Overview

Near Roswell in 1948, something otherworldly falls from the sky and turns a young woman's shattered future-and her missing father-into a mystery no one wants her to solve. Francie Cortez is smart, determined, and born with a head for physics. But in post-war New Mexico, culture and tradition mean a woman has no real place in a college classroom, let alone a lab. Facing closed doors on campus and a vanishing career path, Francie abandons her studies, a choice that feels too much like failure. She retreats to the family ranch-only to find her father has disappeared without a trace. Her isolation shatters the morning a strange, otherworldly object slams into the mountains behind her home. The crash pulls Francie into a web of shifting stories, concealed motives, and uneasy alliances-including a charming soldier who seems to know more than he lets on. As she digs into the object's origins, she discovers it's bound up with her father's last experiments and with a secret others are desperate to control-no matter who gets hurt. Caught between a menacing spaceman and a man sent to keep the truth buried, Francie stands at a crossroads where her choices become bigger than one crash, one mystery, or even one life. Exposing what really happened could cost her the ranch, her reputation, and the last ties to her father. But if she takes the easier road, she'll turn her back on her own second chance-and on the chance to help shape a future where women can become anything they wish to be. If you love determined heroines, haunted New Mexico landscapes, slow-burn romance, and historical mysteries brushed with the uncanny, Echo of Lies will pull you into a world where the past is never as distant as it seems-and where courage in the present can rewrite what comes next.

Full Product Details

9798986769097

Table of Contents

Reviews

Carol Potenza, master of the mystery story, has done it again with this fast-paced, page-turning delight. The mystery's twists and turns kept me on my toes. The New Mexico setting layered in history added unique flair to the time-twisting story where nothing is as it seems, but everything makes perfect sense in the extremely satisfying ending. A must read! -Jordyn Kross, Author of the Dirty Daisy cozy mystery series Echo of Lies is a meticulously crafted coming-of-age story that blends historical mystery and sci-fi intrigue. Carol Potenza brings 1940s New Mexico to life with vivid, haunting detail, but it's Francie Cortez who truly steals the show. Her grit and intelligence, coupled with the novel's slow-burning romantic tension, uncanny twists, and emotional depth, kept me turning the pages. Potenza delivers a story that's both intimate and expansive (like its setting!); this novel is rich in atmosphere, full of heart, and a pleasure to read. - J.J. Cagney, Author of Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year: A Pilgrimage to Death

Author Information

Carol Potenza is the award-winning author of Hearts of the Missing, a Tony Hillerman Prize winner, Spirit Daughters, a Daphne du Maurier Mainstream Mystery/Suspense winner, and Sting of Lies, a Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Finalist. She taught biochemistry at New Mexico State University before transitioning to a full-time mystery writer. Carol loves the combination of strong women sleuths, paranormal and murder, mixed with science or, as she likes to call it, Biochem-Mystery. She sets all her mysteries-historical, contemporary, and futuristic-in the beautiful state of New Mexico, her adopted home.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available