Lies He Told Me (2024) is a psychological thriller by James Patterson and David Ellis. The novel follows the story of Marcie Bowers, a family law attorney whose idyllic life in the small town of Hemingway Grove unravels. After saving a man’s life, Marcie’s husband, David Bowers, becomes a local hero. However, his sudden fame dredges up dark secrets from his past. As Marcie digs deeper, she is forced to question her husband’s identity and the foundations of her marriage, and she becomes entangled in a web of danger and deceit. The book explores themes of trust and deception, the impact of the past, and heroism.

This guide uses the 2024 eBook edition published by Penguin Random House.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of graphic violence.

Plot Summary

Family law attorney Marcie Bowers lives in Hemingway Grove with her husband, David, and their children, 10-year-old Lincoln and 12-year-old Grace. Marcie was born and raised in Hemingway Grove but left the small town and her childhood sweetheart, Kyle Janowski, to pursue a career in criminal defense in Chicago.

Fifteen years earlier, Marcie represented Silas Renfrow, an assassin who worked for the mobster boss Michael Cagnina. Renfrow and other key witnesses were due to testify against Cagnina and were being held at a secret government detention center. However, before the trial, the witnesses were killed, and their bodies burned in an incident known as the Halloween Massacre. Marcie, who never saw Silas’s face, believed that Cagnina was responsible for the massacre and that her client had faked his own death. As Cagnina’s involvement in the incident could not be proven, the mobster served a 16-year sentence for tax evasion. The unsavory nature of the case led Marcie to retreat to her hometown for a more peaceful life. One year later, she met David, the owner of Hemingway’s Pub.

Marcie’s life changes forever when she and David witness an SUV veer off Anna’s Bridge and plummet into the river. David saves the driver’s life, and a video of his heroic actions goes viral. One month later, the Bowers family becomes the target of a series of malicious acts. Their dog is taken and then returned, their home is broken into, although nothing is stolen, and Lincoln finds a dead rat in his trick-or-treat candy. While Marcie is concerned, David seems inexplicably reluctant to involve the police. He also behaves secretively, using a burner phone and lying about his whereabouts. Unbeknownst to Marcie, David is visiting a woman named Camille Striker, who pressures him to tell his wife the truth. Meanwhile, two strangers to Hemingway Grove are asking questions about David. FBI Agent Francis Blair is investigating him, and Tommy Malone (the intruder who broke into the Bowers’s home) is convinced that David is laundering money through his pub.

When Marcie reports that someone in an SUV is watching her home, Police Sergeant Kyle Janowski traces the vehicle to Camille. Kyle suspects that David is Silas and Camille is the assassin’s long-term girlfriend. He believes David’s true identity was exposed when the video of him saving a man went viral. When Kyle confronts Marcie with his theory, she does not believe it. However, she discovers photographs suggesting that David’s claim to be an orphan is a lie. She also finds keys to safe-deposit boxes she knows nothing about. Marcie prepares to challenge David with her findings. However, before she can do so, David is shot in a confrontation with Tommy. He survives but remains in a critical condition in the hospital.

Forensic tests reveal that David was formerly Wesley Price, and the man who shot him was Silas (aka Tommy Malone). Wesley was hired by Cagnina as an accountant and risked his life by testifying against the mob boss. Afterward, he was placed in a witness protection program with a new identity, and Camille was the agent assigned to protect him. Marcie realizes that unbeknownst to Camille, David stole $20 million from Cagnina before he went into hiding. Silas accidentally shot David while trying to find out the location of the money.

Silas threatens to kill Marcie and her children if she does not get him the $20 million. He instructs her to go to Prinell Bank, fill duffel bags with the cash, and leave them unattended in her unlocked car. Agent Blair promises Marcie that the FBI will maintain a discreet presence and keep her safe.

After learning that David has died, Marcie goes to Prinell Bank. However, the safe-deposit boxes are empty except for an envelope containing a cell phone, a remote control, a thumb drive, and some papers. Among the documents is a note from David warning Marcie not to trust anyone from the FBI. Marcie creates a diversion by calling 911 with a bomb threat. As the bank is evacuated, she escapes by the emergency exit. Agent Blair realizes that Marcie suspects the truth: He is a corrupt FBI agent working with Silas.

Marcie hires a car and goes to an internet café where she listens to the audio file on the thumb drive. In the recorded conversation, Agent Blair accepts Cagnina’s offer of $20 million to reveal the location of the witness detention center. Marcie emails the file to Kyle. Silas catches up with Marcie, but she takes him by surprise and escapes, injuring him with a Swiss Army knife.

Marcie drives to Anna’s Bridge after buying lifejackets and several pairs of toy handcuffs. She sits by the unrepaired hole in the bridge with 11 duffel bags. When Agent Blair and Silas arrive, she begins pushing the duffel bags into the river. The men hold back from shooting Marcie as they want to preserve the four remaining bags to which she is handcuffed. As police cars arrive at the scene, Blair shoots Silas dead and pushes Marcie and the bags into the river. The police officers shoot Blair when he refuses to drop his weapon.

Marcie is saved from drowning by Kyle and the life jackets she placed inside the duffel bags. However, she is officially pronounced dead, allowing her and the children to relocate with new identities. Marcie now knows that the remote in David’s safe deposit box opens a secret compartment in the statue of Ernest Hemingway outside Hemingway’s Pub. When Kyle visits, revealing that a buyer is interested in the pub, Marcie resolves to retrieve the money concealed inside the statue.