The women Vince Browne meets in Los Angeles all seem to want rich men, gorgeous brothers, men without pasts. After watching yet another romantic prospect walk away, he decides to be less than honest with the next beautiful woman he meets: "I played the role and hid from my memories, told Dana I was a black man working hard every day, as single as a dollar bill, no kids, no ex-wives, no problems. With every word I dug my hole deeper." Of course, Dana has a few secrets of her own, but her chemistry with Vince convinces her she that can just start over without sharing such details. When this new couple's self-protective lies begin to unravel, they have to decide whether they even like each other--let alone how to overcome their hurt. One night in Vince's apartment, after learning about his divorce, Dana jumps up to dial *69 after someone calls and hangs up. That was the first time she'd done that to me. There was a difference in her. In us. A hardness that comes when trust has thinned. Both of us had flipped, become the other side of a dented coin. Some sort of smile was on her face, but traces of her history were in her eyes. Eric Jerome Dickey's devoted readers won't be disappointed with Liar's Game. As in Cheaters and Milk in My Coffee, his easy, conversational style, his humor, his well-rounded characters, and his sexy plot twists will keep the pages turning. He is one of very few writers presenting diverse, realistic images of middle-class African Americans with everyday concerns about jobs and education, finding and keeping love, raising responsible children, and staying alive in the city. --Regina Marler


From Publishers Weekly
His standard themes of love, betrayal and commitment-phobia in the African-American community are again explored by Dickey in his fifth novel, but this time around a jigger of political consciousness spikes the author's seductive formula. Vincent Calvary Browne Jr., a thoughtful hunk with a baritone voice, is licking his wounds after an extremely painful divorce from a bitter ex-wife who will not let him see his daughter. He is left with little faith in women until he meets Dana Ann Smith, who has come to Los Angeles to escape harsh memories of a failed romance. Wary of intimacy, the two reluctantly forge a relationship, fearing the sudden intrusion of their pasts could destroy their fragile love connection. When Dana's old flame, Claudio, resurfaces, slick, successful and determined to win her back, her tentative affections for Vince are put to the test. Meanwhile, Vince's recollections of his wanton ex tempt him to act out as he plots to see his beloved child. Since this old chestnut of a plot cannot sustain an entire book, Dickey ups the ante by tossing in two subplots. One involves Dana's stripper friend, Gerri, and her philandering husband, Jefferson, who may have impregnated one of the female rap singers he manages, and another focuses on Vince's friend, Womack, who is fearful that his wife is having an affair. As in Dickey's previous popular romances, he creates heroes and heroines who overcome many trials without ever suffering any real defeats. On the plus side are the author's quips on political and cultural issues such as police brutality and justice, custody issues, and cultural conflicts between Africans and African-Americans. 15-city author tour. (July) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
From Cheaters to liars: After fleeing a bad relationship in New York, Dana ends up in Los Angeles--and in love with Vincent. But Vincent is holding something back. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
In this urban tale of "love and lies in L.A.," Dana Ann Smith leaves her husband in New York and finds new love in Los Angeles, only to learn that her new beau has a rocky romantic past . . . and his ex is coming to L.A. So, for that matter, is Dana's ex-husband. Eric Jerome Dickey does a fine job narrating the bulk of this piece, bringing animated life to a love quadrangle that could be anyone's worst nightmare. Equally credible in her performance is Gabriella Callender, who does a splendid job of infusing spice into the production. R.A.P. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Kirkus Reviews
Dickey’s fifth novel (Cheaters, 1999, etc.) begins unpromisingly with hip smart-talking and gloomy banter, but eventually the characters—and the author’s treatment of them—mature and deepen.As the story begins, Vincent Calvary Browne Jr. mopes over his former wife, Malaika, who has vanished into Germany with her new husband and Vince’s daughter Kwanzaa. Recently orphaned and about to turn 30 as well, Vince hits the bars. At a soul-food restaurant in the black, middle-class section of Los Angeles, he meets Dana Ann Smith, a Harlemite who has relocated to escape a lover she found in bed with another woman after he’d led her into bankruptcy. So Dana has plenty of her own problems, plus back taxes, not to mention she’s not doing so well as a realtor. The two begin a relationship, with Vince lying about his marital background and his anxieties over Kwanzaa, while Dana lies about her background and about former lover Claudio, who still haunts her dreams and invades her fantasies as Vince makes love to her. (Clearly the novel’s title should be a plural possessive.) Vince too is still thinking about his ex, even though her disappearing without a word suggests that she never loved him. Nonetheless, he keeps a video of their lovemaking and at times it replays somewhere in his inner depths as he embraces Dana. A big dustup erupts when Malaika phones to say that she now lives in nearby San Bernardino, but Vince still can’t see Kwanzaa. When Dana insists that he stand up for his rights, the lovers come to blows. Then Claudio arrives in L.A., and Dana and Vince fall into mutual infidelities, which they seem unable to survive.The adult climax really has power and is worth waiting for. Author tour -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
The author of the sensational bestsellers, Cheaters, Friends and Lovers, Milk in My Coffee, and Sister, Sister, delivers his most boldly honest novel yet-the story of a love that starts with a lie.

LIAR'S GAME IS ERIC JEROME DICKEY AT HIS BEST...Steamy romance, betrayal, and redemption. (USA Today)

DICKEY HITS THE MARK WITH LIAR'S GAME. (Detroit News and Free Press)

A HIGH-SPIRITED ROLLERCOASTER RIDE...Fast-paced, sexy and sassy. (Florida Star (Jacksonville))

More praise for Liar's Game:

It's almost scary how well Dickey knows women. (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Witty and engrossing. (Booklist)

Very simply, Dickey is amazing. (Chicago Defender)

Liar's Game is Dickey's best yet. (Heart & Soul)

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Dana left New York to escape a roller-coaster relationship. Vincent is living in Los Angeles, trying to forget his own shattered marriage. They want to plan a future together-but first they have to stop running from their pasts. Eric Jerome Dickey, a rising star on the bestseller lists, delivers a boldly honest novel-about love that starts with a lie.

Author Biography: Eric Jerome Dickey is originally from Memphis. He has worked as a computer programmer, teacher, actor, and standup comic, and now writes full time.

FROM THE CRITICS

Tamara Henry - USA Today

Eric Jerome Dickey is at his best in his latest novel, Liar's Game. The plot is strong. Vincent Calvary Browne Jr. is a handsome, hardworking Los Angeles native who meets Dana Ann Smith, a New York transplant trying to escape a bad relationship.

There's magic when they meet, but, as the title implies, neither is upfront about the past. That allows Dickey to pack in contemporary issues, steamy romance, betrayal and redemption. Dickey's fifth novel is entertaining. He investigates a variety of relationships, keeping readers interested in the story line.

Barnes & Noble Guide to New Fiction

"Spending an evening with Dickey's characters is like visiting friends you haven't seen in a while - comfortable and interesting - and you care about what happens to them." Others thought this African-American romance novel "could be summed up in one word - shallow." "Why doesn't he do some serious fiction?"

USA Today

Liar's Game is Eric Jerome Dickey at his best...Steamy romance, betrayal, and redemption.

Cincinnati Enquirer

It's almost scary how well Dickey knows women.

Detroit News and Free Press