"Heaven's a Lie"

Wallace Stroby is an award-winning journalist and crime novelist.

He applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel, Heaven's a Lie, and reported the following:

Page 69 of Heaven's a Lie is a “hang out” scene, meaning it focuses on the characters and their relationships within their environment, without needing to advance the plot. Joette Harper, a young widow living alone on the Jersey Shore, visits a storefront bar where her friend Doreen works. Joette is nearing forty, Doreen is in her fifties. They share shots of tequila and talk about Doreen‘s husband’s recent health issues. Joette plays the jukebox, picking the old R&B songs she always does, including B.B. King’s “The Thrill is Gone.” The bar is a place where Joette feels comfortable and welcome, and her friendship with Doreen is one of the few connections in her life.

This will be one of her last carefree nights though. She soon finds herself in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a local drug dealer who thinks she’s stolen a bag of cash that belongs to him. As her life begins to spin out of control, she discovers she’s capable of things she never would have imagined.

Learn more about the author and his novels at the official Wallace Stroby website and The Heartbreak Blog.

The Page 69 Test: Gone 'til November.

The Page 69 Test: Cold Shot to the Heart.

The Page 69 Test: Kings of Midnight.

The Page 69 Test: The Devil's Share.

--Marshal Zeringue