The Lies I Tell Summary: A Gripping Con Artist Thriller
Introduction
Meg Williams is not the average real estate agent.
She is a professional grifter who has spent a decade perfecting the art of the con. Kat Roberts is the journalist whose life was shattered by one of Meg’s past operations.
In “The Lies I Tell” by Julie Clark, these two women collide in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse across Los Angeles.
The novel focuses on deception, revenge, and the gray areas between right and wrong.
TL;DR: The Setup and the Sting
Meg Williams returns to Los Angeles after ten years to ruin Ron Ashton, the corrupt developer who stole her family’s home.
Kat Roberts, an investigative journalist using a fake identity, plans to expose Meg for a past trauma she blames on her.
As Kat embeds herself in Meg’s life, she discovers her own fiancĂ© is the one betraying her.
The story ends with Meg successfully conning Ron out of seven million dollars and Kat learning to use Meg’s methods for her own justice.
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Characters In This Book
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Meg Williams | A grifter who targets corrupt and abusive men to restore balance for their victims. |
| Kat Roberts | An investigative journalist who blames Meg for a past trauma and plans to expose her. |
| Ron Ashton | A wealthy developer and political candidate who conned Meg’s mother out of her home. |
| Scott Griffin | Kat’s fiancĂ©, an LAPD fraud detective with a hidden gambling addiction and identity theft problem. |
| Cory Dempsey | A high school principal who abused students and was Meg’s first major target. |
| Nate Burgess | Cory’s friend who drugged and raped Kat ten years before the main events. |
| Rosie Williams | Meg’s late mother, who was swindled by Ron Ashton and died of cancer. |
| Veronica | Meg’s friend from yoga and the wife of Ron’s campaign manager. |
| David | Ron Ashton’s campaign manager and Veronica’s husband. |
| Kristen Gentry | Meg’s former classmate who was groomed and abused by Cory Dempsey. |
| Laura Lazar | Kristen’s best friend who revealed Cory’s abuse to Kat. |
| Steve Martucci | Ron Ashton’s business manager for thirty years. |
| Phillip Montgomery | A wealthy CEO in Pennsylvania whom Meg conned two years earlier. |
| Celia Montgomery | Phillip’s abused ex-wife who received the lake house from Meg. |
| Jenna | Kat’s best friend from journalism school. |
| Frank Durham | An investigative journalist at the LA Times and Kat’s former boss. |
| Rick and Gretchen Turner | The legitimate buyers who purchase the Canyon Drive home from Ron. |
The Lies I Tell Summary: A Deep Dive Into Deception
Spoiler Warning: This section details the full plot, including the ending.
The story moves between two timelines. In the past, Meg is living out of a minivan after her mother’s death.
She targets Cory Dempsey, a high school principal who abused students, including her classmate Kristen Gentry. Meg moves into his home under a fake identity and drains his accounts.
During this con, she anonymously tips off journalist Kat Roberts to interview Cory’s friend Nate Burgess. That tip leads to Kat being drugged and raped by Nate.
In the present, Meg sets her sights on Ron Ashton. Fifteen years earlier, Ron tricked Meg’s terminally ill mother into signing over their Brentwood home. Ron is now running for state senate.
Meg plans to destroy him financially and publicly. She starts by building a reputation through a legitimate real estate deal for Ron’s campaign manager and his wife.
Kat spots Meg at a fundraiser and approaches her as “Kat Reynolds,” a wealthy buyer. Meg quickly discovers Kat’s true identity and her engagement to Scott Griffin, an LAPD fraud detective.
Instead of pushing Kat away, Meg hires her as an assistant to control what Kat sees. The two women form an unlikely bond while working together.
Meanwhile, Kat’s personal life falls apart. A thirty-one-thousand-dollar debt opens under her name. Her fiancĂ© Scott blames Meg. Kat later finds a burner phone in Scott’s car that links him to the identity theft.
Scott, a relapsed gambling addict, had stolen her identity to cover his losses. Kat breaks off the engagement and drops her suspicion of Meg.
Meg’s con on Ron reaches its climax. She convinces him to buy a vacant property for seven million dollars all-cash.
She creates a fake escrow company and sends fraudulent wiring instructions to Ron’s business manager. The money lands in an account Meg controls.
The next day, Meg confronts Ron during his jog. She tells him the money has been wired to a homeless cooperative under his name.
A pre-drafted confession statement will be sent to the media. If Ron exposes the theft, his illegal campaign transfers and tax fraud will surface. Ron is left ruined. Meg boards a flight to Costa Rica.
Kat finds Meg’s rented house empty.
On the table are Meg’s journals and a cashier’s check to pay off Kat’s debt. Kat reads the notebooks and realizes Meg always targeted corrupt men to help their victims.
Two months later, Kat drives to Portland with a new plan. She intends to use Meg’s methods to con Nate Burgess, her rapist.
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Summary by Chapter
This section offers a detailed breakdown of the novel’s forty chapters. The narrative alternates between Kat and Meg across two timelines. Spoiler Warning: These summaries reveal all major plot points.
Chapter 1: Kat (Present—June)
Kat attends a political fundraiser for state senate candidate Ron Ashton. She spots Meg Williams, the woman she has hunted for a decade. Kat recalls a thirty-second phone call from ten years ago that changed her life. She believes Meg is responsible for the trauma that followed. Kat resolves to follow Meg and finally get her story.
Chapter 2: Meg (Present—June)
Meg describes how she profiles wealthy targets using social media and geo-tags. She attends the fundraiser with her friend Veronica, whose husband is Ron’s campaign manager. Meg uses her real name because she wants Ron to know exactly who destroyed him. She shakes his hand and notes he does not recognize her.
Chapter 3: Ten Years Ago — Meg (Venice, California)
Meg lives in her late mother’s minivan and works at a YMCA. After someone tries to break into her car, she decides she needs a safe place to live. She adjusts her dating profile and finds Cory Dempsey, a popular teacher from her former high school. Meg remembers her classmate Kristen Gentry’s mysterious disappearance and suspects Cory’s involvement.
Chapter 4: Kat (Ten Years Ago)
Kat works as a junior reporter at the Los Angeles Times under Frank Durham. The Cory Dempsey scandal breaks while she is present. She overhears family members mention Meg Williams, Cory’s live-in girlfriend who allegedly conned him. Frank dismisses the con-artist angle. Kat secretly begins her own search for Meg.
Chapter 5: Meg (Ten Years Ago)
Meg dates Cory under the alias Amelia Morgan. She acts vulnerable and inexperienced to feed his desire for control. She invents a problematic roommate to manipulate Cory into letting her move in. After securing a place in his home, she deletes her dating accounts.
Chapter 6: Kat (Ten Years Ago)
Kat searches old yearbooks and finds a picture of Meg Williams. She meets Laura Lazar, Kristen’s former best friend. Laura reveals that Cory coerced Kristen into a sexual relationship that led to pregnancy and an abortion. Kristen’s family left the school afterward.
Chapter 7: Meg (Ten Years Ago)
Meg decides to stay with Cory after remembering Kristen’s kindness and the “girl code.” She manipulates Cory into buying her a new laptop. She also deals with Cory’s suspicious best friend, Nate Burgess.
Chapter 8: Kat (Ten Years Ago)
Kat receives an anonymous phone call from a woman who tells her to interview Nate Burgess at a bar. Kat realizes the caller is Meg Williams. She goes to the bar alone and strikes up a conversation with Nate. After finishing her drink, she blacks out.
Chapter 9: Meg (Ten Years Ago)
Meg tricks Cory into buying her a car and putting her name on the title. She discovers secret emails showing Cory is grooming a new student named Stacy. Meg continues to gather evidence against him.
Chapter 10: Los Angeles (Present Day) — Kat (June)
Kat reflects on her assault by Nate Burgess, which she never reported. The trauma forced her to quit her job. Over the years, she tracked Meg’s movements across several states. Kat vows to expose Meg to reclaim her stolen agency.
Chapter 11: Kat (June)
Kat discusses Meg with her fiancĂ©, Scott Griffin, a fraud detective. Scott warns her against chasing the story. Kat ignores him, knowing selling a story about Meg could pay off Scott’s secret gambling debt. She calls Meg using a fake name and claims Ron Ashton recommended her.
Chapter 12: Meg (June)
Meg takes Ron to view a beachfront duplex with severe structural damage. She shares a slightly unethical background story to make Ron trust her. Ron makes a cash offer. Two days later, Meg retracts the deal, pretending to protect his interests.
Chapter 13: Kat (July)
Kat embeds herself in Meg’s social circle through yoga and brunches. She shares a vulnerable truth about Scott’s gambling to gain Meg’s trust. Meg tells Kat about losing her family home and living in a car. After the outing, Meg texts Kat to express her desire for friendship.
Chapter 14: Meg (July)
Meg follows Kat home and discovers she is a reporter engaged to an LAPD detective. Meg decides to keep Kat close rather than push her away. She offers Kat a part-time job as her assistant to control what she sees.
Chapter 15: Kat (July)
Scott warns Kat not to trust Meg. At a property showing with Ron, Kat suffers a panic attack when Ron’s cologne triggers memories of Nate. Meg notices Kat’s distress and comforts her, expressing her own hatred for predatory men.
Chapter 16: Meg (July)
Meg uses a drive with Ron to gather details about his finances. Ron boasts about tax evasion and using campaign donations for personal expenses. Meg realizes she has the information she needs to finalize her trap.
Chapter 17: Kat (July)
Kat watches Meg subtly manipulate Veronica into believing Ron’s house is too low-class for his donors. Kat returns home to find her cable and internet disconnected. Scott blames Meg for stealing their mail.
Chapter 18: Kat (August)
At an outdoor concert, Kat searches Meg’s car. She finds nothing incriminating. Later, Kat receives a notification that someone attempted to hack her bank account exactly when Meg went to the bathroom.
Chapter 19: Two Years Ago — Meg (Reading, Pennsylvania)
Posing as Melody Wilde, Meg targets Phillip Montgomery, a wealthy grocery chain owner. She manipulates him into paying a fake consulting retainer. Meg also convinces him to sell his lake house to her fake company for a small sum.
Chapter 20: Los Angeles (Present Day) — Kat (August)
Kat learns of a thirty-one-thousand-dollar debt opened in her name. The billing email is “Calistasniece@yahoo.” Kat grows suspicious of Meg’s display of concern. She investigates Meg’s Pennsylvania con and discovers Phillip Montgomery was the target.
Chapter 21: Kat (August)
Scott reacts with explosive anger when Kat confronts him about the debt. He accuses her of trusting a con artist. A week later, Kat finds a hidden burner phone in Scott’s car linked to “Calistasniece@yahoo.”
Chapter 22: Meg (September)
Meg completes the legitimate sale of Ron’s Canyon Drive home for $4.5 million. She walks through her empty childhood home and recalls her late mother. As she exits, she spots Scott watching her from a parked car.
Chapter 23: Kat (September)
Kat confronts Scott about the burner phone. She demands he leave. After he goes, Kat calls Celia Montgomery, learning Meg deeded the lake house back to Celia. Kat realizes Meg uses her cons to balance the scales for victims.
Chapter 24: Meg (September)
Meg realizes Scott is following her. She uses a rear-end collision and the responding police to detain him. Meg prepares to file a DBA and open a bank account under “Orange Coast Escrow.”
Chapter 25: Kat (October)
Kat walks on the beach and realizes her motivation has shifted. She now wants Meg to succeed. Scott begs her to drop charges so police can catch Meg. Kat refuses, telling him to get professional help.
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Chapter 26: Meg (October)
Meg shows Ron the Mandeville Canyon property. She convinces him it was once owned by Ronald Reagan. When another agent arrives, Meg pays her to leave, keeping the illusion intact. Ron agrees to a seven-million-dollar cash offer.
Chapter 27: Meg (October)
Meg coordinates with Ron’s business manager, Steve Martucci. She tells him they will use Orange Coast Escrow. Meg prepares to pack up and disappear once the deal closes.
Chapter 28: Meg (October)
Meg has her final lunch with Kat. She tells Kat she is thinking of taking a break from real estate. Kat shares that she is writing a thriller about a female con artist. Meg fights off tears as she says goodbye.
Chapter 29: Kat (October)
Kat finds Meg’s house empty and staged. On the table are Meg’s journals and a check for $31,125 to cover Kat’s debt. Meg’s letter explains she knew Kat was lying and encourages her to write her story. Kat reads the journals.
Chapter 30: Meg (October)
Meg arrives at LAX for her flight to Costa Rica. She recalls confronting Ron in Palisades Park. She told him the seven million dollars was gone and wired to a homeless cooperative. She left him with her mother’s words about winners and losers.
Chapter 31: Kat (October)
Kat watches news broadcasts about Ron’s surprise donation. Her mother tells her to write a predatory expose on Meg. Kat refuses, stating she has found clarity. She releases her past resentment.
Chapter 32: Epilogue—Kat (December)
Two months later, Kat packs up her apartment. She realizes Meg was a vigilante who targeted corrupt men. Ron lost the election. Scott is in treatment. Kat drives to Portland to target and con Nate Burgess, her rapist.
Story Snapshot
| Element | Details |
|---|---|
| Genre & Subgenre | Psychological Suspense / Con Artist Heist Mystery |
| Core Narrative Tropes | Vigilante Justice, Secret Identities, Dual Timelines, Cat-and-Mouse Game, Relapsed Partner |
| Tone & Atmosphere | Tense, calculating, emotionally raw, and cynical yet restorative |
| Primary Conflict | Meg’s quest to destroy Ron Ashton versus Kat’s campaign to expose Meg, disrupted by Scott’s betrayal |
| Pacing Style | Propulsive, alternating dual viewpoints with intricate heist timelines |
| ISBN | 978-1728260129 |
| Pages | 288 |
