One Perfect Lie

I have enjoyed a number of Lisa Scottoline's books, both the stand alone (e.g., Every Fifteen Minutes) and the "Rosato and Associates" series about an all-women law firm (e.g., Accused). I listened to this stand-alone thrillers on a car trip recently and it opens when we meet Chris Brennan, who is applying for a job as a teacher and assistant varsity baseball coach at Central Valley High School in Pennsylvania. Except his name is not Chris Brennan, he is not a teacher, and one begins to suspect that he is working with the baseball team just so he can find the perfect patsy for the job he has in mind. The deadline is getting close and Chris must protect his identity and also find the right candidate. He narrows it down to 3 boys on the team. Raz Sematov's father has died within the last year and although he is the star pitcher, he is teetering on the edge. Jordan Larkin is the shy, quiet rookie on the team, son of a single mom, and he is thus susceptible to a strong father figure that praises him and promotes him to be the new pitcher. And then there's Evan Kostis who appears to have everything, including a new BMW that his parents gave him as a birthday present. In short order, however, the lives of all these families are going to change, and one of these boys in already way in over his head in a plot to bomb a federal building on the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. Where Chris fits in, and how this resolves were a surprise. Well written as always with distinctly developed characters.