Bailey and team go on a hunt for the truth barring all odds in this high-flying, wild adventure ride.
If you’ve read a little about the Bully Prevention articles I’m doing lately, then I’m sure you’ll recognize the name of this author, J.Richard Knapp. He and I met through Twitter (if one really ‘meets’ anyone online) and quickly struck up an easy back and forth. As a result, he sent me a signed copy of his latest book, Truth’s Lair, which he agreed I could review here on Britty Books. He also was kind enough to grant me an author interview, which can be found here. As you can see, he’s a pretty nice fellow all around!
Gist of the Story
This story is intended for young adults and is classified as juvenile fiction. While I’m not one to restrict at what age any young person should read any particular book, I would give a guess that both young ladies and men between 13 and 20 years of age will enjoy reading this tale.
We begin at the end of WWII with Lt. Matthew Sanders and a top secret mission to blow up some stuff. Blowing up some stuff is always a great way to get a reader hooked!
Skipping forward to current day, we catch up with Lt. Sander’s granddaughter, just after his funeral. It turns out as the only surviving heir, she is entitled to a lot! Put six digits behind that five, throw in a ranch and raise the stakes with a high-tech mystery and you have yourself one adventure tale! Bailey joins up with a team of pre-doctoral candidates all as intelligent and uniquely gifted as she and are put on a quest to discover whether or not UFO’s do exist.
The search for the truth takes the team all around the world. At each step of the way they are plagued with doubts of a mole within the group and who, exactly, are the enemies. With multiple factions of ‘bad guys’ chasing them, the reader is often left off-balance wondering who is behind it all. No spoilers here, folks, but just let me say you’ll never guess who the villain turns out to be. (It got me!). With a little romance on the side, Truth’s Lair effectively covers all the bases of a successful adventure tale.
If you have a young adventurer in the family, give this story a wild ride. Other comparable adult reads would include Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons. Comparable youth reads (though a bit younger) would include Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet.
First Lines, Last Words
Lieutenant Matthew Sanders sat alone at the edge of the cobblestone road with his back against a large rock, as a column of American trucks carrying supplies and soldiers drove past him into the rubble of the once, small German town.
“The land always reveals the truth,” said Bailey with a smile on her face.
Quotable
“Looks like your insurance policy just came due.”
Book Rating
Truth's Lair overall rating 4.33
4.0 Beside the Bed. Yes, I’m a little embarrassed were I to die in the middle of reading a youth novel. Especially one where there is kissing…;)
4.8 Sleepless for the Story. Once Bailey and gang get rolling, you won’t want to stop reading.
4.2 Regifting this read. Obviously, I’m not regifting my signed copy!
4.33 Overall Rating. Curious to how book ratings work? Check out this information.
My name is Britty and I'm chief bottle-washer at this site. I'm a book-lover, student and freelance writer when I'm not being a mom of three and wife of one.
