The Scent of Lies: A Paradise Valley Mystery, Book 1
Audible Logo Your audiobook is waiting!
Enjoy a free trial on us
$0.00
  • Click above for unlimited listening to select audiobooks, Audible Originals, and podcasts.
  • One credit a month to pick any title from our entire premium selection — yours to keep (you'll use your first credit now).
  • You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
  • $14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel online anytime.
Learn more about membership
Sold and delivered by Audible, an Amazon company
List Price: $18.50
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible’s Conditions Of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice.
Sold and delivered by Audible, an Amazon company
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

The Scent of Lies: A Paradise Valley Mystery, Book 1 Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Debra Burroughs (Author, Publisher), Martha Lee (Narrator)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 3,172 ratings
See all formats and editions

A captivating and exciting story, The Scent of Lies is Book 1 in the Paradise Valley Mystery series.

Emily Parker's world is flipped upside down when her private-eye husband is killed, and she begins to unravel clues that maybe he wasn't who he claimed to be.

With the help of her close circle of friends and the hunky new police detective in town, Emily takes over her late husband's business and searches for answers to his murder. When another woman's husband turns up dead, Ms. Parker is hired to find the real killer before the wife is sent to prison, putting Emily's own life in danger. Can she solve the case before someone else winds up dead?

Previous page
  1. Listening Length
    6 hours and 19 minutes
  2. Author
    Debra Burroughs
  3. Narrator
    Martha Lee
  4. Audible release date
    October 21, 2013
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Debra Burroughs
  7. ASIN
    B00G2IIZ7O
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
Next page

Read & Listen

Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to Audible audiobook.
Add the audiobook for a reduced price of $3.33 after you get the Kindle book as part of your Kindle Unlimited subscription.

Product details

Listening Length 6 hours and 19 minutes
Author Debra Burroughs
Narrator Martha Lee
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date October 21, 2013
Publisher Debra Burroughs
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B00G2IIZ7O
Best Sellers Rank #246,168 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#7,616 in Women Sleuth Mysteries
#8,869 in Romantic Suspense (Audible Books & Originals)
#35,034 in Women Sleuths (Books)

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
3,172 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Felicia G
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read, full of suspense, mystery and developed characters.
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2015
Verified Purchase
Evan Parker, Private Investigator, is shot in the head in his office late one night leaving Emily, his wife, a widow. 6 months later his murder is still unsolved. When Emily finds an unknown woman’s phone number in one of Evans old sweatshirts she begins to question how much she really knew about Evan. After a luncheon with her girlfriends, where the topic of infidelity came up, Emily decides to call this number. She asks this woman outright if she was having an affair with Evan. Delia, the other woman, tells her she had hired Evan to investigate her own husband. Delia owns a very large company and thinks her husband is having an affair and stealing from the company. She then asks Emily if she would consider taking over the case for Evan and finish what he started. Evan died before he could answer any of Delia’s questions. Thinking these cases might be connected Emily takes the case and with the help of her friends begins to uncover what is really going on in Delia’s life.
When Delia’s husband is murdered and she is accused of killing him, Emily now takes on Delia’s murder case to try and clear her new friend. This is when Emily meets Colin the new police detective. He is a tall, muscular, handsome man and sparks fly instantaneously. However, they both try to keep their distance for personal reasons and professional. The chemistry between these two characters is great. At first they try and fight it, but they realize they can’t and this brings them closer to each other as they start to work together to solve this case, even when it threatens Emily’s life.
I love this book. The characters are funny, witty, and strong. The friendships between the women are unbreakable and they are all there for one another. There are no graphic sex scenes or graphic violence in this book and the author states that you will not find this in any of her books, which I feel makes this book even better. Evans murder is not solved in this book, but it is kept in the background and not forgotten. Questions kept arising to cause Emily to doubt how much she really knew about her husband, and while some of these questions are answered in this book, the bigger ones are left for later.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes romance books where there is mystery, suspense, a handsome and strong police detective, and a strong female lead. I am looking forward to reading the other books in this series. This book is well written with detailed scenes and plot work. I was not disappointed in this book and don’t think you will be either!
15 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Carrie Kurtz
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Mystery
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2015
Verified Purchase
I enjoy reading mysteries that have good storylines and keep you interested, but don't totally confuse you and freak you out. Books that are suspenseful, but not so scary that you have trouble going to bed at night. I like for the book to have moments of romance but nothing smutty or sexually descriptive. This book had all of the things I like in a mystery!

You start off feeling quite sad for Emily. She misses her late husband and she also has to deal with the fact that his murderer hasn't even been found. She does have good friends (although Maggie is a bit annoying with her blabbering Emily's secrets) that love her and care about her. Emily decides to take on his last client, Delia, and that's when the excitement starts. She meets Colin, finds out some things about her late husband that actually lead to more questions about him, gets shot at, and more all happen in this book!

In the end, some mysteries get solved but others still leave you questioning. That's how you start a series, folks! I'll gladly read the other books in this series so that I can find out what happens next and hopefully get some of those questions answered.

So, all in all, The Scent of Lies by Debra Burroughs was a fun read and I do recommend reading this book!

Some of my favorite The Scent of Lies quotes

"If stupid hurt, most people would stop"

"Emily Parker," he said, "I think you are one spectacular woman."
"That would be a smokin' hot lady PI to you, mister."
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Rebecca Vance
5.0 out of 5 stars The Start to an Exciting Series!!
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2013
Verified Purchase
The Scent of Lies is Book 1 of 4 in the Paradise Valley Mysteries series by Debra Burroughs. This is a romantic mystery, but unlike many of this genre, it is not heavy-handed romance with the mystery as a sideline. The emphasis is on the mystery, or mysteries in this instance. I find that very refreshing. There is nothing wrong with romance, but if you are going to call it a mystery, that should be the focal point. Ms. Burroughs has an excellent balance of both throughout the entire book.

Emily Parker is a young widow whose husband, Evan Parker, Private Investigator, was murdered in his own office 6 months ago. While looking for answers into his death, Emily discovers more questions. Was he really the man that she thought he was? When she is asked by a client of Evan's, Delia, to investigate Delia's husband, she is interested and encouraged by her close circle of friend's to take over Evan's P.I. business. Then Delia's husband is murdered. To complicate matters, Emily is introduced to the sexy new police detective, who is convinced Emily's first client is guilty of murdering her husband. Emily must fight for her client before Delia goes to prison for a crime she didn't commit. Or did she? Emily fights to prove Delia's innocence as she also tries to fight the budding attraction to the new police detective; who is trying to keep Emily alive long enough to see if she could be the one to mend his heart.

Ms. Burroughs has the beginning to a winning series with The Scent of Lies. The reader is immediately rooting for Emily, for her to solve the case, get the answers about Evan's murder, and for the new romance building for her. She has several strong female characters and men that support them rather than feel threatened by their resolve. Not all of the answers are given, it is the beginning of a series after all. The reader is given enough to pique the interest to continue reading the series, but not a gratuitous major cliffhanger that makes the reader feel cheated at the end. I highly recommend The Scent of Lies. I will be reading the entire series of Paradise [...]
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
ORCANUT
5.0 out of 5 stars A QUICK, FUN, COZY MYSTERY
Reviewed in Canada on August 17, 2017
Verified Purchase
All of the Cozy Mystery books are quick, fun, enjoyable books with the usual ingredients of a great storyline, an intriguing mystery, fun and sometimes funny characters that are well developed, and a little romance.
In this case, the author, does such a great job of putting all of these ingredients together, that it is definitely a recipe for success!
I can’t wait to read more in this series, and I can see myself reading this book again (the highest praise I can give a book is having just finished reading it and knowing right away that I would read it again).
Highly recommend!
Connie Carswell
@orcanut (Instagram)
@orcaloopy (Twitter)
Ottawa, Ontario
One person found this helpful
 Report
AYYAMPALAYAM RAGHAVENDRA RAO
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in India on November 18, 2016
Verified Purchase
Interesting to read....
Report
Raeynne Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Australia on November 17, 2016
Verified Purchase
Great
Report
Ann Stanmore
5.0 out of 5 stars A fast paced murder mystery with a touch of romance
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 10, 2015
Verified Purchase
Very enjoyable book. Good characters and well written. Lots going on to hold your interest, in fact I was reluctant to put it down.

This is a fast paced murder mystery with a touch of romance thrown in. Loved it
One person found this helpful
 Report
Kindle Junkie
1.0 out of 5 stars Amateur PI
Reviewed in Germany on July 27, 2013
Verified Purchase
Save your time. Realtor Emily becomes a PI overnight? Right. No mention of a license but her friend's lawyer husband still agrees to hire her to investigate to save his client. Emily gets her panties in a twist whenever the detective Colin expresses any doubt in her investigative skills. The writing is not smooth but amateurish, for want of a better word.
3 people found this helpful
 Report