Heart of Lies: A Novel (Irish Angel Series)

'Maddie Grande kept having the terrifying dream night after night. The dream involved her, as a child, running with a greasy dark-haired man and a faceless blonde girl, a couple of years older than herself. But she can not remember who they are! She now lives in a bare cabin in the swamp of New Orleans with "the twins". But she grew up as a tribe member who had to steal and beg to stay alive.

One day "the twins" brought home an eight year old year girl they had kidnapped for the reward money. They left the girl for Maddie to care for until they got their money. Maddie's heart was broken for the girl's mother but didn't know what to do. Then the girl ran away!

Tom Abbott's job is to find the kidnapped girl. He is a man of honor, the opposite of the life Maddie has lived. So why is he attracted to Maddie when his job to find the girl leads to Maddie's cabin? And why would a woman like Maddie even dream of having a man like Tom love to her?

You must read this book to find out if the kidnapped girl was returned to her family and if Maddie's reoccurring nightmares were resolved. Don't you want to find out what happened to Maddie and Tom?

[...] I enjoyed reading this suspenseful romantic novel.

Have you ever watched an episode of What Not to Wear and thought, "Wow, that outfit is kind of nice, but it's definitely not for me"? That's the best possible way I can describe this book. In signing up for books to review, I must have mis-clicked or something. Heart of Lies is a novel in the Christian romance genre and has far too many love scenes and far too few aliens for my taste. Blech.

This story takes place in Louisiana's bayou. A detective is trying to locate a woman's sister and also is looking for a missing child. These two cases lead him to the bayou and to the history of a Fagan-esque man who once led a troupe of child thieves in the streets of New Orleans. Once he [inevitably] falls in love with Maddie, the sister he was searching for, he has to decide, in the words of Dumbledore, "between what is right and what is easy." Should he give her up to the police or should they ride off into the sunset together?

If you enjoy romantic stories with a Christian worldview, or if you're looking for a good beach read, this book is probably for you. My sci-fi books keep chucking it off the shelf in the middle of the night.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel for the purposes of review.

Heart of Lies was a book that I've been anxious to read for a long time. I was thoroughly captivated with the book before it, Heart of Stone, and hoped and prayed that the continuation of this series would be as good as the start. Well, let's just say my expectations may have been set a wee bit too high.

First of all, I loved the setting of this book: historic New Orleans. I felt a part of this city throughout the story, with all of it's alleyways, hidey-holes, and street corners. Because Maddie was raised smack-dab in the middle of it, it was easy to see all of it's features from her point of view. But once she grew up, she moved away from the hustle and bustle to the bayou, and I equally loved that setting as much as the busy city. I could smell the water, see the moss on the trees, and hear the creaking of her little cabin in the middle of nowhere. Trust me...all of this was masterfully done.

Secondly, I loved little Penelope! That little girl was a pistol with her sassy nature at only 8 years old, but she was smart as a whip, too. I thought the relationship that developed between her and Maddie was very well-written, and it was sad, but understandable, to see it come to an end.

But in spite of those things, I had a couple of concerns. One thing was the tempo. The first few chapters seemed very slow and wordy, and I had a slight case of doubt as to whether I would keep reading. Also, there were several chapters devoted to "chasing," mostly Tom trying to catch either Maddie or Penelope or both. The other issue was the romance. I knew it was would culminate at some point, but when it did, it seemed way too abrupt. It was better toward the end, but I couldn't seem to get the other scene out of my head.

The tempo and the romance issues were minor compared to the spiritual content, or rather, the lack of it. When I read a book marketed by a Christian publisher, I expect that there will be a Christian theme to the story. There was barely any in this entire book, and that was truly disappointing. Instead, the characters seemed more concerned about just being a "good person." If that's the case, why bother marketing this book as Christian fiction? Why not just sell it as general market? Now, just so I'm clear, I don't expect every single Christian book to have a conversion scene, or a church scene, or something else similar. BUT, I do expect there to be characters that either grow somehow in their faith, return to their faith, or become a new Christian altogether. None of that was in this story, and that's why I felt the need to point it out.

While I gave Heart of Stone a well-deserved 4 stars, I'm giving 3 stars to Heart of Lies. If I was a fan of general market fiction and/or romance, the rating might be a little higher. But since I only read Christian fiction, I have to take the lack of Christian content into consideration. I do plan to read the final book in the series, Heart of Glass, once it is released next year.

Heart of Lies, book two in the Irish Angel Series, takes us back to Louisiana. Though the second in a series this story could easily be read as a stand alone novel.

The author's descriptive writing makes the sounds and sights of the bayou come to life. It does no less for Maddie's story.

I found myself deeply engaged in the tale of a woman struggling to overcome her past when it seemed that there was no way out of the life that held her captive. The tale of whether she will overcome the lies she believes, start anew and maybe even find love is the best kind of story.

Since the book was published by Zondervan I expected the book to have a Christian message. Although there are some references to God, morality, prayer, forgiveness and the question of fallen human nature I would not consider this a Christian book. The gospel message is never clearly mentioned and while Maddie is clearly seeking a better road for her life she has no encounter with a personal God. This was disappointing to me personally. While men and women can overcome great adversity in life, I believe that true redemption only comes in relationship to Jesus Christ. And that could have made a good story into an amazing one.

That said, Heart of Lies was a good story, well told and beautifully written.

Maddie Grande feels trapped and comforted at the same time. She loves the peace of the Bayou, but wonders if there is more to her life than trapping muskrat, caring for her twin "brothers" and if she'll ever be more than street waif who lied, cheated, and stole all her life...or at least as far as she can remember.

Suddenly her "brothers" force her to play a role she doesn't want to play and she decides that now is the time to change the direction of her life. But is it that easy, can she return what isn't hers to claim money that doesn't belong to her to start a new life far away from the only home she remembers?

To complicate matters, a Pinkerton detective shows up looking for the item she's hidden away as well as for a young woman who'd been seperated from her sister years ago. Tom Abbott is a consummate detective. He is sure there is no room in his life of danger, travel, and mystery for a wife. But Maddie Grande is different from the other women he's met. She's fiesty and feminine, wordly wise and wistful. Maddie isn't the only one with questions and Tom's not sure he can find the answers to his personal questions until he answers the questions in his case...although the answers to one might very well dictate the answer to the other.

In a Heart of Lies, Jill Marie Landis weaves a unique tale of intrigue, romance, and history. While the cover of the book did not do much to entice me to read the book, the first chapter had me hooked. Landis is a fantastic writer and kept the storyline moving with unexpected twists and turns that kept me turning pages.

I highly recommend Landis' Irish Angel Series. Heart of Lies is book two and you can start the series with book one Heart of Stone. I was pleased to note that the ending of the Heart of Lies left the story open for two more books. I love a series--once I get to know the characters and care about them, I wan to know more about what happened to them. I can't wait for the next book to appear.

This is an unusual story about a young woman who becomes part of a 'tribe' of street urchins and pickpockets. When the leader of their tribe dies, Maddie Grande and her twin 'tribe' brothers leave New Orleans and live on the bayous. Maddie quickly takes to the new life, but the twins love the criminal life too much to leave it for long. Maddie wants a different life, but her survival existence affords little money to put her desires into action.

Maddie has made a life for herself by trapping, fishing, and hunting. But her simple life is disturbed when the twins bring back to the bayou a kidnapped child they are holding for ransom. Something goes wrong, and one twin dies, and the other goes to jail. Then, the kidnapped child escapes, and Maddie must find her.

Tom Abbott is a Pinkerton agent and is looking for the kidnapped eight-year-old. He's also looking for a young woman lost years ago and is now about thirty-two years of age. The story was set in New Orleans in 1875. The author has a firm grasp of the life in and around bayous at that time. This is a well-written period piece. It took a while to get into this story because it is so unique, but once in the story, it was difficult to set aside.

Irish Angel Series
1. Heart of Stone (2010)
** 2. Heart of Lies (2011)
3. Heart of Glass (2012)

Loved this series of books

this is the second book i've read in this series and enjoyed it as much as the first.I'm not usually interested in following a series unless it is really an interesting read but am looking forward to the next in this one.Definitely recommend to others.

Heart of Lies by Jill Marie Landis is a very sweet story.
To me it seems like two stories in one. The first part is about a kidnapped eight-year-old and the second part is about how a sister is looking for her sister and Maddie fits into both of these stories. She takes care of the little kidnapped girl, which she didn't really want to because she wanted to get out of that business and Maddie is the sister someone is trying to find.
I would have liked for the kidnapping story to go to the end along with going to visit the woman who might be her sister.
This is the first book I've read by Jill Marie Landis and it's a series. This is the second book in the Irish Angel series. The main theme of this series is the sisters [four of them] were all separated when they were very young girls and had horrible lives. It tells how they turned their lives around and found each other. I think that is what the last two books in the series will be about also.
I recommend this book for an interesting read. It was neat to find out the way Maddie was brought up and how she turned out.

Thank you to Zondervan for providing this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

Amazingly interesting fiction story. I found myself not wanting to put it down because I needed to know what Maddie was going to be facing next. Set in 1875 the story is quite intriguing as I followed Maddie Grande from her childhood into her early 30's. Maddie has a most unusual childhood fraught with adventure though dangerous and certainly not legal. I found it totally unbelievable that a young girl could have to face so many traumatic situations in her short life but I do realize the evil in men's hearts.
However, thru Jill Landis' unique writing skill Maddie is blessed to have her life get a second chance after a Pinkerton agent is hired to find Megan Lane.
You want to read this and enjoy reading just for fun.
I received this book from Zondervan Publishing as part of their free review program.