The Lies You Wrote. Brianna Labuskes

Of all the crime fiction books I’ve read, and that stretches into many hundreds, this is the first one I’ve read that has a Forensic Linguistic expert as it’s main character.

It’s an original approach and it really works. I can’t remember how many times I disappeared down a Google Rabbit Hole researching some of the terms and phrases used in this book, and it’s fascinating.

FBI linguistics specialist Raisa Susanto is called in to assist in a case which appears to be a copy cat murder.

A famous murder suicide some years before has been the point of speculation for the usual crime conspiracy theorists for years.

A young man murdered his mother and father before killing himself and leaving his three younger sisters without a family.

He left a suicide note and the local police decided it was a slam-dunk, open-and-shut case.

For years people have theorised that the investigation was too short. There were rumours in the small community that Alex Parker was a youth with issues, accusations of assaults by him on young girls were brushed over because his Mom and Dad were almost town “royalty”.

But there were rumours about them as well, was it a really a perfect marriage?

The suicide note has long been an item of speculation. Susanto uses it herself in lectures, hypothesising on its credibility and authenticity.

When a couple are found murdered, posed in the same way that the Parkers had been found, the FBI launch an investigation with Susanto, and Forensic Psychologist Callum Kilkenny making up part of the team.

The usual scepticism is thrown Susanto’s way. How can she be of any help.

But she can. Word patterns, phrases, unusual use of terms, inconsistencies in tenses, are just a small way she looks at the words written by different people involved in the investigation

And, because of her familiarity with the original crime, through her studies and lectures, she is uniquely placed to start spotting links.

So is this really a copycat, or is it more sinister.

As much as Alex Parker was a hateful figure, and easy to identify as the killer of his parents, did he really commit suicide or was he another victim.

This is a cracker of a story. I loved its originality.

Years ago I was involved in a murder investigation where Forensic Linguistics played a huge part in getting a man convicted of murdering his wife.

I’ve since seen that linguistic expert lecture to college and university students, and hold them captivated by the way he and his team have aided in criminal investigations.

So I’m not surprised that somebody has used a linguistic expert as their main character.

Thinking about it I’m more surprised by the fact that this is the first, that I’ve read, where it’s happened.

Billed as book one in the Raisa Susanto series I can only hope it’s the first of many, because if this book is anything to go by, it’s going to be a fantastic series. 🔲

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer. Publishing date: 28th November 2023 available on preorder