Once Upon a Lie

By Michael R. French

Twelve-year-old Jaleel Robeson is on the run after the police in his tiny Texas town try to frame him for the death of his father. A world away, Alexandra "Alex" Baten is growing up amid all the material comforts a wealthy Los Angeles lawyer can provide. One day, a simple cup of lemonade unites their lives, leading to a maze of adultery and murder that shatters Alex's youthful innocence and Jaleel's struggle to reshape his life.

While the forces of the law try to unravel the mysterious death-or at least find a scapegoat-the two youths see the trajectories of their lives entwine, unravel, and come together again. Justice, Alex learns, can be a strange and nebulous thing, easily enmeshed in webs of loyalty and betrayal. Justice, Jaleel finds, can be a powerful-but dangerous-rock on which to build a life of honor and courage. As their stories play out over the years in cities far apart, best-selling author Michael French fills the world of Alex and Jaleel with a cast of vivid characters both supporting and threatening their efforts to build a life that "works" amid the expectancies of others and their own conflicting drives.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1938288653
• ISBN13: 9781938288654
• Release Date: March 2016
• Publisher: Terra Nova Books
• Length: 388 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.2"