A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh – Reading Wales 2025

A Game of Lies, a sequel to The Last Party, also takes place on the Wales/England border, reuniting the detectives from the previous book, Ffion (pronounced Fee-on) Morgan and Leo Brady. A reality show is being filmed in North Wales, which recruited contestants for a survival experience, promising £10,00 for participating and £100,000 for the winner. 

But Miles Young, the producer, had something else in mind when he called the show, Exposure: he has researched the applicants, chose those who harbor a dark secret, and plans to expose them on the air, one by one, to create huge ratings.

“All of you have a secret,” Roxy says. “Something you’ve worked hard to conceal from your friends and family.” The camera close in as she smiles wickedly at the seven contestants. “You’re not only competing for cash. You’re competing to keep your secret. You’re competing to avoid Exposure.”

It shouldn’t surprise any reader that someone will commit murder rather than risk his or her secret being revealed! As in the previous book, the fact that the crime takes place on the Wales/England border means detectives from both sides have to investigate it. An added source of conflict is that Ffion and Leo developed a relationship a year ago. He reached out after the case was over but Ffion did not respond, although she regrets her silence. She is a prickly character, always at war with her coworkers, her family, her dog, and her ex-husband. Working with Leo again is a second chance, if she will only admit it.

I’m not a huge fan of reality show themed settings but it’s really just another variation of the type of mystery in which a crime occurs within a limited, isolated setting, with a small group of suspects. Mackintosh does a good job juxtaposing the cast and staff of the show with Ffion, her family, and fellow detectives. An added complication is that Ffion’s sister’s boyfriend is working as a runner on Exposure, which could make him a suspect when things start to go wrong. This is a suspenseful and enjoyable read.

Last year, Clare Mackintosh visited a bookstore about an hour away called An Unlikely Story, which is owned by Jeff Kinney, author of the Wimpy Kid books. Several of my Betsy-Tacy friends and I met for dinner at a restaurant nearby (dodging traffic – Lionel Messi was playing soccer nearby and drew 65,000 fans), then drove to the bookstore where Mackintosh was in conversation with local author and TV personality, Hank Philippi Ryan (left, above) (I was admiring Hank's outfit and two-toned shoes throughout - she always looks so elegant). Mackintosh said she moved to Wales in 2016 and during the early months of the Pandemic Lockdown she was swimming in a lake like the one in The Last Party and got the idea of discovering a body floating in it. Due to nationalism, she explained the border between Wales and England has a lot of tension so the forced collaboration between police on both sides would reflect this conflict. It was fun to hear her speak and there was a good crowd. The bookstore has a nice event space on the second floor. Next time, I’d like to spend more time browsing but the store shut right after the book signing.

Title: A Game of Lies
Author: Clare Mackintosh
Publication: Sourcebooks, hardcover, 2024
Genre: Suspense

I chose this for Reading Wales Month 2025, hosted by Booker Talk, and it is also my ninth mystery of the year for the Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge.