The Good Lie

Written by A. R. Torre, The Good Lie is a psychological crime thriller novel that focuses on the efforts to stop a serial killer who targets and murders teenage boys in Los Angeles. When one victim escapes and accuses a local high school teacher of being the killer, the case is seemingly solved, but one of the victims’ fathers, defense attorney Robert Kavin, is convinced of the teacher’s innocence. He enlists the help of Dr. Gwen Moore, a psychiatrist specializing in criminal behavior, to create a psychological profile of the killer and to help clear the teacher’s name.

A. R. Torre is a pseudonym for New York Times bestselling author Alessandra Torre, who is known for writing dark psychological thrillers and contemporary romances. In addition to writing novels, she is an outspoken advocate for self-publishing and has cofounded Authors A.I., which employs artificial intelligence to help writers in the development and editing stages of their drafts. To date, she has published over 20 novels that have been translated into 18 languages and released in 30 different countries.

This guide refers to the 2021 paperback edition published by Thomas & Mercer.

Content Warning: Both the source material and this guide feature descriptions of physical and sexual violence, abuse, torture, suicide, and alcohol misuse. The source text also draws on stereotypes about mental health conditions to explain criminal behavior.

Plot Summary

A teenage boy named Scott Harden returns home after managing to escape from Los Angeles’s infamous serial killer, the Bloody Heart Killer. The narrative then introduces Gwen Moore, a psychiatrist specializing in criminal behavior and patients with violent tendencies. Gwen receives an unexpected voicemail from one of her clients, John Abbott. She has been treating John for his dangerous fixation on his wife and his violent fantasies about killing her, and she now fears that he may act on these urges. Later that day, John Abbott and his wife Brooke are found dead in their home; Brooke died from a heart attack, while John died from an apparently self-inflicted stab wound. A detective arrives at Gwen’s office to question her about their deaths. Unwilling to break doctor-patient confidentiality and fearing an investigation into her practice, Gwen answers evasively and lets the detective believe that Brooke’s heart attack was natural, though Gwen is privately certain that John poisoned her. Meanwhile, the Bloody Heart Killer case develops as Scott Harden names a local high school teacher, Randall Thompson, as the killer.

Gwen attends John and Brooke’s funeral, feeling guilty and responsible for their deaths. She goes to a bar nearby and meets Robert Kavin, who was also in attendance at the funeral. The two have drinks together and later go to Gwen’s house and sleep together. In the morning, Gwen finds Robert in her home office, looking at John Abbott’s patient file. Outraged, Gwen tells him to leave, worrying about how much he saw. She realizes that Robert is the father of one of the Bloody Heart Killer’s teenage victims, Gabe Kavin.

Robert is so convinced of Randall Thompson’s innocence that he offers to represent him in court and to help clear his name. He later visits Gwen’s home to apologize for looking at John’s file. He also offers to hire her to build a psychological profile of the Bloody Heart Killer. Gwen excitedly accepts the offer, eager to analyze all the details of the case. Robert provides her with Gabe’s case file. Meanwhile, Scott appears on the news and in multiple interviews to talk about what happened to him, seemingly enjoying the attention. Scott’s mother, Nita, believes that he is lying about some of the details of his story, though she cannot tell what he is lying about. Robert meets with Randall, who maintains his innocence despite the fact that police found evidence in his home: a shoebox containing souvenirs from each of the boys. Meanwhile, Nita has taken to tracking her son’s truck and phone to monitor his suspicious behavior.

Gwen reviews the case files for the rest of the Bloody Heart Killer’s victims, trying to establish common patterns among the victims and the killings. She notes that all the deaths were relatively quick and painless, except for Gabe’s; his death was particularly violent. Later, Gwen meets with one of her clients, who asks her questions about Randall Thompson and refers to him as a “pervert.” When she later meets with Robert, Gwen tells him that she is still convinced of Randall’s guilt, but Robert says that only female students of Randall’s have ever complained about him, while the Bloody Heart Killer’s victims have all been male.

Scott returns to the detectives for further questioning, as the details of his story are vague. Finally, he admits that he lied and tells a completely different version of events. Rather than escaping from the killer, he was intentionally released. This fact supports Robert’s hypothesis that Scott may have been lying to protect the real killer. Meanwhile, Gwen has an epiphany regarding the victims; she realizes that all their wounds were well-tended, and the victims were also well-fed at the time of their deaths, which does not fit the profile of a violent, calculated killer. This anomaly leads her to suspect that the killer has paranoid schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder. She and Robert go to the prison where Randall Thompson is being held, and Gwen is able to speak with him alone and assess whether he fits her profile. After speaking to him, she has her doubts that he is the Bloody Heart Killer, but she nonetheless senses something dangerous about him.

Nita, meanwhile, is paranoid that the news that Scott has changed his story will become public any day now. She finally confronts Scott about his suspicious behavior, and in particular about his constant phone calls to one specific number. Scott finally admits that the number belongs to a girl he was dating before he was kidnapped; she is not answering his calls and has apparently moved away. Nita is relieved that his odd behavior is only the result of “teenage heartbreak.”

Later, Gwen and Robert meet at Robert’s home to discuss the case. The two become closer as Robert discloses more about his personal life and shows her his collection of “oddities,” giving her an emerald ring. The two sleep together that night, and Gwen wakes up in his bed the next morning. Robert immediately confronts her about John Abbott, accusing her of knowing his true nature. Gwen confesses that she should have done more to intervene. She decides to quit the Bloody Heart Killer case and stop working with Robert.

Meanwhile, a realtor is touring a home with a couple. When they examine the attic, they find a room with a bed, tools, and several amputated fingers. This is confirmed to be the lair of the Bloody Heart Killers: John and Brooke Abbott. When Gwen sees this on the news, she races home to examine John’s client file. She realizes that her profile of the Bloody Heart Killer fits John exactly, and she surmises that the first aid and aftercare of the victims were likely performed by Brooke. Gwen is horrified, and she looks up to see Robert standing over her with a knife.

Meanwhile, Scott fantasizes about Brooke, who manipulated him into believing that she loved him and wanted to start a life with him. Scott and Brooke framed Randall Thompson for the murders because Randall raped Brooke when she was in high school. Now, Scott is distressed because Brooke does not answer his calls or texts; he believes that she has moved away. Scott’s parents barge in, frantic, to tell him that the police have found the Bloody Heart Killer’s lair. He learns that both Brooke and John are dead.

As Robert approaches Gwen with the knife, she tries to convince him that she had no idea that John was the real killer; she only suspected that he was involved in Brooke’s death. Robert believes her and puts the knife down, and Gwen realizes that Robert always knew that John was the killer. Robert confesses that he was the one who stabbed John. Detective Saxe arrives at Gwen’s house, asking for her insight. Gwen states her certainty that John killed Brooke, but to protect Robert, she lies and asserts that John died by suicide. Gwen feels intensely guilty for missing the signs and believes that she has failed as a psychiatrist.

One month later, Scott lurks outside Randall Thompson’s house with the intent to kill him, as Randall is now suing Scott’s family and the police department for accusing him of the serial murders. However, Nita arrives and manages to pull Scott away. Two more months later, Gwen receives a text from Robert; she has not heard from him since the confrontation at her house. The two meet at a bar. Robert has quit practicing law and is noticeably less tense. He asks Gwen to forgive him for almost killing her, and Gwen asks his forgiveness for missing the signs that John was the killer. They make amends and share a toast, and Gwen agrees to take Robert on as a client.