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Liars Anonymous
“Hands On Emergency. This is Jessie. Is there an emergency in the vehicle?”Roadside Assistance Operator, Jessie Dancing, knows what it’s like to take a life, and she’s trying to put that memory behind her. But when the call comes in from real estate tycoon Darren Markson, she thinks she hears him being killed while she’s on the phone with him. This can’t be, but she knows the world of violence and death is never far away. Jessie travels from Phoenix to her hometown of Tucson to let Markson’s wife hear that last communication from her husband. But according to Emily he’s very much alive...
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 14, 2009
About the author
Louise Ure
4 books13 followersLouise Ure spent a quarter of a century in advertising and marketing in the United States, Singapore and Australia before finding her true love: writing crime fiction. Her debut mystery, Forcing Amaryllis, won the Shamus Award for Best First Novel, and Booklists starred review said, "Ures debut so compellingly evokes the hot, dry Southwest, readers may want to have an ice-cold glass of water nearby while reading it." Ure currently lives in San Francisco with her husband and whichever senior golden retriever rescue dog has most recently captured her heart.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
May 31, 2010
PROTAGONIST: Jessie Dancer
SETTING: Arizona
SERIES: Standalone
RATING: 4.0
She's a murderer. Even though judged innocent in a court of law, Jessie Dancing knows that she killed Walter Racine, and for the best of reasons—he had abused one of her friends as a child and was now poised to do the same to her friend's daughter. She's trying to put her life back together and is working as a Roadside Assistance Operator in Phoenix. But then she gets the call that changes her life, that brings her back to the abyss that she has been trying to move away from.
A typical roadside assistance call involves a vehicle that is disabled or has been in an accident. Darren Markson, a real estate tycoon from the Tucson area, is calling in because his car has been rear ended. After he has finished speaking, Jessie hears signs of a struggle and fears that Markson has been killed. The police disagree, and Jessie decides to go to Tucson, her former home town, to let Markson's wife know about his last conversation. Strangely, his wife insists that she just heard from him and that he is very much alive.
Jessie can't let it go, even more so when she goes to the crash site and meets a young woman there who is later killed. There must be a connection—did Felicia know something about what happened to Markson? Her Mexican boyfriend,
Carlos Ochoa, has disappeared. All these doings add up to a whole lot of unsolved mysteries. Aided by Carlos's brother, Guillermo, Jessie soldiers on, despite the fact that she is a prime suspect in the eyes of the authorities.
Jessie is a complicated character, very vulnerable and very hard at the same time. She's felt like an outsider ever since she's found out that she was adopted, a fact that explains the cold treatment by her mother as compared to her six siblings. She's become a consummate liar, a behavior that grew out of a need for self preservation in her family life. I had to admire her fierce loyalty while bemoaning some of the choices that she made.
Liars Anonymous is full of exciting scenes, with one of the best being a border crossing by Jessie and Guillermo. The book ends with an act of retribution that was totally unexpected; in reality, I had some issues with what transpired even while understanding the roots of the action. Despite that, Liars Anonymous strongly resonated with me. The moral ambiguity surrounding Jessie coupled with a strong and action-filled plot led to a very pleasurable reading experience.
SETTING: Arizona
SERIES: Standalone
RATING: 4.0
She's a murderer. Even though judged innocent in a court of law, Jessie Dancing knows that she killed Walter Racine, and for the best of reasons—he had abused one of her friends as a child and was now poised to do the same to her friend's daughter. She's trying to put her life back together and is working as a Roadside Assistance Operator in Phoenix. But then she gets the call that changes her life, that brings her back to the abyss that she has been trying to move away from.
A typical roadside assistance call involves a vehicle that is disabled or has been in an accident. Darren Markson, a real estate tycoon from the Tucson area, is calling in because his car has been rear ended. After he has finished speaking, Jessie hears signs of a struggle and fears that Markson has been killed. The police disagree, and Jessie decides to go to Tucson, her former home town, to let Markson's wife know about his last conversation. Strangely, his wife insists that she just heard from him and that he is very much alive.
Jessie can't let it go, even more so when she goes to the crash site and meets a young woman there who is later killed. There must be a connection—did Felicia know something about what happened to Markson? Her Mexican boyfriend,
Carlos Ochoa, has disappeared. All these doings add up to a whole lot of unsolved mysteries. Aided by Carlos's brother, Guillermo, Jessie soldiers on, despite the fact that she is a prime suspect in the eyes of the authorities.
Jessie is a complicated character, very vulnerable and very hard at the same time. She's felt like an outsider ever since she's found out that she was adopted, a fact that explains the cold treatment by her mother as compared to her six siblings. She's become a consummate liar, a behavior that grew out of a need for self preservation in her family life. I had to admire her fierce loyalty while bemoaning some of the choices that she made.
Liars Anonymous is full of exciting scenes, with one of the best being a border crossing by Jessie and Guillermo. The book ends with an act of retribution that was totally unexpected; in reality, I had some issues with what transpired even while understanding the roots of the action. Despite that, Liars Anonymous strongly resonated with me. The moral ambiguity surrounding Jessie coupled with a strong and action-filled plot led to a very pleasurable reading experience.
December 30, 2017
This book had some different twists from things I usually read. I enjoyed it. The hot, dry setting of Arizona really came through in the writing.
November 28, 2012
Fantastically flawed characters, great plotting and current elements of technology keep this story moving and the reader involved. I'll definitely look for the first two novels Ure wrote.
June 7, 2020
An OnStar like company worker hears a client whose airbag has gone off get attacked. She reports it and listens in to more of the action. She is called to the victim's house so the wife can hear what happened, but the wife insists he is still alive. When she visits the site of the incident she meets a young woman and gets into more than she planned.
Very similar in parts to Paul Levine's Illegal.
Very similar in parts to Paul Levine's Illegal.
June 20, 2023
Excellent desert noir from start to finish!
Here's the opener: "I got away with murder once, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen again. Damn. This time I didn't do it. Well, not all of it, anyway."
Jessie is the kind of character to root for, with her fierce loyal heart, even though she gets herself in deeper, and continues to make bad choices. Look forward to one other from this author. Highly recommended!
Here's the opener: "I got away with murder once, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen again. Damn. This time I didn't do it. Well, not all of it, anyway."
Jessie is the kind of character to root for, with her fierce loyal heart, even though she gets herself in deeper, and continues to make bad choices. Look forward to one other from this author. Highly recommended!
July 15, 2018
Ugh it started out interesting, but then I couldn't wait for it to end.
May 6, 2022
Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
August 10, 2016
Just finished reading “Liars Anonymous“, a book that is not my type of novel at all.
However, I surprised myself by liking it a lot! Despite myself!
The setting was southern Arizona and the Mexican-American border area. I usually prefer novels set in the United Kingdom or the Eastern U.S. or Canada.
The novel featured Jessie Dancing, a hard-bodied ex-con complete with tattoos and steel-toed shoes. Not my usual protagonist of choice.
The novel is a stand-alone work. I usually read series.
The premise is what caught me.
Jessie Dancing is a roadside-assistance operator who receives a call from a motorist directly after he was rear-ended and his air-bag deployed. Over the open phone line, she hears what she thinks is the motorist being beaten and killed. She then of course calls the police. However… the police have not always been her friend. Also, the wife of the motorist wants Jessie to play her the tape of the incident. Later the wife claims her husband contacted her and he is alive and well and away on a business trip.
Through her rekindled contact with the police, the company she works for finds out that she is not who she said she was, and is an ex-con living under an assumed name. They fire her. Meanwhile, the house-sitting company she has business with also finds out her circumstances and tell her she must leave the house she has been living in….
Homeless, jobless, Jessie decides that when things just don’t add up, her quest for justice demands that she investigate the matter herself.
What results is a suspenseful roller-coaster ride of danger and violence.
Throw in some illegal human smuggling, some family drama, and a new love interest, and her life is fuller that she wanted it to be.
I’ll remember Jessie Dancing for quite some time.
The ending of “Liars Anonymous was not what I expected.
Though having said that, it was satisfying, unpredictable, but also believable.
Louise Ure - Job well done!
However, I surprised myself by liking it a lot! Despite myself!
The setting was southern Arizona and the Mexican-American border area. I usually prefer novels set in the United Kingdom or the Eastern U.S. or Canada.
The novel featured Jessie Dancing, a hard-bodied ex-con complete with tattoos and steel-toed shoes. Not my usual protagonist of choice.
The novel is a stand-alone work. I usually read series.
The premise is what caught me.
Jessie Dancing is a roadside-assistance operator who receives a call from a motorist directly after he was rear-ended and his air-bag deployed. Over the open phone line, she hears what she thinks is the motorist being beaten and killed. She then of course calls the police. However… the police have not always been her friend. Also, the wife of the motorist wants Jessie to play her the tape of the incident. Later the wife claims her husband contacted her and he is alive and well and away on a business trip.
Through her rekindled contact with the police, the company she works for finds out that she is not who she said she was, and is an ex-con living under an assumed name. They fire her. Meanwhile, the house-sitting company she has business with also finds out her circumstances and tell her she must leave the house she has been living in….
Homeless, jobless, Jessie decides that when things just don’t add up, her quest for justice demands that she investigate the matter herself.
What results is a suspenseful roller-coaster ride of danger and violence.
Throw in some illegal human smuggling, some family drama, and a new love interest, and her life is fuller that she wanted it to be.
I’ll remember Jessie Dancing for quite some time.
The ending of “Liars Anonymous was not what I expected.
Though having said that, it was satisfying, unpredictable, but also believable.
Louise Ure - Job well done!
Read
March 14, 2012Liars Annonymous, by Louise Ure, talking book borrowed from National Library Service for the Blind. Grade B.
Jessie Dancing is a woman who finally found out as an adult that she was adopted, and that once her parents had children, her mother wasn’t interested in her anymore. She was a person who put justice for her friends first. Her friend Katherine had apparently been abused by her uncle and she was afraid Katherine’s daughter would be abused as well. So Jessie took care of it by killing the uncle. She got off with a “not guilty” verdict,which isn’t the same as being innocent, and one policeman in particular was obsessed with getting her convicted of something even though she couldn’t be tried for the murder again. Jessie was now working for an emergency road service. A call came in where a man had an emergency, which seemingly resulted in a fight which she could hear on the computer. But when the police came, there was no body, and when Jessie went to tell his wife, she was told that there was a mistake, the car had been stolen and her husband was still alive. But Jessie didn’t believe it and started her own investigation, which brought her into contact with a whole gang of persons involved in kidnapping the children of illegal aliens and selling them. While still involved in investigating this crime, she learns that the information about the bause of her friend from the first crime, might be false. This is an interesting book. I didn’t like Jessie much and didn’t really understand her until the end, partly because things were revealed so slowly that I thought I had missed something.
Jessie Dancing is a woman who finally found out as an adult that she was adopted, and that once her parents had children, her mother wasn’t interested in her anymore. She was a person who put justice for her friends first. Her friend Katherine had apparently been abused by her uncle and she was afraid Katherine’s daughter would be abused as well. So Jessie took care of it by killing the uncle. She got off with a “not guilty” verdict,which isn’t the same as being innocent, and one policeman in particular was obsessed with getting her convicted of something even though she couldn’t be tried for the murder again. Jessie was now working for an emergency road service. A call came in where a man had an emergency, which seemingly resulted in a fight which she could hear on the computer. But when the police came, there was no body, and when Jessie went to tell his wife, she was told that there was a mistake, the car had been stolen and her husband was still alive. But Jessie didn’t believe it and started her own investigation, which brought her into contact with a whole gang of persons involved in kidnapping the children of illegal aliens and selling them. While still involved in investigating this crime, she learns that the information about the bause of her friend from the first crime, might be false. This is an interesting book. I didn’t like Jessie much and didn’t really understand her until the end, partly because things were revealed so slowly that I thought I had missed something.
June 7, 2009
Our protagonist is an operator for a vehicle contact system (much like On-call) who receives an odd call from a car just involved in a hit-and-run. When the police are dispatched to the scene, they find no one there. The wife of the car's owner claims that it isn't her husband's voice on the recording of the call, and that he is alive and well on a business trip. But our operator heard evidence of a possible kidnapping and doesn't quite believe the wife so she launches her own investigation.
Complicating the story is the fact that she was once on trial for murder and was acquitted. Her story is interwoven with the plot to help the reader understand her actions better, but also to cause comtemplation on the reasons people lie and whether or not breaking the law can ever be acceptable. Unfortunately both the law breaker and the victims(s) in the main plot were not well developed enough to make me care whether or not the case was solved, and the main character development made me question if I even really bought our main character caring either. The main plot summarized in the book flap appeared to simply be a vehicle for our operator to take her personal journey. That's not really a problem, but I hate it when a story is misrepresented as a mystery when it is really a regular novel in disguise.
Complicating the story is the fact that she was once on trial for murder and was acquitted. Her story is interwoven with the plot to help the reader understand her actions better, but also to cause comtemplation on the reasons people lie and whether or not breaking the law can ever be acceptable. Unfortunately both the law breaker and the victims(s) in the main plot were not well developed enough to make me care whether or not the case was solved, and the main character development made me question if I even really bought our main character caring either. The main plot summarized in the book flap appeared to simply be a vehicle for our operator to take her personal journey. That's not really a problem, but I hate it when a story is misrepresented as a mystery when it is really a regular novel in disguise.
February 15, 2009
This was my first title by Ure, who has already won a Shamus award. I love the way she puts words together, with precision, passion and beauty. Probably this isn't a book for everyone, as it's very very dark - I think the true definition of noir is not only are you not so sure about all of the characters but the main character as well - and the ending is rough. In it Jessie Dancer, a phone operator for an Onstar type service, gets a call from a client who (it sounds like) is being assaulted in the far away desert, where she can do nothing to help. She alerts the police but there's nothing there when they go to look for the car and the man driving it. Jessie gets drawn further and further into the man's disappearance, and at the same time her own past comes out in bits and pieces, and as a reader you are forced to make up your mind about her bahavior in the past. This book is impossible to put down or to forget.
September 13, 2009
The relatively small number of stars for this book does not reflect the quality of the writing, the plot, the setting or the characterization, but only that I guess it was just a bit too dark for me. As in The Fault Tree, Ure has a protagonist with a lot of issues, and as the book goes on more and more is revealed. The initial event is a very up-to-the-minute one, in which protagonist Jessie, who is an operator with a service similar to GM's OnStar, gets a call about a car accident that quickly turns into either an assault or a murder. The incident ends up taking her back from Phoenix to Tucson, where some very disturbing incidents in her past took place. If you can stand a fair amount of violence and a really messed-up protagonist, this would be a good book for you.
May 15, 2009
Jessie Dancing is forced to return to Tucson, which she fled after she was acquitted of murder. But Jessie really killed a man, for reasons she thought sufficient. Her father believed her innocent plea, but her cold, unforgiving mother knew that she was guilty. Jessie has punished herself with grueling workouts, with meaningless sex, with pain. She's on the edge of another murder, with a policeman who worked her last case sure she's guilty again. Jessie should leave, but she knows that a child is in danger, and she can't let that go by. Then she learns something that turns her life upside down. Well-written, exciting, suspenseful, but probably a little hard-core for my reading tastes.
August 15, 2015
The premise is intriguing; an OnStar operator hears a murder and gets involved when the wife wants to meet with her to listen to the tapes. Great beginning with an interesting heroine that keeps you hooked for most of the book, incipient romance, improbable coincidences, we can live with those if the puzzle is strong. Ure has not developed a series around a single character so all bets are off on what happens to all the characters including the heroine. It keeps you interested, allows the story to go where it needs to, but prevents the reader from forming a deeper attachment to her. Not badly written but not gripping. Will I read more Ure? Probably not
October 1, 2009
This was a DNF for me. I wasn't crazy about the premise and then made the mistake of reading part of a review. The review confirmed my belief that I wasn't going to enjoy this book, so I decided to just quit. Have too many other things to read to bother with ones I won't enjoy.
I read Louise Ure's first three books and enjoyed them tremendously, so I think it was the subject matter, not the writing style. In fact, I could finish this based on how she pulls people along, I just don't think I would enjoy the trip.
I read Louise Ure's first three books and enjoyed them tremendously, so I think it was the subject matter, not the writing style. In fact, I could finish this based on how she pulls people along, I just don't think I would enjoy the trip.
October 27, 2009
Interesting first book by the author. A
rodeside-assistance operator is asked to follow up on a call by giving info directly to the wife of the caller, which leads to a major adventure in solving a crime. I thought the book was
an interesting idea, but too much travel to Mexico and relationships that were not really clear. Always good quotes: "Pain is just weakness leaving the body." "Same circus, different clowns." Francis Bacon: "A man that studies revenge keeps his own wounds green." Alfred Hitchcock: "Revenge is sweet and not fattening."
rodeside-assistance operator is asked to follow up on a call by giving info directly to the wife of the caller, which leads to a major adventure in solving a crime. I thought the book was
an interesting idea, but too much travel to Mexico and relationships that were not really clear. Always good quotes: "Pain is just weakness leaving the body." "Same circus, different clowns." Francis Bacon: "A man that studies revenge keeps his own wounds green." Alfred Hitchcock: "Revenge is sweet and not fattening."
November 17, 2010
This started out slow for me. The author let us know from the beginning that Jesse had been tried for murder and been aquitted, but we learned more about the case in little bits through the rest of the story. I suppose that's what kept me reading.
The ending was a total surprise...I certainly didn't see that coming!
I thought at first I would give this a strong 3 star rating, but by the end I'm feeling more of a weak 4.
I do plan to read other books by this author.
The ending was a total surprise...I certainly didn't see that coming!
I thought at first I would give this a strong 3 star rating, but by the end I'm feeling more of a weak 4.
I do plan to read other books by this author.
June 25, 2009
Jessie Dancing works for an emergency contact company. One evening, she gets a call from a crashed car and hears the owner being beaten. Jessie is forced into confronting her past while she pursues justice for the car driver. A very well-constructed plot which raises the question of whether being not guilty is the same thing as being innocent.
July 11, 2009
Jessie works for HandsOn (a ficticious OnStar) and hears a beating and murder take place after an accident. Though she herself has a checkered past, she still can't help getting involved with the police in this case. It leads to other intrigues and then Jessie is a suspect. Well, she does have a history... I stayed thoroughly engrossed to the bitter end.
July 22, 2009
Definitely a disappointment given that this book had won the trifecta of starred reviews: Kirkus, Booklist and PW. It is tryin to be both a mystery and a thriller and consequently doesn't really suceed at either. A post solution twist at the end is interesting but doesn't really help that much. The author has created a very interesting character in the protagonist but not much else.
January 26, 2010
Interesting female protagonist. Haven't read anything like this before. Won it through Suzanne Beecher's Read-it-First email book club. This isn't chick-lit or your stereotypical female heroine novel. The main character is raw and frank and flawed. Lots of other interesting characters. Suspenseful story line. Ending was surprising but very satisfying/appropriate.
May 23, 2010
A new take on the "amateur" investigator. The heroine has herself gotten away with murder. She's trying to escape that past working in a new town as a roadside assistance operator when she takes a call from a customer she thinks she hears being killed.
Strong lead and supporting characters and a good mystery. I look forward to reading more by this author.
Strong lead and supporting characters and a good mystery. I look forward to reading more by this author.
July 18, 2016
Liked it more at the beginning than I did by the end.
Good writing style, interesting plot, even good characterization, jurst seemed to loose me in the end.
Really liked the Arizona setting and the scenes across the border with Mexico.
Maybe just to many elements going on at once - ex-con, revenge, child abuse, gang wars, police, adoption, too much.
Good writing style, interesting plot, even good characterization, jurst seemed to loose me in the end.
Really liked the Arizona setting and the scenes across the border with Mexico.
Maybe just to many elements going on at once - ex-con, revenge, child abuse, gang wars, police, adoption, too much.
June 4, 2009
Jessie Dancing is a well drawn, consistent character. Not likable exactly. But even though the ending caught me by surprise, it was entirely consistent with the Jessie I'd come to know over the course of the book. A great read.
July 20, 2009
I really enjoyed the beginning chapters of this book. Then the main character started to grate on my nerves due to stupid decisions on her part, some of which seriously affected her life. She just had such a martyr attitude toward the end that I kind of went through the motions to finish the book.
February 18, 2010
Three years age,Jessie was acquitted of a murder she is actually guilty of & her family has disowned her. Now she is involved with illegal aliens & Hispanic gangs & some really, really nasty deaths. This story takes place in Arizona & the ending is a shocker.
March 24, 2011
Mostly, the topic is just a hard one to read. It involves a particularly gruesome serial rapist. Loved the way the character deals with what happens at the end, however. Very victorious. Still had an underlying sense of sadness because of all the damage that was done. Really well written.
Read
August 3, 2011This was an okay book. The plot had a lot of minor characters which lead to a little bit of confusion, but I liked the main character Jessie. The ending was really not what I expected, but made a lot of sense to this character's past.
April 8, 2015
I picked this book out because I needed a "U" author for my a-z challenge. It turned out to be a riveting but difficult book. The power of personal judgements to shape our own lives as well as those around us runs deep through this story. Well written, but shocking to my system.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews