The dramatic final chapter of the Augustus Family Trilogy. Once again an Augustus is protecting themselves and the family name with lies. In 1960, rich, pampered, Elizabeth Augustus leaves college and disappears into the developing, San Francisco, California, hippy scene. Her father, who is tormented by guilt over his unwillingness to have told Elizabeth that she was in fact his child, hires a detective. The search goes on for years as Elizabeth hides in plain sight, living a life completely unlike the one the she imagined when she ran away. Eighteen year old Elizabeth creates a fake identity. As she matures her new identity matures with her and she becomes whoever she believes she needs to be in order to be accepted. Beneath the shield of her lies, Elizabeth's deceptions become her truth and the truth of all who know her.
What critic S. Guthrie says about Family Lies: Book One and Family Matters: Book Two...
In the Augustus family saga, author, Tamara Merrill, has woven a very tangled web, and Sharon Chatsworth loves to talk about it in her gossip column. The drama that unfolds in the first volume of the Augustus family trilogy revolves around the cash cow matrimony of John Augustus and his beautiful débuante yet problematic wife, Sylvia Alexander. Not only do they have money, they have merged every which way in order to grow their treasure; however, all the money in the world can't ensure the happiness of Sylvia and John. This page turner of a book sets the reader up for the second volume.
The books focus on the emotional trials and tribulations of marriage and family life. A dynasty, love children, gossip, alcoholism, adultery, war, life and death are all artfully addressed in this book. The description of characters, their mannerisms and emotions are so well-described that it allows the reader to visualize them every step of the way. They are fabulous reads that leave these characters on your mind and yearning to read how they will fare. Once you're hooked, by Family Lies, you can't wait to read the next two volumes in the trilogy.