The Promise of a Lie

Rating:
Summary: Great Book For aTrip!!!
Review: A friend of mine handed me a book that he said he had recieved free while commuting into the city. He told me it was a splendid thriller and recomended it for my trip out west. Once I started it I couldn't put it down. I love stories of all kinds and was really impressed by how I could never get ahead of the plot. I was truly surprised at almost every turn. If you travel a lot, heck, even if you don't, get this book. It made my trip, uh, "fly" by.

Rating:
Summary: There's no sophomore slump here!
Review: About a year ago I read and reviewed a book titled THE UP AND COMER. The author, a guy named Howard Roughan (pronounced "Rowan," as the back flap of his new book helpfully points out) came out of absolutely nowhere. His debut was as impressive as anything I've ever happened across. There was also a ... substance to his writing that told you, right away, that he had a mother lode, as opposed to a vein, of talent from which to mine.

Roughan has now published THE PROMISE OF A LIE, and he exceeds the promises implied in THE UP AND COMER. There's no sophomore slump here. The qualities that made his debut so great --- the confident writing, strong plotting and memorable characterization --- are once again present in massive quantities. And Roughan is not following a set formula either. The protagonist of THE UP AND COMER was a cad, Dr. David Remler, while the voice in THE PROMISE OF A LIE is a nice guy --- a compassionate, caring psychologist who is good at his work. He also has some benevolent notoriety, spurred by his expert testimony in a high-profile criminal case that in turn sparked sales of his book THE HUMAN PENDULUM, which begat television and radio interviews, which ... well, suffice to say, he's the type of guy who almost gets recognized wherever he goes. Remler has a small social circle but is still mourning the loss of Rebecca, his wife and the mother of their pre-born child, in an accident some years before.

Remler is accordingly somewhat vulnerable when Mr. Sam Kent, his new Thursday at 4:00 p.m. appointment, turns out to be the mysterious and beautiful Samantha Kent. The reason that Kent has consulted with Remler is that she wants to kill her husband, a fabulously wealthy venture capitalist who is psychologically abusive. Remler begins the therapeutic process with the goal of giving Kent the emotional strength to stand up to her husband and leave him, as opposed to ending his life. Remler also begins to feel the stirrings of emotions that he thought died with his wife and that are inappropriate, given the professional relationship he has with Kent.

He is awakened one night though by a frantic telephone call from Kent, who announces to Remler that she has, indeed, killed her husband. Remler rushes over to her apartment and discovers a murder victim --- and the police arrive immediately thereafter to find Remler at the scene. Remler gives them an account of what has happened, and he appears to be in the clear. That changes, however, when the police announce that Samantha Kent has returned home from a business trip to find her husband murdered and that she has never been in therapy with Remler --- and doesn't even know him.

Indeed, Remler has never seen this "new" Samantha Kent, and when he is charged with the murder of Samantha's husband, he is faced with the prospect of finding the mysterious woman who masqueraded as the wife of the murder victim and, perhaps just as importantly, ascertaining her motive for implicating him in the crime. Remler appears to be caught in a brilliantly spun web that he in part inadvertently helped to build, until a mysterious benefactor takes an anonymous interest in the case. Remler's own efforts lead him halfway across the country to uncover yet another layer to the mystery --- one that will ultimately put him in even greater danger.

Phillip Margolin generously contributed a back cover quotation to THE PROMISE OF A LIE, indicating that he read the novel in one day. I am sure he was not engaging in hyperbole. Even if you are able to ascertain early on what is really occurring here, Roughan is such a compelling stylist that you can't help but read on to find out how he is going to reach the conclusion that you suspect he is heading towards. The clues and hints that he scatters like breadcrumbs are always sweetened with additional questions and puzzles that intrigue rather than confound. THE PROMISE OF A LIE is also, perhaps unintentionally but possibly by design, a neat little morality tale, concerning the benefit of saving yourself, and your love, for the right person.

Roughan, with only two novels under his belt, is no longer merely a rising star; his work is busily establishing its own firm constellation. Very highly recommended.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Rating:
Summary: There's no sophomore slump here!
Review: About a year ago I read and reviewed a book titled THE UP AND COMER. The author, a guy named Howard Roughan (pronounced "Rowan," as the back flap of his new book helpfully points out) came out of absolutely nowhere. His debut was as impressive as anything I've ever happened across. There was also a ... substance to his writing that told you, right away, that he had a mother lode, as opposed to a vein, of talent from which to mine.

Roughan has now published THE PROMISE OF A LIE, and he exceeds the promises implied in THE UP AND COMER. There's no sophomore slump here. The qualities that made his debut so great --- the confident writing, strong plotting and memorable characterization --- are once again present in massive quantities. And Roughan is not following a set formula either. The protagonist of THE UP AND COMER was a cad, Dr. David Remler, while the voice in THE PROMISE OF A LIE is a nice guy --- a compassionate, caring psychologist who is good at his work. He also has some benevolent notoriety, spurred by his expert testimony in a high-profile criminal case that in turn sparked sales of his book THE HUMAN PENDULUM, which begat television and radio interviews, which ... well, suffice to say, he's the type of guy who almost gets recognized wherever he goes. Remler has a small social circle but is still mourning the loss of Rebecca, his wife and the mother of their pre-born child, in an accident some years before.

Remler is accordingly somewhat vulnerable when Mr. Sam Kent, his new Thursday at 4:00 p.m. appointment, turns out to be the mysterious and beautiful Samantha Kent. The reason that Kent has consulted with Remler is that she wants to kill her husband, a fabulously wealthy venture capitalist who is psychologically abusive. Remler begins the therapeutic process with the goal of giving Kent the emotional strength to stand up to her husband and leave him, as opposed to ending his life. Remler also begins to feel the stirrings of emotions that he thought died with his wife and that are inappropriate, given the professional relationship he has with Kent.

He is awakened one night though by a frantic telephone call from Kent, who announces to Remler that she has, indeed, killed her husband. Remler rushes over to her apartment and discovers a murder victim --- and the police arrive immediately thereafter to find Remler at the scene. Remler gives them an account of what has happened, and he appears to be in the clear. That changes, however, when the police announce that Samantha Kent has returned home from a business trip to find her husband murdered and that she has never been in therapy with Remler --- and doesn't even know him.

Indeed, Remler has never seen this "new" Samantha Kent, and when he is charged with the murder of Samantha's husband, he is faced with the prospect of finding the mysterious woman who masqueraded as the wife of the murder victim and, perhaps just as importantly, ascertaining her motive for implicating him in the crime. Remler appears to be caught in a brilliantly spun web that he in part inadvertently helped to build, until a mysterious benefactor takes an anonymous interest in the case. Remler's own efforts lead him halfway across the country to uncover yet another layer to the mystery --- one that will ultimately put him in even greater danger.

Phillip Margolin generously contributed a back cover quotation to THE PROMISE OF A LIE, indicating that he read the novel in one day. I am sure he was not engaging in hyperbole. Even if you are able to ascertain early on what is really occurring here, Roughan is such a compelling stylist that you can't help but read on to find out how he is going to reach the conclusion that you suspect he is heading towards. The clues and hints that he scatters like breadcrumbs are always sweetened with additional questions and puzzles that intrigue rather than confound. THE PROMISE OF A LIE is also, perhaps unintentionally but possibly by design, a neat little morality tale, concerning the benefit of saving yourself, and your love, for the right person.

Roughan, with only two novels under his belt, is no longer merely a rising star; his work is busily establishing its own firm constellation. Very highly recommended.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Rating:
Summary: A Great Second Novel
Review: David Remler, Psychologist, also happens to be the bestselling author of The Human Pendulum which points out that even the mild-mannered have the power to do evil lurking inside of them. Just when David is contemplating dating again, new patient Samantha Kent turns up.

Sam, as she likes to be called, is a beautiful woman afraid that she is going to kill her husband. Sympathy and attraction combine to send Dr. Remler over the acceptable lines of doctor/patient relationship and he finds himself thrust headlong into disaster.

David runs into Sam at a fundraiser and accepts her offer to cook dinner at his place. He escorts her home by taxi, relieved that he has not given in to his attraction for her.

Two days later, at 2:30 a.m. Samantha calls Remler, saying she has killed her husband. Her voice sounds drugged, but she won't answer David's questions. He races to her house and finds the door open and her husband stabbed to death, but cannot find either Samantha or her son.

David frantically searches the house from top to bottom, desperate to stop more tragedy. David is also surprised to notice that the dead man's face is familiar to him, though he can't remember where.

The police arrive before David has a chance to call them and immediately becomes their main suspect.

Quickly, Dr. Remler discovers that he has been masterfully framed to take the blame for this murder. The murder weapon is his - a knife taken from his kitchen and found outside the dead man's bedroom window. There is no child and the real Samantha Kent has been in Boston all weekend. She has kept her maiden name, but was very much married to the dead Conrad Birch. So who is the Mystery Patient? Will "The Human Pendulum," Dr. Remler's bestseller, be his downfall?

Questions fly and Remler's lawyers race to answer them and save his good name while keeping him out of prison.

Howard Roughan has given readers an astonishing good read in "The Promise of a Lie," proving that his successful first novel "The Up and Comer" wasn't a fluke. His work is outstanding for one who has only written two books. Readers will be thrilled to discover a new author whose work they can devour for many years to come.

Rating:
Summary: The Human Pendulam Swings
Review: Dr David Remler is a successful psychologist working in trendy Manhatten. He has good friends in law, and lives arguably a contented yuppie existemce. The only shadow on his life is his dearly departed wife, who he quietly mourns. His peaceful existence comes to an abrupt halt when one patient hears the siren call of Hollywood opening a spot in his schedule for the beautiful and mysterious Samantha Kent.
Soon after meeting Samantha (goes by Sam) and having a couple sessions with her, life begins to unravel as David is framed for her husband's murder. Thankfully his friend Parker is a lawyer yet even Parker and a dream team may not save David Remler.


This novel is so full of twists and turns it defies cliche. Roughan has a very likable first person narrator that as a reader I was rooting for no matter how bleak the situation. His supporting characters are also as another reviewer mentioned likable as well. The plot although explored in other novels is presented in a fresh fast moving style as opposed to what could have been a tired haven't I read this before fashion. My only half negative comment is the motivations behind the "villian" could have been a little more in depth. Otherwise while this is not literature it is a sharply written thriller that should be enjoyed when read as such. Roughan also cleverly played on the title of Roughan's book "The Human Pendulam", whose premise was even good people can do ineplicable acts of evil to make the plot swing back and forth very much a pundulam. Well done.


Rating:
Summary: A great murder mystery
Review: Dr. David Remler is a published psychologist who pratices in Manhatten.He hsa quite a cast of characters for patients including a cellist who has a strange sexual obsession.David has published a book entitled "The Human Pendulum" that has modest sales until he is called on to testify at a trial against a rabbi accused of murder which causes book sales to soar.David has a secretary (Mila Benninghoff) but he refers to her as Mamka a Czech name for mother.
Mamka lets david know that he will be getting a new patient a person named Sam Kent.David is pleasently surprised that Sam Kent is very pretty woman not a man as he assumed.Sam comes to Dr. Remler with the problem of having the desire to kill her husband.Threw the sessions and the so called chance meetings they seem to have the good doctor starts to feel himself crossing the line of being attracted to one of his patients though it is no wonder with him not having a relationship since his pregnant wife died in a car accident.
The real problems start when David receives a phone call in the middle of the night from Sam that she has followed through on her wish and killed her husband.David rushs over in the middle of the night to her house for fear that she has tried to kill herself again and when he gets there he finds the dead husband repeatily stabbed but he cannot find Sam and the fun really begins the police show up and discover david there.Sorry to tell you any more would be to give a good story away

Rating:
Summary: Excellent legal thriller
Review: He has an afternoon opening that Samantha Kent grabs up because she urgently needs to talk to psychologist Dr. David Remier. She confesses to him that she wants to kill her husband because that is the only way she can escape her marriage and keep her son. David tries to talk her out of it, but soon after their second session she calls him to tell him she killed her spouse.

He rushes over to Samantha's apartment but only finds the murdered body of her spouse. Neither Sam nor her son is anywhere to be found and the police have a difficult time believing his story. When the police search David's apartment, they find one of his kitchen knives missing and that the remaining knives match the murder weapon found near the crime scene. Perhaps the most shocking aspect is that the woman who called herself Samantha Kent was an imposter. David is arrested and his lawyers must find a way to make sense of this incredible scenario since nobody besides David has seen the mystery woman masquerading as Samantha.

THE PROMISE OF A LIE is an excellent legal thriller. The courtroom scenes are full of drama and excitement and there is a surprise twist that halts the trial temporarily. The protagonist, who tended to see the best in people, learns to never again take anything at face value again; trust remains to be seen (not so subtle hint to the author). Howard Roughan has provided so many twists, turns and shocking developments in his latest crime thriller that readers will be unable to stop reading until the last page is turned.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: THE PROMISE OF A GREAT BOOK!
Review: HUGE kudos to Howard Roughan for writing such a gripping, intriguing, and, at times, very compassionate novel! After reading Honeymoon, I felt compelled to check him out. Everyone else should too!

Rating:
Summary: The promise of a great read!
Review: I could not put Howard Roughan's The Promise of A Lie down! I highly recommend this book and I am not normally a reader of the Thriller/Mystery genre nor have I ever been moved to write a recommendation on Amazon before... but this book deserves it!
The story moves so quickly I found myself wanting to scan ahead to see what happens and yet I had to force myself to slow down because I did not want to miss the psychological subtlety of Roughan's richly developed characters. The story is great, but the most rewarding aspect of the novel is that the writing is so good. It made losing sleep to find out what happens doubly satisfying! Truly a great read!

Rating:
Summary: Thin and Predictable
Review: I picked up Roughan's Promise of a Lie expecting a thriller in the tradition of the Kellermans or White. Psychologist becomes involved in a murder, races against the clock to save his life and the lives of others...You know the drill.

The plot is, to put it gently, farfetched. The characters-including the protagonist-are one-dimensional and thinly drawn. I found it difficult to remain immersed in scenes so predictably plotted absent the presence of strong, fully formed characters.

The bulk of the "excitement" is squeezed into the last forty pages, where the "mystery" is solved in a neat and clean manner. Much too neat and clean for my liking and I felt insulted. (Throughout the text he beats the reader over the head, explaining far too much and not trusting that readers are capable of connecting the dots for themselves.) Why he bothered to include an epilogue (saccharin at that) is beyond me. By the end of the book I didn't care about the characters and I certainly did not care to continue reading after the "mystery" had been solved.