On paper, Chris Brennan looks perfect. He's applying for a job as a high school government teacher, he's ready to step in as an assistant baseball coach, and his references are impeccable.

But everything about Chris Brennan is a lie.

Susan Sematov is proud of her son Raz, a high school pitcher so athletically talented that he's being recruited for a full-ride scholarship to a Division I college, with a future in major-league baseball. But Raz’s father died only a few months ago, leaving her son in a vulnerable place where any new father figure might influence him for good, or evil.

Heather Larkin is a struggling single mother who lives for her son Jordan's baseball games. But Jordan is shy, and Heather fears he is being lured down a dark path by one of his teammates, a young man from an affluent family whose fun-loving manner might possibly conceal his violent plans.

Mindy Kostis succumbs to the pressure of being a surgeon's wife by filling her days with social events and too many gin and tonics. But she doesn’t know that her husband and her son, Evan, are keeping secrets from her – secrets that might destroy all of them.

At the center of all of them is Chris Brennan. Why is he there? What does he want? And what is he willing to do to get it?

a good beach read...and a good twist about half way through. I did have a hard time with the Heather character...she seemed very self centered on herself and her son....would you really push into someone else's room in their apartment? argue about why they weren't taking HER issue seriously? so I felt no connection with the love interest at all.

This was my first Lisa Scottoline novel; at first, I was discouraged by her long sections of narrative, but it pays off in the end because of her careful character development. After her meticulous development, she allows the reader to just set back and watch her intricate plot play out. I also enjoyed the narrator's connection with both the worlds of teaching and police work. I would not recommend this title to anyone who wants a quick read, but if you are looking for a satisfying story with a well thought out plot, pick this one up.

That was nearly one perfect story. I had to knock it down one star for a pretty unbelievable feat towards the end of the story, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story regardless.

The story begins with Chris who you find accepting a job in a small Pittsburgh town as a government teacher and assistant baseball coach. You know right off the bat that he isn't who or what he says he is -- it's all a lie and it could even be a perfect lie.

The author did a great job of opening up the doors to several families in town and exposed their weaknesses and frailties. Midway through the book and behind the closed doors of many of the high school baseball players homes, you began to see that the government teacher isn't the only one telling lies.

The mystery unfolded in a timely manner with just the right amount of hints sprinkled in to keep the reader guessing. But aside from the mystery surrounding the town I ran across a most profound paragraph which really had nothing to do with the story but everything to do with life. The baseball coach was talking to the boys and said, "Baseball is a game about 17 inches. He said in high school ball, college ball, minor league and major league the home plate is 17 inches wide. If you don't reach those 17 inches, the plate does not get bigger or wider to help you. It's a standard. YOU reach the standard - the standard does not reach you. "

I thought to myself how befitting these words were in a world where we seem to always want to change the rules or bend the standards to make it easier for people to achieve a goal, rather than instilling a desire or plan to help someone (or our own self) reach the standard or goal set for us. The coach went on to say that the way you reach the standard is to always hold yourself accountable. Who would have thought that a book about the one perfect lie could hold the one perfect truth to a successful and fulfilling life.