title: The Finest Lies Author: David J Naiman Genre: Young Adult, Magical Realism
High schooler Nicole Hallett has just about had it with her brother Jay, so when a mysterious man appears with an offer to replace him with a better one, she doesn’t hesitate. Nicole has always been impulsive, but this time, she finds herself in predicament far worse than anything she’s experienced. Just like that, an average snow day—usually filled with hot cocoa and snowball fights—is commandeered by the stranger, who forces the siblings into a dangerous game.
Confronted by past reflections, tested by present complications, and threatened by future possibilities, Nicole has until the end of the day to disentangle the riddle of her life.
This suspenseful, yet winsome novel by award-winning author David J. Naiman explores the power of family and forgiveness. But take heed. The truth can cut like shards of glass, especially for those who’d rather avoid it. Sometimes, only the finest lies will do.
The old TV sputtered and a fuzzy image of a peculiar man appeared on the screen. His eyes widened and sparkled. “Would you like a brand new brother?” a voice-over boomed. “Call now!” Above his head, the words CALL NOW flashed in golden lettering. At the bottom of the screen, a phone number scrolled.
Maybe I should call, Nicole thought. A brand new brother sounds perfect.
“That’s it. New and improved! Call now.”
Nicole smiled, sensing a personal connection as though this commercial spoke directly to her. She cradled her phone in her hands. A fingertip flicked across the screen without her even needing to concentrate. Her phone had long ago become an appendage, as integral as a foot or a kidney.
After Nicole entered the number, her finger hovered above the dial icon. Something held her back, but she couldn’t imagine what it could be. She might have guessed self-preservation had she any means to gauge the lurking danger. Had she any inkling her impetuous nature would fix her on a chaotic course beyond her control.
She did want a new brother. As long as he wasn’t like Jay, who always said things to upset her and never did what she wanted him to do. She thrust aside her unease and tapped the icon. Instead of a ring, Nicole heard more of a choking sound, a gasp as if someone strangled.
“Hello, Nicole. Are you ready to change your life?”
The voice on her phone was identical to the voice-over in the commercial. Nicole figured this guy must own the company or something. “Maybe,” she said. The man on the TV screen stared at her while she spoke. Nicole leaned to the left and right, and the man’s face tracked her each time. She hesitated. “How much does it cost?”
“Do you mean money? Oh, no. It won’t cost you any money. Not one cent. But there is a cost.”
“What is it?”
“Nothing for you to worry about, my dear. Nothing at all. Your satisfaction is guaranteed or your money back.”
“That seems fair. Wait, I thought you said—”
“Now, now. Don’t worry about a thing. We’ll simply replace your brother with a better one. This offer doesn’t come around every day. It is, to be candid, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” The man on the TV winked but not subtly. His head dipped so low that his oversized hat nearly slid off. “Decide quickly. Supplies are running out.”
The words CALL NOW lit up in a sickly yellow, casting a jaundiced glow across the face of the eccentric man with the whimsical hat and sparkling eyes.
“Then yes! What do I have to do?”
The man lifted his head. His lips gave a twitch. The voice answered, “Nothing more, nothing more. You’ve done it! Congratulations, my dear. Call the same number if your new brother malfunctions, and I’ll send an attendant straight away.” When he disconnected, the TV flicked itself off and Nicole heard her father’s voice.
“Nic, come downstairs, please. Jay has something he wishes to say.”
When Nicole arrived, she sagged with disappointment. Her brother looked the same. Same broad chest. Same confident grin. Stupid, worthless commercial. At least it didn’t cost her any money.
“I’m sorry, Nic,” Jay said. “I only wanted to use the new TV to kick you out. That was wrong of me. Please take the remote and accept my apology.”
Nicole stared open-mouthed. Jay appeared the same, his voice sounded the same, but this was not her brother. Sweet.
“Thanks,” she said.
He handed her the remote, flashed the kindest smile she had seen from him in years, and left the room. Nicole watched her videos in utter bliss. Once she was caught up, she decided to check on this new brother of hers. If he was going to be awesome, she might as well be friendlier. As she made her way upstairs, she thought about the number on her phone and doubted she would ever need to call it again.
Her brother’s door was ajar. Walking closer, she heard him chewing on something, maybe granola given all the crunching. She pushed the door open and stepped inside. Robot Jay took another bite of his phone and looked up at her. Metal and plastic bits ground together. He chewed slowly, savoring every morsel.
“Everything all right, my wonderful sister?” When she didn’t answer, he popped the rest of the device in his mouth and licked his fingers clean. “Sure,” Nicole said, backing out of his room. “What could possibly be wrong?”
High schooler Nicole Hallett has just about had it with her brother Jay, so when a mysterious man appears with an offer to replace him with a better one, she doesn’t hesitate. Nicole has always been impulsive, but this time, she finds herself in predicament far worse than anything she’s experienced. Just like that, an average snow day—usually filled with hot cocoa and snowball fights—is commandeered by the stranger, who forces the siblings into a dangerous game.
Confronted by past reflections, tested by present complications, and threatened by future possibilities, Nicole has until the end of the day to disentangle the riddle of her life.
This suspenseful, yet winsome novel by award-winning author David J. Naiman explores the power of family and forgiveness. But take heed. The truth can cut like shards of glass, especially for those who’d rather avoid it. Sometimes, only the finest lies will do.
Entering the woods is forbidden. To go in can mean a fate worse than death. At least that’s what seventeen-year-old Laura has been told. But living in a new town with nothing to do, she ignores her mother’s dire warnings and explores the forest near her home.
The trees entice Laura deeper into the woods. A mysterious, soothing voice calls her name, and she becomes lost. When a young man finds her, she thinks she’s saved. But he insists their meeting is more than a coincidence. For centuries, his colony has been waiting for a savior. With his alluring eyes and gentle smile, Laura almost believes his crazy story.
Caught between worlds, and with her life at stake, she doesn’t know who to believe or trust. Her heart tells her one thing and her head another.
Is it her destiny, or will her fate only postpone the inevitable?
He embraced me, crossing his arms at his wrists, holding me tightly at the waist. As I drew closer, he kissed the top of my head. I put my arms around his neck, turning until the top of my head nuzzled under his chin. “I promise I won’t tell anyone about Landaffens or the Grove.”
“I know you won’t. I trust you, Laura.”
Yearning for his lips to meet mine, I raised my head. His lips slid to my mouth. His kiss was soft. Tender. I drew him against me, the ardor of passion bubbling through my body, inflating my being with something I had never felt before.
I pushed my tongue between his teeth, into his mouth, cupping the back of his head firmly while the fingers of my other hand pressed into his back. He jerked away, stunned, as if I’d bitten his tongue.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, pushing away from him.
“Nothing, I, I just.” He stared at the ground. “You are the first girl I have ever kissed. The first girl I have ever touched this way.
“The first? Really?”
“Yes,” he said. “I am inexperienced. Inept.”
“You’re not inept.” I smiled and took one of his hands. “It was nice―really nice. I couldn’t tell you hadn’t done it before.”
“Thank you,” he said, squeezing my hands. Brell’s words and the airy, whisper-like tone of his voice lulled me into a state of wanting to kiss him even more. “I will see you at the next early sun.”
“Yes, at the early sun,” I said. On light feet, I cut through the dead grass to the driveway and tiptoed up the porch steps. When I reached the front door, I lifted my necklace from my shirt and held it tightly in my hand. When I opened my palm, it twinkled like a star. I turned, giving Brell a final wave. The doorknob twisted without much of a rattle, and I crept through the kitchen and down the hall to my room.
Karri Thompson, a native of San Diego, attended San Diego State University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in English and master’s degree in education. When she’s not writing novels and teaching high school English, she can be found nerding out at San Diego Comic-Con and cooking delicious meals for her family. Karri is the recipient of the San Diego Book Awards Best Published Young Adult Novel for 2014.
Leocadia arrives home from school to find her mom’s body. Unaware that the killer still lingers, she rushes to her mother’s side, only to be grabbed from behind. And everything fades to black.
Leo has been battling personal demons after a year of retrograde amnesia. She’s been having vivid dreams of that day. And her dreams are getting worse—she’s starting to remember. Two more bodies are discovered and they are oddly linked to her mom’s unsolved homicide.
Leo befriends her new neighbor. He’s eager to visit Star Hallow’s notorious haunted mansion. It’s located on a deserted cul-de-sac where she once lived and where her mom was murdered. But it’s the Lucien Estate, the mansion next door to her old home, where they happen upon misty ghosts, ghosts that just might help to unravel the homicides.
Will Leo’s memories send her reeling into a relapse, or will she be able to overcome her demons to find her mother’s killer – only to become the next victim?
Not dawdling but clinging to the banister, I breezed up the stairs to the second-floor landing. Adjusting to the dimness, I gazed into the extended hallway. A billowing shape floated by with long, silvery hair.
My tone quavered, “Is that you, Henry?” Either he was wearing a wig to scare me, or Monique Baskerville’s ghost decided to make an appearance.
“Up here…” My head jerked to the distinct words coming from above.
“Henry, I just peed myself,” I said, singing the words, “just in case you’re wondering.” I veered around the banister to take the third set of stairs. Footsteps came from behind me and my skin chilled into mounds of gooseflesh. Is someone following me? I stopped and chafed the freeze from my arms. Whoever or whatever had also stopped.
Resembling a motorized robot, I took one stair, waited and listened, another stair, waited and listened. I heard rustling, and sensing a presence I twisted on the spot. White misty flecks evaporated into thin air leaving behind a lingering scent. An extremely familiar perfume.
“Mom? Is that you?” Stifling my inhalations, I half expected her to respond. With nothing forthcoming, the thoughts of witnessing a ghost loosened my vocal cords. “Henry. I need you!” I chugged up the staircase faster than a locomotive.
Cathrina Constantine is an International Best Selling and Award-Winning Author. Her books have won Reader’s Favorite International Book Awards. New Apple Medalist Award. Literary Classics Gold and Silver Award. Literary Classics Seal of Approval. And recently 1st Place Top Shelf Award for YA/Mystery.
Cathrina loves to immerse herself in great books of every kind of genre, which helps her to write purely for entertainment, and hopefully to inspire readers. When not stationed at her computer you can find her in the woods taking long walks with her dog.
