Amazon.com 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. See all Editorial Reviews