The Hennessy Lie
Thrilling plot twists, tantalizing clues, and suspicious characters abound in The Hennessy Lie, a novel about inheritance and identity.
In Annette Masters’s intense thriller The Hennessy Lie, a long-lost family and a surprise inheritance lead to unforeseen danger.
Piper is a college freshman when she receives a mysterious envelope from a stranger on the bus who tells her that her father, who she was told died before she was born, in fact just died in prison. Piper hides the information from her controlling mother and her mother’s boyfriend, Leo. She confides only in her lifelong best friend, Mia, whose family life she envies.
As more information is revealed, Piper—now the heir to a large family estate—is placed in serious danger. As she works to save her family’s land and claim her inheritance, she becomes suspicious of others. A strange man whom she keeps seeing around campus, an aggressive neighbor, her longtime crush, Topher, and her mother are all subject to doubt.
Citrus Green, Piper’s family estate, is at the book’s powerful center. The setting contains the remnants of Piper’s past, from hints of her infancy there with her parents to the estate’s heirlooms (including journals, paintings, and rings) and the graves of her ancestors. It is also the key to her future, with secrets that could help her to flourish. It is fleshed out in magnetic terms, through a strong sense of history, Piper’s instant feelings of belonging, and a pervasive sense of future possibilities.
Throughout the novel, thrilling plot twists, tantalizing clues, and suspicious characters abound. Some defy logic, but most generate added excitement. Further, the quick sequence of scenes pushes audiences to suspend their disbelief and immerse themselves in the story.
However, Piper’s narration is more limiting: she’s a bit myopic, and the novel is sometimes overwhelmed by her interiority. She is also a touch naïve, and some of the plot twists are obscured because of this. However, she is attentive to details, including the quotes on a neighbor’s shirt and regarding the art in the house. In addition, her obsession with her relationships is a driving force. As she pushes Mia and Leo away, believing that only blood relatives can complete her, internal warnings go unheeded—including in regard to her suspicious great-aunt. As she isolates herself, new problems arise.
In the psychological thriller The Hennessy Lie, a girl who always felt out of place tries to figure out where she truly belongs.
Reviewed by
Emily Gaines
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