The Arcane Society series moves to the modern era in this installment.
Clare Lancaster has a bad habit of finding dead bodies at the most inopportune times. A few months ago, she met her long lost father and instantly connected with her half-sister, Elizabeth (Liz), whom she helped to escape from an abusive relationship. After Liz’s ex, Brad, winds up dead, suspicion falls on Clare. She’s a human lie detector, meaning she can sense when someone is lying, but she doesn’t quite know what to make of Jake Salter, a man who hides every lie in a truth.
Jake works for her father as a business consultant, but he’s more than a man with a flair for how to handle money. As an undercover agent for the Jones and Jones paranormal investigation firm, he’s in Arizona to stop the bad guys who are once again trying to recreate the founder’s formula.
The Arcane Society is a large, wide-spread, and mysterious group of psychically-enhanced people that date their origin a few hundred years back to a powerful alchemist, Sylvester Jones. The leading family in the society is the Joneses, and they have more than their fair share of secrets, the most important of which is Sylvester’s formula.
Clare, Jake, and her family all have special gifts and belong to the society. Clare’s return to Arizona causes a slew of problems, especially for Jake and his investigation, but their chemistry is off the charts.
Each book is this series is a standalone, but it’s a good idea to read all of them in order to better picture the world and learn about all the secrets the Arcane Society has. This book briefly referenced “The Perfect Poison” to explain how the Jones and Jones agency came to be, so it was fun to read a little bit about Caleb. I wish Ms Krentz would’ve mentioned exactly how Jake and his cousin Fallon are descended from the couples in the historical books, but it’s not hard to figure out if you match their psychical talents to those from the past (to do so, you gotta read the other books).
There were a few typos, but I really enjoyed this book. It’s fast-paced and more story-driven than the historical books in my opinion. I look forward to reading more.
4 Stars

Note -- Even though this book is considered number 2 in the Arcane Society series, it’s technically number 4 if you read the books in chronological order (not publication date). Personally, I read all of the Amanda Quick (historical) books first, then the Jayne Anne Krentz (contemporary) books, and lastly the (futuristic) ones by Jayne Castle. For readers who don’t know, these three authors are the same author, and she uses different names for each time period.

Disclaimer – I bought this book for my own enjoyment. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape, or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.
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Clare Lancaster is a human lie detector, a Level 10* according to the Arcane Society. She is also the result of a one-night stand between her mother and Archer Glazebrook who has made it big in Arizona real estate. She only met him recently and has become good friends with her half-sister Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth emailed her in San Francisco asking for help, Clare dropped everything to go get her. Elizabeth was being set up to be murdered by her husband Brad McAllister. He had convinced everyone, almost including Elizabeth, that she was having a nervous breakdown. But Clare knew that he was an especially evil kind of liar even though everyone else though he was a great guy. When she goes to confront him, she finds him shot to death in his home. Some, including Brad's mother, are convinced that Clare murdered him.

Brad's mother who happens to be married to Archer's former business partner Owen Shipley has made it her business to disrupt Clare's life. She has caused her fiance to drop her and the foundation that employed her to let her go. She has even managed to sabotage Clare's job hunt with other foundations.

When Archer asks Clare to visit Arizona, she is free to do so but not to eager to return to Arizona. When she arrives, she meets Jake Salter who is supposed to be consulting with Archer about pensions and benefits for his business. But Jake has another agenda. He's a part-time investigator for J&J, the Arcane Society's primary investigators, who is looking for some evidence that a new cabal is working in Arizona.

Jake is also a high level talent; he's a Level 10* hunter. He's a little suspicious of Clare when he first meets her but he is also powerfully attracted to her. Clare knows she didn't kill Brad but is determined to find out who did. Her investigations and Jake's begins to overlap and the two become partners as they try to keep each other out of danger.

The story was filled with action, romance, and Krentz's usual quirky characters and witty banter. I liked that there were two narrators. David Colacci and Kathy Garver did a good job with all the male and female characters and also did a good job keeping up the tension in the story. ( )

This second book in the series is not written under Ms. Krentz pseudonym of Amanda Quick possibly because it is not based in the Victorian time period but has sped ahead more than a hundred years into the 21st century.
Fun read. Romantic suspense with a paranormal twist. ( )

Eh, it is what it is. Not one of Krentz's best, but something to read when you don't want to use many brain cells. ( )

White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz
Book #2 in The Arcane Society
3 Stars

Synopsis:
Clare Lancaster is the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy member of the Arcane Society. She also just happens to be a human lie detector. Jake Salter is a psychic hunter sent by the Society to discover who is searching for the formula that enhances psychic abilities. The two connect immediately and become embroiled in a complex case of greed, murder and revenge.

Review:
The banter between the main characters and the feisty heroine transform a mediocre plot into a great story. The descriptions of Clare's ability are tantalizing and it would have been great to have more about how her skill developed. One other complaint is that the identity of the villain is predictable - I guessed it the minute the character was introduced. ( )